Nova Lite vs Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite
Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite comes out ahead, 85 to 77 on our weighted score, though Nova Lite is 40% cheaper per token.
Amazon
Nova Lite
77/100- ECI—
- Price$0.06 / $0.24
- Context300K
- Our pick
Google
Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite
85/100- ECI133.9
- Price$0.10 / $0.40
- Context1.05M
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Make it a three-way comparison.
Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite is our pick
Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite is the better all-round choice, scoring 85/100 against Nova Lite (77). It leads on inputs & features and context window. Nova Lite 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 priceNova LiteNova Lite $0.105 · Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite $0.175 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextGemini 2.5 Flash-LiteGemini 2.5 Flash-Lite 1,048,576 · Nova Lite 300,000 tokens
- Widest inputsGemini 2.5 Flash-LiteNova Lite: Text, Images, PDFs, Video · Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite: Text, Images, PDFs, Audio, Video
- Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
| Measure | Weight | Nova Lite | Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 96 | 86 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 70 | 100 |
| Context window | 20% | 39 | 61 |
| Overall | 100% | 77/100 | 85/100 |
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 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | 133.9 |
| ECI rank | — | #118 of 148 |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.06 (best) | $0.10 |
| Output | $0.24 (best) | $0.40 |
| Cached input | $0.015 | $0.01 (best) |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.105 (best) | $0.175 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official Amazon Bedrock API | Official Google API |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 300,000 tokens | 1,048,576 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 10,000 tokens | 65,536 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | Yes |
| PDFs | Yes | Yes |
| Audio | No | Yes |
| Video | Yes | Yes |
| Reasoning | No | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | Yes |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| API model ID | amazon.nova-lite-v1:0 | gemini-2.5-flash-lite |
| API providers | 3 | 20 (best) |
| Released | Dec 3, 2024 | Jun 17, 2025 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Oct 2024 | Jan 2025 |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
Nova Lite$1.08
Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite$1.80
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Nova Lite or Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite?
Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite is the better all-round choice, scoring 85/100 against Nova Lite (77). It leads on inputs & features and context window. Nova Lite 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 Lite or Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite?
Nova Lite is cheaper at $0.06 input / $0.24 output per million tokens (official Amazon Bedrock API price). Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite costs $0.10 input / $0.40 output per million tokens (official Google API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.105 per million tokens for Nova Lite versus $0.175 for Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite (1.7× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Nova Lite has not been scored yet and Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite has an ECI of 133.9.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Nova Lite and Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.
Which has the bigger context window?
Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite has the largest context window at 1,048,576 tokens, against 300,000 for Nova Lite. Maximum output per response: Nova Lite up to 10,000, Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite up to 65,536 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Nova Lite accepts text, images, PDFs and video; Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite accepts text, images, PDFs, audio and video. Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
No. Nova Lite and Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.
Which is newer?
Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite is the newest, released Jun 17, 2025. Nova Lite came out Dec 3, 2024. Knowledge cutoff: Nova Lite Oct 2024, Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Jan 2025.
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 Oct 4, 2026.