NVIDIA: Nemotron 3.5 Lightning
Analysis Summary
NVIDIA's Nemotron 3.5 Lightning is a text model with tool use and function calling, a 262K context window, and low pricing of $0.10 per million input tokens and $0.25 per million output tokens. The measured reasoning and coding results indicate limited capability, while the agentic result is also weak for autonomous workflows.
That profile fits classification, extraction, routing, simple structured generation, and internal automations where cost matters more than deep reasoning. It is not a strong choice for complex coding, long-chain agents, or high-stakes client-facing content. The absence of vision and the limited capability measurements further narrow its practical role.
Use it as an economical utility model for well-bounded tasks with validation. Route complex requests to a stronger model, even when the additional token cost is justified by reliability.
Assessed August 12, 2026
Editorial notes
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning combines tool use and function calling with low pricing and a 262K context window. Its measured capability is limited, particularly for coding and agents, so it fits lightweight automation rather than demanding client work.
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DFO Verdict
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning combines tool use and function calling with low pricing and a 262K context window. Its measured capability is limited, particularly for coding and agents, so it fits lightweight automation rather than demanding client work.
How NVIDIA: Nemotron 3.5 Lightning compares
NVIDIA: Nemotron 3.5 Lightning ranks #154 of 425 AI models we track for overall intelligence, #115 of 198 for coding, #106 of 180 for agentic tasks. Its 1M-token context window is larger than 86% of the models we list. At $0.08 per million input tokens it is cheaper than 71% of comparable models.
Dark bar = input · light bar = output, scaled to the priciest peer.
1M tokens ≈ 8 full-length novels or ~2,500 pages of business documents in a single request.
Strongest on value. The pulled-in technical corner is the trade-off, and if the shape matters more than the price, this is your model.
Compare shapes side-by-side →Pricing
| Token Type | Cost per 1M tokens | Cost per 1K tokens |
|---|---|---|
| Input | $0.08 | $0.000080 |
| Output | $0.20 | $0.000200 |
What would NVIDIA: Nemotron 3.5 Lightning cost your business?
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A website chatbot handling around 100 customer conversations a day, a few short messages each.
Full calculator with 704 models → Price Calculator
These numbers get smaller with the right architecture.
We route routine calls to cheap models and save NVIDIA: Nemotron 3.5 Lightning for the hard ones. Most clients cut their estimate by 60-80%.
Talk to our teamAbout NVIDIA: Nemotron 3.5 Lightning
NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Lightning is an open mixture-of-experts model from NVIDIA, with 3B active parameters out of 30B total. It is suited for high-throughput agentic workloads and specialized tasks that..
Frequently asked questions about NVIDIA: Nemotron 3.5 Lightning
How much does NVIDIA: Nemotron 3.5 Lightning cost?
NVIDIA: Nemotron 3.5 Lightning costs $0.08 per million input tokens and $0.20 per million output tokens.
What is the context window of NVIDIA: Nemotron 3.5 Lightning?
NVIDIA: Nemotron 3.5 Lightning has a context window of 1,000,000 tokens (1M).
Is NVIDIA: Nemotron 3.5 Lightning good for coding?
On our coding benchmark index, NVIDIA: Nemotron 3.5 Lightning ranks #115 of 198 models, placing it in the broader range of the field for code generation and debugging.
What can NVIDIA: Nemotron 3.5 Lightning do?
NVIDIA: Nemotron 3.5 Lightning supports tool use and function calling.
Who created NVIDIA: Nemotron 3.5 Lightning?
NVIDIA: Nemotron 3.5 Lightning is developed by NVIDIA and was released on August 11, 2026.