Nova Lite vs Nova Pro
Wins 0 of 7 areas
—
Wins 5 of 7 areas
Coding · Facts · Images and charts · Long documents · Following instructions
Nova Pro is the stronger all-rounder.Nova Lite is cheaper.
Scores updated · 38 tests both models report · How we compare
Where each one wins
Tests won in each of the seven areas where both have results. Each piece is one test, so a longer bar means more evidence; grey means the two scored within a point of each other.
- CodingWriting and fixing software02Nova Pro2 of 2 tests
- Images and chartsUnderstanding pictures, charts and video02Nova Pro2 of 2 tests
- FactsGetting facts right instead of making them up12Nova Pro2 of 3 tests
- Long documentsFinding answers in very long texts01Nova Pro1 of 1 test
- Following instructionsDoing exactly what it is asked01Nova Pro1 of 1 test
- AgentsCarrying out multi-step tasks on its own00Even0 each · 1 tie
- ReasoningHard problems that need careful thinking11Even1 each · 1 tie
Agents, long documents and following instructions rest on a single test each.
What it costs
Prices per million tokens, roughly 750,000 words. The bars show the cost of a million tokens read plus a million written.
Nova Lite costs 93% less for the same work.
The biggest differences
The tests each model wins by the widest margin, up to three each. Scores are out of 100.
Where Nova Pro pulls ahead
- Answers hard knowledge questions correctlyAA-Omniscience · Accuracy+7.1points ahead
- Code for real scientific research problemsSciCode+6.9points ahead
- Graduate-level biology, physics and chemistry questionsGPQA Diamond+6.6points ahead
Where Nova Lite pulls ahead
- Avoids making up answers it doesn't knowAA-Omniscience · Non-hallucination+20.1points ahead
- Very hard expert questions across many subjectsHumanity's Last Exam+1.1points ahead
Every test, side by side
All 38 tests both models report. The winning score is in its model's colour; marks a score checked independently.
CodingNova Pro
- SciCodeNova Pro by 6.913.920.8+6.9
- Terminal-Bench HardNova Pro by 5.30.86.1+5.3
ReasoningEven
- GPQA DiamondNova Pro by 6.643.349.9+6.6
- Humanity's Last ExamNova Lite by 1.14.33.2+1.1
- CritPttie00tie
FactsNova Pro
- AA-Omniscience · Non-hallucinationNova Lite by 20.142.422.3+20.1
- AA-Omniscience · AccuracyNova Pro by 7.19.816.9+7.1
- Vectara HHEM hallucination ratelower is betterNova Pro by 16.15.1+1
Images and chartsNova Pro
Other results25 tests, not counted
Tests outside the eight areas. They are not counted above: several are summary scores built from other tests, or the same test under another name.
- vectara_avg_summary_lengthNova Lite by 25.691.866.2+25.6
- MMLUNova Pro by 6.569.375.8+6.5
- Artificial Analysis Coding IndexNova Pro by 5.95.111+5.9
- AA-OmniscienceNova Lite by 5.5-42.2-47.7+5.5
- naturalquestions_closedbookNova Pro by 5.335.240.5+5.3
- DROPNova Pro by 5.280.285.4+5.2
- BBHNova Pro by 4.582.486.9+4.5
- MATHNova Pro by 4.277.982.1+4.2
- HumanEvalNova Pro by 3.685.489+3.6
- τ²-Bench Telecom (AA run)Nova Lite by 3.517.514+3.5
- OpenBookQANova Pro by 3.292.896+3.2
- ARC-ChallengeNova Pro by 2.492.494.8+2.4
- ChartQANova Pro by 2.486.889.2+2.4
- IFEvalNova Pro by 2.489.792.1+2.4
- NarrativeQANova Pro by 2.376.879.1+2.3
- BFCLv4Nova Pro by 1.866.668.4+1.8
- TextVQANova Pro by 1.380.281.5+1.3
- LVBenchNova Pro by 1.240.441.6+1.2
- AA Agentic IndexNova Lite by 1.15.84.7+1.1
- DocVQANova Pro by 1.192.493.5+1.1
- vectara_factual_consistencyNova Pro by 193.994.9+1
- EgoSchematie71.472.1tie
- vectara_answer_ratetie99.999.3tie
- AA Intelligencetie6.77tie
- GSM8Ktie94.594.8tie
Questions people ask
Which is better, Nova Lite or Nova Pro?
Nova Pro wins five of the seven areas where both have results: coding, facts, images and charts, long documents and following instructions. Nova Lite wins none, but costs 93% less. They are level on agents and reasoning.
Which is better for coding?
Nova Pro. It wins 2 of the 2 coding tests both models report; Nova Lite wins none.
Which is cheaper?
Nova Lite costs $0.06 per million input tokens and $0.24 per million output tokens; Nova Pro costs $0.80 and $3.20. That makes Nova Lite about 93% cheaper for the same work.
How do you compare the two?
We use the 38 benchmark tests both models have published scores on. The verdict counts the 13 tests in the eight capability areas, and a gap under one point (ten on rating-style scales) counts as a tie. The other 25 are listed but not counted, because several are summary scores or repeat a test. Each score is the one shown on the model's own page.