Nemotron Nano 12B VL vs Nemotron Nano 9B: API Cost Comparison
Compare the API pricing, context windows, features, and real-world cost projections for Nemotron Nano 12B VL (Nvidia NIM) and Nemotron Nano 9B (Nvidia NIM). 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
Fills in typical token counts for a workload type
Tokens in each prompt sent to the model
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Total API calls per month
Showing costs for 2 models. Cheapest: Nemotron Nano 9B at $1.20/month.
| Alert | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BestNemotron Nano 9B | Nvidia NIM | $1.20 | $0.000120 | $0.40 | $0.80 | 76.0% | Alerts coming soon |
Nemotron Nano 12B VL | Nvidia NIM | $5.00 | $0.000500 | $2.00 | $3.00 | — | Alerts coming soon |
Monthly Cost Comparison
Price Comparison at a Glance
All prices are in USD per 1 million tokens ($/M tokens). Lower is cheaper.
| Pricing Type | Nemotron Nano 12B VL | Nemotron Nano 9B | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input (standard) | $0.20/M | $0.04/M | Nemotron Nano 9B |
| Output | $0.60/M | $0.16/M | Nemotron Nano 9B |
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 | Nemotron Nano 12B VLMonthly | Nemotron Nano 9BMonthly | Nemotron Nano 12B VLPer request | Nemotron Nano 9BPer request |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1K requests/mo | $0.50 | $0.12 | $0.000500 | $0.000120 |
| 10K requests/mo | $5.00 | $1.20 | $0.000500 | $0.000120 |
| 100K requests/mo | $50.00 | $12.00 | $0.000500 | $0.000120 |
| 1M requests/mo | $500.00 | $120.00 | $0.000500 | $0.000120 |
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 Nemotron Nano 12B VL
by Nvidia NIM
- Content Creation
- Data extraction
- General chatbot
Input / 1M tokens
$0.20/M
Output / 1M tokens
$0.60/M
Context window
128,000
Tier
budget
When to Choose Nemotron Nano 9B
by Nvidia NIM
- Customer support
- Text classification
- Summarization
Input / 1M tokens
$0.04/M
Output / 1M tokens
$0.16/M
Context window
128,000
Tier
budget
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 | Nemotron Nano 12B VL | Nemotron Nano 9B |
|---|---|---|
| Context window | 128,000 tokens | 128,000 tokens |
| Max output tokens | 8,192 tokens | 8,192 tokens |
| Performance tier | Budget | Budget |
| Vision / image input | Yes | No |
| Function calling | Yes | Yes |
| JSON mode | Yes | Yes |
| Prompt caching | No | No |
| Batch API (50% discount) | No | No |
| Extended reasoning | No | No |
| Fine-tuning | No | No |
Nemotron Nano 12B VL notes
Nemotron Nano 12B VL on NVIDIA NIM. Budget-tier multimodal model supporting vision inputs, optimized for efficient image-and-text inference on NVIDIA hardware.
Nemotron Nano 9B notes
Nemotron Nano 9B on NVIDIA NIM. Ultra-low-cost compact model for high-volume tasks requiring fast, efficient inference at minimal per-token cost.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Nemotron Nano 12B VL cheaper than Nemotron Nano 9B?
At standard usage (1,000 input tokens, 500 output tokens, 100,000 requests/month), Nemotron Nano 9B costs $12.00/month versus $50.00/month for Nemotron Nano 12B VL — a 76% 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, Nemotron Nano 12B VL or Nemotron Nano 9B?
Both Nemotron Nano 12B VL and Nemotron Nano 9B have the same context window: 128,000 tokens.
Do Nemotron Nano 12B VL and Nemotron Nano 9B support the Batch API?
Neither Nemotron Nano 12B VL nor Nemotron Nano 9B currently supports a batch API with discounted pricing. For batch-eligible alternatives, consider models from OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google that include batch API support.
Which model offers better prompt caching?
Neither Nemotron Nano 12B VL nor Nemotron Nano 9B 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 Nemotron Nano 12B VL vs Nemotron Nano 9B?
Nemotron Nano 12B VL is best suited for Content Creation, Data extraction, General chatbot, while Nemotron Nano 9B is optimized for Customer support, Text classification, Summarization. Choose based on which use case matches your primary workload — and validate with the cost calculator above to confirm the total monthly spend fits your budget.
What is the cost per request for Nemotron Nano 12B VL vs Nemotron Nano 9B?
At 1,000 input tokens and 500 output tokens per request — a typical conversational workload — Nemotron Nano 12B VL costs $0.000500 per request and Nemotron Nano 9B costs $0.000120 per request. At 100,000 requests/month, that translates to $50.00 and $12.00 respectively. Use the interactive calculator to adjust these parameters for your actual workload.
Nemotron Nano 12B VL vs Nemotron Nano 9B: Summary
When comparing Nemotron Nano 12B VL and Nemotron Nano 9B for API cost, the right choice depends on your workload's token profile, required features, and tolerance for latency. Nemotron Nano 9B offers lower total cost at standard usage volumes (1,000 input + 500 output tokens per request at 100,000 requests/month) at $12.00/month, compared to $50.00/month for Nemotron Nano 12B VL.
Both models are priced in USD per million tokens, the standard unit across all major AI API providers. Nemotron Nano 12B VL charges $0.20/M for input tokens and $0.60/M for output tokens. Nemotron Nano 9B charges $0.04/M input and $0.16/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: Both models support 128,000 tokens per request. 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
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