Nova 2 Lite vs MiniMax M3

Compare Nova 2 Lite from Amazon and MiniMax M3 from MiniMax on key metrics including benchmarks, price, context length, and other model features. Access both models and hundreds of others through the OpenRouter API.

Nova 2 Lite vs MiniMax M3: side-by-side summary

Nova 2 Lite and MiniMax M3 are available through the OpenRouter API, so switching between them takes a model slug change rather than a new integration.

Nova 2 Lite, from Amazon, has a 1,000,000-token context window and is priced at $0.30/M tokens input, $2.50/M tokens output on OpenRouter.

MiniMax M3, from MiniMax, has a 1,048,576-token context window and is priced at $0.23/M tokens input, $0.96/M tokens output on OpenRouter.

Context window

Nova 2 Lite: 1,000,000 tokens
MiniMax M3: 1,048,576 tokens

Price

Nova 2 Lite: $0.30/M tokens input, $2.50/M tokens output
MiniMax M3: $0.23/M tokens input, $0.96/M tokens output

Provided by

Nova 2 Lite: Amazon
MiniMax M3: MiniMax

Nova 2 Lite vs MiniMax M3 at a glance

Nova 2 Lite vs MiniMax M3 comparison
Attribute	Nova 2 Lite	MiniMax M3
Input price	$0.30/M tokens	$0.23/M tokens
Output price	$2.50/M tokens	$0.96/M tokens
Context window	1,000,000 tokens	1,048,576 tokens
Intelligence Index	12.5	29.2
Coding Index	Not available	58.6
Agentic Index	Not available	29.5
Latency (p50)	0.64 s	0.79 s
Throughput (p50)	123.5 tok/s	88.0 tok/s

Benchmark data updated Oct 5, 2026

Frequently asked questions

Is Nova 2 Lite cheaper than MiniMax M3?

MiniMax M3 is cheaper than Nova 2 Lite on OpenRouter: MiniMax M3 costs $0.23/M tokens input and $0.96/M tokens output, while Nova 2 Lite costs $0.30/M tokens input and $2.50/M tokens output.

Which has the longer context window, Nova 2 Lite or MiniMax M3?

MiniMax M3 has the longer context window at 1,048,576 tokens, compared with 1,000,000 tokens for Nova 2 Lite.

Which is faster, Nova 2 Lite or MiniMax M3?

Nova 2 Lite is faster on OpenRouter, generating a median 123.5 tokens per second compared with 88.0 tokens per second for MiniMax M3.

Nova 2 Lite vs MiniMax M3

Nova 2 Lite vs MiniMax M3

Overview