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Head-to-head comparison

Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B vs Inkling Small

Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B (NVIDIA) and Inkling Small (Thinking Machines) 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 18 August 2026

As of 18 August 2026, Inkling Small holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#31 vs #177); Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B is 6× cheaper per output token ($0.20/1M vs $1.20/1M); Inkling Small offers the longer context window (524K vs 262K tokens); and Inkling Small ships open weights.

Which should you choose?

Choose Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B if…

  • API cost matters — $0.20/1M output tokens against $1.20/1M, about 6× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.05/1M against $0.45/1M.
  • you want provider choice — 3 listed API providers against 2.

Choose Inkling Small if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #31 against #177 (58.9 vs 18.8 points).
  • you need the longer context window — 524K tokens against 262K.
  • you want to self-host: Inkling Small ships open weights while Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B is restricted license.
  • Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index is your yardstick — 41.2 against 7.2.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Inkling Small was listed 30 July 2026, Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B 14 December 2025.

Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B vs Inkling Small: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B and Inkling Small
FieldNemotron 3 Nano 30B A3BNVIDIAInkling SmallThinking Machines
ModelCap Index position#177#31
Index score18.858.9
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.05$0.45
Output price / 1M tokens$0.20$1.20
Context window262K tokens524K tokens
Max output tokens262K262K
API providers listed32
Weight accessRestricted licenseOpen weights
Input modalitiesTextText, Image, Audio
First listed14 December 202530 July 2026
PublisherNVIDIAThinking Machines

Evidence: 3 public benchmark observations across 3 boards · 2 public benchmark observations across 2 boards. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B vs Inkling Small

Public benchmark boards where Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B or Inkling Small has a published result
BoardNemotron 3 Nano 30B A3BInkling SmallLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)13621352–1373BF16—Only one result
ARC-AGI-2ARC Prize Foundation—40.1%X-HighOnly one result
Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis7.2intelligence-index41.2intelligence-indexInkling Small

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.

Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B vs Inkling Small: common questions

Is Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B better than Inkling Small?

Inkling Small ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 18 August 2026: #31 against #177. 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 Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B cheaper than Inkling Small?

Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B is cheaper on output tokens: $0.20/1M against $1.20/1M. Input tokens are $0.05/1M for Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B and $0.45/1M for Inkling Small. Prices are the lowest listed API offer ModelCap observed, in USD per million tokens.

Which has the bigger context window, Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B or Inkling Small?

Inkling Small has the larger context window: 524K tokens against 262K.

Which is better for coding, Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B or Inkling Small?

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 Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B and Inkling Small open-weight models?

Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B: Restricted license. Inkling Small: 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 Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B and Inkling Small?

ModelCap currently lists 3 API providers for Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B and 2 for Inkling Small, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B vs Inkling Small comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 18 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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