Amazon Nova Lite vs DeepSeek V3 (SambaNova): API Cost Comparison
Compare the API pricing, context windows, features, and real-world cost projections for Amazon Nova Lite (AWS Bedrock) and DeepSeek V3 (SambaNova) (SambaNova). Use the interactive calculator below to compute your exact monthly cost based on your token usage and request volume.
Prices verified Mar 11, 2026
Interactive Cost Calculator
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Showing costs for 2 models. Cheapest: Amazon Nova Lite at $1.80/month.
| Alert | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BestAmazon Nova Lite | AWS Bedrock | $1.80 | $0.000180 | $0.60 | $1.20 | 89.7% | Alerts coming soon |
DeepSeek V3 (SambaNova) | SambaNova | $17.50 | $0.001750 | $10.00 | $7.50 | — | Alerts coming soon |
Monthly Cost Comparison
Price Comparison at a Glance
All prices are in USD per 1 million tokens ($/M tokens). Lower is cheaper.
| Pricing Type | Amazon Nova Lite | DeepSeek V3 (SambaNova) | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input (standard) | $0.06/M | $1.00/M | Amazon Nova Lite |
| Output | $0.24/M | $1.50/M | Amazon Nova Lite |
Prices last verified: 2026-03-11
Cost Breakdown by Usage Volume
Estimated monthly costs at different request volumes, assuming 1,000 input tokens and 500 output tokens per request. Adjust in the calculator above for your specific use case.
| Volume | Amazon Nova LiteMonthly | DeepSeek V3 (SambaNova)Monthly | Amazon Nova LitePer request | DeepSeek V3 (SambaNova)Per request |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1K requests/mo | $0.18 | $1.75 | $0.000180 | $0.001750 |
| 10K requests/mo | $1.80 | $17.50 | $0.000180 | $0.001750 |
| 100K requests/mo | $18.00 | $175.00 | $0.000180 | $0.001750 |
| 1M requests/mo | $180.00 | $1,750.00 | $0.000180 | $0.001750 |
Green values indicate the lower-cost option at each volume tier. Cost per request is calculated at 1,000 input + 500 output tokens using standard (non-batch, non-cached) pricing.
Price History
Input price per 1M tokensWhen to Choose Amazon Nova Lite
by AWS Bedrock
- Summarization
- Data extraction
- Translation
Input / 1M tokens
$0.06/M
Output / 1M tokens
$0.24/M
Context window
300,000
Tier
budget
When to Choose DeepSeek V3 (SambaNova)
by SambaNova
- Code generation
- General chatbot
- Data extraction
Input / 1M tokens
$1.00/M
Output / 1M tokens
$1.50/M
Context window
128,000
Tier
mid
Key Differences Beyond Price
Cost is only one factor in choosing an AI model. Context window size, rate limits, supported features, and latency all affect whether a model fits your use case.
| Capability | Amazon Nova Lite | DeepSeek V3 (SambaNova) |
|---|---|---|
| Context window | 300,000 tokens | 128,000 tokens |
| Max output tokens | 5,120 tokens | 8,192 tokens |
| Performance tier | Budget | Mid |
| Vision / image input | Yes | No |
| Function calling | Yes | Yes |
| JSON mode | Yes | Yes |
| Prompt caching | No | No |
| Batch API (50% discount) | Yes | No |
| Extended reasoning | No | No |
| Fine-tuning | Yes | No |
Amazon Nova Lite notes
Amazon Nova Lite supports image and video inputs. Very cost-effective for multimodal pipelines. Strong choice for large-scale document processing on AWS.
DeepSeek V3 (SambaNova) notes
DeepSeek V3 MoE model on SambaNova. Competitive coding and reasoning performance at mid-tier pricing with high-speed inference.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Amazon Nova Lite cheaper than DeepSeek V3 (SambaNova)?
At standard usage (1,000 input tokens, 500 output tokens, 100,000 requests/month), Amazon Nova Lite costs $18.00/month versus $175.00/month for DeepSeek V3 (SambaNova) — a 90% saving. Your actual savings will vary based on your token profile; output-heavy workloads amplify differences in output pricing.
Which model has a larger context window, Amazon Nova Lite or DeepSeek V3 (SambaNova)?
Amazon Nova Lite has a larger context window at 300,000 tokens, compared to 128,000 tokens for DeepSeek V3 (SambaNova). A larger context window is important for processing long documents, multi-turn conversations, or large codebases without truncation.
Do Amazon Nova Lite and DeepSeek V3 (SambaNova) support the Batch API?
Amazon Nova Lite supports the Batch API (50% discount for async processing), while DeepSeek V3 (SambaNova) does not. If your workload tolerates up to 24-hour latency, routing to Amazon Nova Lite with batch pricing could significantly cut costs versus DeepSeek V3 (SambaNova)'s standard rate.
Which model offers better prompt caching?
Neither Amazon Nova Lite nor DeepSeek V3 (SambaNova) currently supports prompt caching. For prompt-caching capable alternatives, consider Claude models from Anthropic or GPT-4o from OpenAI.
What are the best use cases for Amazon Nova Lite vs DeepSeek V3 (SambaNova)?
Both models are well-suited for Data extraction. Amazon Nova Lite is particularly strong for Summarization, Translation. DeepSeek V3 (SambaNova) is favored for Code generation, General chatbot. At the same quality level, the lower-cost model is usually preferable; use this page's calculator to compare total monthly spend at your volume.
What is the cost per request for Amazon Nova Lite vs DeepSeek V3 (SambaNova)?
At 1,000 input tokens and 500 output tokens per request — a typical conversational workload — Amazon Nova Lite costs $0.000180 per request and DeepSeek V3 (SambaNova) costs $0.001750 per request. At 100,000 requests/month, that translates to $18.00 and $175.00 respectively. Use the interactive calculator to adjust these parameters for your actual workload.
Amazon Nova Lite vs DeepSeek V3 (SambaNova): Summary
When comparing Amazon Nova Lite and DeepSeek V3 (SambaNova) for API cost, the right choice depends on your workload's token profile, required features, and tolerance for latency. Amazon Nova Lite offers lower total cost at standard usage volumes (1,000 input + 500 output tokens per request at 100,000 requests/month) at $18.00/month, compared to $175.00/month for DeepSeek V3 (SambaNova).
Both models are priced in USD per million tokens, the standard unit across all major AI API providers. Amazon Nova Lite charges $0.06/M for input tokens and $0.24/M for output tokens. DeepSeek V3 (SambaNova) charges $1.00/M input and $1.50/M output. If your workload is output-heavy (more tokens generated than consumed as input), the model with the lower output price compounds cost savings significantly at scale.
Context window capacity differs between the two: Amazon Nova Lite supports up to 300,000 tokens in a single request, versus 128,000 tokens for DeepSeek V3 (SambaNova). A larger context window is essential for document summarization, large codebase analysis, and multi-document retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) applications.
Use the interactive calculator at the top of this page to enter your actual token usage and monthly request volume for a precise cost comparison tailored to your workload. Adjust for batch API discounts and prompt caching to find the most cost-effective option for your specific deployment.
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Relevant Use Cases
See cost recommendations for workloads where Amazon Nova Lite or DeepSeek V3 (SambaNova) is recommended.