Nova Micro vs Pixtral 12B
Too close to call on our weighted score (Pixtral 12B 64, Nova Micro 62). The right pick depends on what you value most.
AmazonNova Micro
62/100- ECI—
- Price$0.035 / $0.14
- Context128K
Mistral AIPixtral 12B
64/100- ECI—
- Price$0.15 / $0.15
- Context128K
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Make it a three-way comparison.
Too close to call
It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 2 points (Pixtral 12B 64/100, Nova Micro 62/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: Nova Micro 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 MicroNova Micro $0.061 · Pixtral 12B $0.15 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextAbout the sameNova Micro 128,000 · Pixtral 12B 128,000 tokens
- Widest inputsPixtral 12BNova Micro: Text · Pixtral 12B: Text, Images
- Self-hostingPixtral 12BPublishes downloadable weights
| Measure | Weight | Nova Micro | Pixtral 12B |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 100 | 89 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 25 | 50 |
| Context window | 20% | 24 | 24 |
| Overall | 100% | 62/100 | 64/100 |
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 MicroAmazon | Pixtral 12BMistral AI |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.035 (best) | $0.15 |
| Output | $0.14 (best) | $0.15 |
| Cached input | $0.0088 | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.061 (best) | $0.15 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official Amazon Bedrock API | Official Mistral API |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 128,000 tokens | 128,000 tokens |
| Max output | 10,000 tokens | 128,000 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | Yes |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | Open |
| API model ID | amazon.nova-micro-v1:0 | pixtral-12b |
| API providers | 3 | 4 (best) |
| Released | Dec 3, 2024 | Sep 1, 2024 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Oct 2024 | Sep 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 Micro$0.63
- Pixtral 12B$1.80
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Nova Micro or Pixtral 12B?
It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 2 points (Pixtral 12B 64/100, Nova Micro 62/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: Nova Micro 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 Micro or Pixtral 12B?
Nova Micro is cheaper at $0.035 input / $0.14 output per million tokens (official Amazon Bedrock API price). Pixtral 12B costs $0.15 input / $0.15 output per million tokens (official Mistral API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.061 per million tokens for Nova Micro versus $0.15 for Pixtral 12B (2.4× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Nova Micro has not been scored yet and Pixtral 12B has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Nova Micro and Pixtral 12B 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?
Nova Micro and Pixtral 12B share the same 128,000-token context window. Maximum output per response: Nova Micro up to 10,000, Pixtral 12B up to 128,000 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Nova Micro accepts text; Pixtral 12B accepts text and images. Pixtral 12B handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
Pixtral 12B publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; Nova Micro is proprietary.
Which is newer?
Nova Micro is the newest, released Dec 3, 2024. Pixtral 12B came out Sep 1, 2024. Knowledge cutoff: Nova Micro Oct 2024, Pixtral 12B Sep 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 Oct 4, 2026.
