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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Nova Micro vs Seed 1.6 Flash

Seed 1.6 Flash comes out ahead, 78 to 62 on our weighted score, though Nova Micro is 15% cheaper per token.

  1. Amazon

    Nova Micro

    Released Dec 3, 2024

    62/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.035 / $0.14
    • Context128K
  2. Our pick

    ByteDance Seed

    Seed 1.6 Flash

    Released Aug 28, 2025

    78/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.022 / $0.223
    • Context256K
  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Seed 1.6 Flash is our pick

Seed 1.6 Flash is the better all-round choice, scoring 78/100 against Nova Micro (62). It leads on inputs & features and context window. 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 · Seed 1.6 Flash $0.072 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextSeed 1.6 FlashSeed 1.6 Flash 256,000 · Nova Micro 128,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsSeed 1.6 FlashNova Micro: Text · Seed 1.6 Flash: Text, Images
  • Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
How the score is built
MeasureWeightNova MicroSeed 1.6 Flash
Price50%100100
Inputs & features30%2570
Context window20%2436
Overall100%62/10078/100

Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.

02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.

Nova Micro vs Seed 1.6 Flash specifications side by side
SpecificationNova MicroAmazonSeed 1.6 FlashByteDance Seed
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
Input$0.035$0.022 (best)
Output$0.14 (best)$0.223
Cached input$0.0088$0.0044 (best)
Blended (3:1)$0.061 (best)$0.072
Long-context rateSame rateOver 32K: $0.045 / $0.445
Price sourceOfficial Amazon Bedrock APIOfficial Volcengine Ark API
Limits
Context window128,000 tokens256,000 tokens (best)
Max output10,000 tokens32,000 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoYes
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningNoYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoYes
Availability
WeightsProprietaryProprietary
API model IDamazon.nova-micro-v1:0doubao-seed-1-6-flash-250828
API providers3 (best)2
ReleasedDec 3, 2024Aug 28, 2025
Knowledge cutoffOct 2024—
03 — Cost

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
  • Seed 1.6 Flash$0.668
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Nova Micro or Seed 1.6 Flash?

Seed 1.6 Flash is the better all-round choice, scoring 78/100 against Nova Micro (62). It leads on inputs & features and context window. 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 Seed 1.6 Flash?

Nova Micro is cheaper at $0.035 input / $0.14 output per million tokens (official Amazon Bedrock API price). Seed 1.6 Flash costs $0.022 input / $0.223 output per million tokens (official Volcengine Ark 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 $0.072 for Seed 1.6 Flash (1.2× 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 Seed 1.6 Flash has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Nova Micro and Seed 1.6 Flash 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?

Seed 1.6 Flash has the largest context window at 256,000 tokens, against 128,000 for Nova Micro. Maximum output per response: Nova Micro up to 10,000, Seed 1.6 Flash up to 32,000 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Nova Micro accepts text; Seed 1.6 Flash accepts text and images. Seed 1.6 Flash handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

No. Nova Micro and Seed 1.6 Flash are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.

Which is newer?

Seed 1.6 Flash is the newest, released Aug 28, 2025. Nova Micro came out Dec 3, 2024. Knowledge cutoff: Nova Micro Oct 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.