Nova 2 Lite vs Relace Apply 3 vs Mistral Large 3
Nova 2 Lite comes out ahead, 61 to 52 and 32 on our weighted score, though Mistral Large 3 is 16% cheaper per token.
- Our pick
AmazonNova 2 Lite
61/100- ECI—
- Price$0.315 / $2.63
- Context1M
Relace
Relace Apply 3
32/100- ECI—
- Price$0.85 / $1.25
- Context256K
Mistral AIMistral Large 3
52/100- ECI—
- Price$0.50 / $1.50
- Context262K
Nova 2 Lite is our pick
Nova 2 Lite is the better all-round choice, scoring 61/100 against Mistral Large 3 (52) and Relace Apply 3 (32). It leads on inputs & features and context window. Mistral Large 3 wins on price. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.
- CapabilityNot enough dataNo independent benchmark covers every model here yet
- Lowest priceMistral Large 3Mistral Large 3 $0.75 · Nova 2 Lite $0.892 · Relace Apply 3 $0.95 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextNova 2 LiteNova 2 Lite 1,000,000 · Mistral Large 3 262,144 · Relace Apply 3 256,000 tokens
- Widest inputsNova 2 LiteNova 2 Lite: Text, Images, PDFs, Video · Relace Apply 3: Text · Mistral Large 3: Text, Images
- Self-hostingMistral Large 3Publishes downloadable weights
| Measure | Weight | Nova 2 Lite | Relace Apply 3 | Mistral Large 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 50 | 49 | 53 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 80 | 0 | 60 |
| Context window | 20% | 60 | 36 | 37 |
| Overall | 100% | 61/100 | 32/100 | 52/100 |
Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | Nova 2 LiteAmazon | Relace Apply 3Relace | Mistral Large 3Mistral AI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $0.315 (best) | $0.85 | $0.50 |
| Output | $2.63 | $1.25 (best) | $1.50 |
| Cached input | — | — | $0.05 |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.892 | $0.95 | $0.75 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 6 providers | Median of 3 providers | Official Mistral API |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 1,000,000 tokens (best) | 256,000 tokens | 262,144 tokens |
| Max output | 65,536 tokens | 128,000 tokens | 262,144 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | No | Yes |
| PDFs | Yes | No | No |
| Audio | No | No | No |
| Video | Yes | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yeslow · medium · high | No | No |
| Tool calling | Yes | No | Yes |
| Structured output | No | No | Yes |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Proprietary | Proprietary | Open |
| API model ID | nova-2-lite-v1 | — | mistral-large-2512 |
| API providers | 8 | 3 | 17 (best) |
| Released | Dec 2, 2025 | Sep 26, 2025 | Dec 2, 2025 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Oct 2025 | — | Nov 2024 |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Nova 2 Lite$8.40
- Relace Apply 3$11.00
- Mistral Large 3$8.00
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Nova 2 Lite, Relace Apply 3 or Mistral Large 3?
Nova 2 Lite is the better all-round choice, scoring 61/100 against Mistral Large 3 (52) and Relace Apply 3 (32). It leads on inputs & features and context window. Mistral Large 3 wins on price. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.
Which is cheaper, Nova 2 Lite, Relace Apply 3 or Mistral Large 3?
Mistral Large 3 is cheaper at $0.50 input / $1.50 output per million tokens (official Mistral API price). Nova 2 Lite costs $0.315 input / $2.63 output per million tokens (median across 6 API providers; free on Nova); Relace Apply 3 costs $0.85 input / $1.25 output per million tokens (median across 3 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.75 per million tokens for Mistral Large 3 versus $0.892 for Nova 2 Lite (1.2× as much) and $0.95 for Relace Apply 3 (1.3× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers all three models yet. Nova 2 Lite has not been scored yet, Relace Apply 3 has not been scored yet and Mistral Large 3 has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Nova 2 Lite, Relace Apply 3 and Mistral Large 3 yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Note that Relace Apply 3 does not support tool calling, which most coding agents need.
Which has the bigger context window?
Nova 2 Lite has the largest context window at 1,000,000 tokens, against 262,144 for Mistral Large 3 and 256,000 for Relace Apply 3. Maximum output per response: Nova 2 Lite up to 65,536, Relace Apply 3 up to 128,000, Mistral Large 3 up to 262,144 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Nova 2 Lite accepts text, images, PDFs and video; Relace Apply 3 accepts text; Mistral Large 3 accepts text and images. Nova 2 Lite handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
Mistral Large 3 publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; Nova 2 Lite and Relace Apply 3 is proprietary.
Which is newer?
Nova 2 Lite is the newest, released Dec 2, 2025. Mistral Large 3 came out Dec 2, 2025; Relace Apply 3 came out Sep 26, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Nova 2 Lite Oct 2025, Mistral Large 3 Nov 2024.
How do you decide the winner?
Each model gets a 0–100 score on capability (50%, independent benchmark results); price (25%, blended price per million tokens (3 input : 1 output), log scale); inputs & features (15%, image, PDF, audio and video input, tool calling, structured output and reasoning); context window (10%, maximum tokens per request, log scale). Dimensions missing for any model are dropped and the remaining weights rescaled, so every model is judged on the same evidence. Specs and prices come from public model listings and the labs’ own API pages; capability scores come from independent benchmark runs. Data updated Nov 2, 2026.
