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Head-to-head comparison

Nova 2 Lite vs Qwen3 Coder Next

Nova 2 Lite (Amazon) and Qwen3 Coder Next (Qwen) compared on the ModelCap Index, API price, context window, provider availability, weight access and every public benchmark board they share. Figures are the same ones shown on the live rankings; nothing here is a hidden score.

Snapshot as of 17 August 2026

As of 17 August 2026, Qwen3 Coder Next holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#85 vs #87); Qwen3 Coder Next is 3.1× cheaper per output token ($0.80/1M vs $2.50/1M); Nova 2 Lite offers the longer context window (1M vs 262K tokens); and Qwen3 Coder Next ships open weights.

Which should you choose?

Choose Nova 2 Lite if…

  • you need the longer context window — 1M tokens against 262K.

Choose Qwen3 Coder Next if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #85 against #87 (27.6 vs 27.5 points).
  • API cost matters — $0.80/1M output tokens against $2.50/1M, about 3.1× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.12/1M against $0.30/1M.
  • you want to self-host: Qwen3 Coder Next ships open weights while Nova 2 Lite is api only.
  • you want provider choice — 4 listed API providers against 1.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Qwen3 Coder Next was listed 4 February 2026, Nova 2 Lite 2 December 2025.

Nova 2 Lite vs Qwen3 Coder Next: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Nova 2 Lite and Qwen3 Coder Next
FieldNova 2 LiteAmazonQwen3 Coder NextQwen
ModelCap Index position#87#85
Index score27.527.6
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.30$0.12
Output price / 1M tokens$2.50$0.80
Context window1M tokens262K tokens
Max output tokens66K262K
API providers listed14
Weight accessAPI onlyOpen weights
Input modalitiesText, Image, Video, FileText
First listed2 December 20254 February 2026
PublisherAmazonQwen

Evidence: 2 public benchmark observations across 2 boards · 1 public benchmark observation across 1 board. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: Nova 2 Lite vs Qwen3 Coder Next

Public benchmark boards where Nova 2 Lite or Qwen3 Coder Next has a published result
BoardNova 2 LiteQwen3 Coder NextLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)13951383–1406—Only one result
Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis—21.3intelligence-indexOnly one result

Scores are the sources' own published figures for each model's best evaluated configuration; ModelCap never re-runs a benchmark.

Want a different pairing? Open the interactive comparison tool to swap either model for any current ranked language model.

Nova 2 Lite vs Qwen3 Coder Next: common questions

Is Nova 2 Lite better than Qwen3 Coder Next?

Qwen3 Coder Next ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 17 August 2026: #85 against #87. That is a capability ranking built from public benchmark evidence with published uncertainty; whether it is "better" for you also depends on price, context and where you can run it.

Is Nova 2 Lite cheaper than Qwen3 Coder Next?

Qwen3 Coder Next is cheaper on output tokens: $0.80/1M against $2.50/1M. Input tokens are $0.30/1M for Nova 2 Lite and $0.12/1M for Qwen3 Coder Next. Prices are the lowest listed API offer ModelCap observed, in USD per million tokens.

Which has the bigger context window, Nova 2 Lite or Qwen3 Coder Next?

Nova 2 Lite has the larger context window: 1M tokens against 262K.

Which is better for coding, Nova 2 Lite or Qwen3 Coder Next?

The two models do not share a coding benchmark board on ModelCap yet, so no head-to-head coding score is published; the ModelCap Index position is the closest overall signal.

Are Nova 2 Lite and Qwen3 Coder Next open-weight models?

Nova 2 Lite: API only. Qwen3 Coder Next: Open weights. Open weights mean the checkpoint can be downloaded and self-hosted under its licence; API-only models are available solely through hosted endpoints.

Where can I run Nova 2 Lite and Qwen3 Coder Next?

ModelCap currently lists 1 API provider for Nova 2 Lite and 4 for Qwen3 Coder Next, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this Nova 2 Lite vs Qwen3 Coder Next comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 17 August 2026; the page re-renders within a minute of each data refresh, and the ModelCap Index positions are the same ones shown on the live rankings.

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