Qwen Flash vs Nova 2 Lite
Qwen Flash comes out ahead, 68 to 62 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
- Our pick
Alibaba (Qwen)Qwen Flash
68/100- ECI—
- Price$0.05 / $0.40
- Context1M
AmazonNova 2 Lite
62/100- ECI—
- Price$0.33 / $2.75
- Context1M
Add a model
Make it a three-way comparison.
Qwen Flash is our pick
Qwen Flash is the better all-round choice, scoring 68/100 against Nova 2 Lite (62). It leads on price. Nova 2 Lite wins on inputs & features. 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 priceQwen FlashQwen Flash $0.138 · Nova 2 Lite $0.935 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextAbout the sameQwen Flash 1,000,000 · Nova 2 Lite 1,000,000 tokens
- Widest inputsNova 2 LiteQwen Flash: Text · Nova 2 Lite: Text, Images, PDFs, Video
- Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
| Measure | Weight | Qwen Flash | Nova 2 Lite |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 91 | 51 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 35 | 80 |
| Context window | 20% | 60 | 60 |
| Overall | 100% | 68/100 | 62/100 |
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 | Qwen FlashAlibaba (Qwen) | Nova 2 LiteAmazon |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.05 (best) | $0.33 |
| Output | $0.40 (best) | $2.75 |
| Cached input | — | $0.083 |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.138 (best) | $0.935 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official Alibaba API | Official Amazon Bedrock API |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 1,000,000 tokens | 1,000,000 tokens |
| Max output | 32,768 tokens | 65,536 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | Yes |
| PDFs | No | Yes |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yeslow · medium · high |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| API model ID | qwen-flash | amazon.nova-2-lite-v1:0 |
| API providers | 6 (best) | 2 |
| Released | Jul 28, 2025 | Dec 2, 2025 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Apr 2024 | Oct 2025 |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Qwen Flash$1.30
- Nova 2 Lite$8.80
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Qwen Flash or Nova 2 Lite?
Qwen Flash is the better all-round choice, scoring 68/100 against Nova 2 Lite (62). It leads on price. Nova 2 Lite wins on inputs & features. 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, Qwen Flash or Nova 2 Lite?
Qwen Flash is cheaper at $0.05 input / $0.40 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). Nova 2 Lite costs $0.33 input / $2.75 output per million tokens (official Amazon Bedrock API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.138 per million tokens for Qwen Flash versus $0.935 for Nova 2 Lite (6.8× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Qwen Flash has not been scored yet and Nova 2 Lite has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Qwen Flash and Nova 2 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?
Qwen Flash and Nova 2 Lite share the same 1,000,000-token context window. Maximum output per response: Qwen Flash up to 32,768, Nova 2 Lite up to 65,536 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Qwen Flash accepts text; Nova 2 Lite accepts text, images, PDFs and video. Nova 2 Lite handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
No. Qwen Flash and Nova 2 Lite are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.
Which is newer?
Nova 2 Lite is the newest, released Dec 2, 2025. Qwen Flash came out Jul 28, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Qwen Flash Apr 2024, Nova 2 Lite Oct 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.
