Google Gemini API vs Novita AI
SEPT 2026 auditA comparison of Google Gemini API and Novita AI built from values read directly from each provider's own documentation, with the source recorded against every figure.
The short answer
Choose Google Gemini API if…
Getting to a working prototype without a card, then staying on the cheapest frontier-adjacent rates in this set — $0.75 per million input tokens is well under half what Anthropic and OpenAI charge for their top models.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Choose Novita AI if…
Breadth — 200+ models under one API with a cache-read rate published next to most of them, and an H100 SXM at $3.39 an hour if the same vendor should run the dedicated side too.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Consider something else if…
- Google Gemini API: The rates are dated: they roughly double on 1 January 2027, free-tier content is used to improve Google's products, and rate limits are not published anywhere you can read before signing up.
- Novita AI: It is rarely the cheapest for any given model: DeepInfra serves DeepSeek-V4-Flash-0731 at $0.06 against Novita's $0.44, and its H100 is $2.20 against Novita's $3.39 on demand.
5 sourced criteria separate them — see where, with sources, below.
Pick the criteria you care about. The chart counts how many of them lean toward each provider — the same read as scanning the bars below, just totalled for the ones you chose.
Google Gemini API 0
Novita AI 0
At a glance.
| Criterion | Google Gemini API | Novita AI |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
| Pricing model | Per million tokens, with dated price changes published in advance — the current Gemini 3.x rates are explicitly promotional through 31 December 2026 and roughly double on 1 January 2027. A free tier exists, and its content is used to improve Google's products where the paid tier's is not. | Per-token serverless inference with a cache-read rate published beside most models, and GPU instances offered at both on-demand and spot rates — the spot column is roughly half. Two models, Ling 3.0 Flash Fin and Sante, are listed at no charge on both input and output. |
| Inference | ||
| Input price, top model | $0.75 per million input tokens for Gemini 3.8 Flash through 31 December 2026, then $1.50. Gemini 3.1 Pro, still preview, is $2.00 for prompts up to 200k tokens and $4.00 above. | $2.00 per million input tokens for Qwen3.8 Max, the most expensive model in its catalogue, with cache reads at $0.25 and output at $6.00. |
| Output price, top model | $3.75 per million output tokens for Gemini 3.8 Flash through 31 December 2026, then $7.50. Thinking tokens are billed as output. | $6.00 per million output tokens for Qwen3.8 Max. |
| Input price, cheapest model | $0.30 per million input tokens for Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite, with output at $2.50. | $0.075 per million input tokens for GLM 5.3 Flash at short context, rising to $0.15 above the threshold, with cache reads at $0.015 and output at $0.25. Fireworks serves the same model at $0.15. |
| Context window | 1,048,576 tokens for Gemini 3.8 Flash. Read from the Vertex AI model card: the Gemini API docs build their model cards client-side and publish no figure a fetch can read. | 1M tokens on the DeepSeek V4 line and GLM 5.3, published as "1M" rather than an exact figure — so it is recorded at 1,000,000 and may in practice be the 1,048,576 other providers state. Qwen3.8 is listed at 977K. |
| Prompt caching | Supported | Supported |
Where they differ.
Pricing model
- Google Gemini API
- Per million tokens, with dated price changes published in advance — the current Gemini 3.x rates are explicitly promotional through 31 December 2026 and roughly double on 1 January 2027. A free tier exists, and its content is used to improve Google's products where the paid tier's is not.
- Novita AI
- Per-token serverless inference with a cache-read rate published beside most models, and GPU instances offered at both on-demand and spot rates — the spot column is roughly half. Two models, Ling 3.0 Flash Fin and Sante, are listed at no charge on both input and output.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Gemini Developer API Pricing ↗
“Paid Tier, per 1M tokens in USD [...] $0.75 through December 31, 2026. $1.50 starting January 1, 2027. [...] Used to improve our products | Yes | No”
Read 2026-09-06 · official pricing
- Pricing — Novita AI ↗
“Ling 3.0 Flash Fin 256K Free Free [...] Ling 3.0 Flash Sante 256K Free Free [...] On-Demand SPOT”
Read 2026-09-07 · official pricing
Input price, top model
- Google Gemini API
- $0.75 per million input tokens for Gemini 3.8 Flash through 31 December 2026, then $1.50. Gemini 3.1 Pro, still preview, is $2.00 for prompts up to 200k tokens and $4.00 above.
- Novita AI
- $2.00 per million input tokens for Qwen3.8 Max, the most expensive model in its catalogue, with cache reads at $0.25 and output at $6.00.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Gemini Developer API Pricing ↗
“Gemini 3.8 Flash [...] Input price | Free of charge | $0.75 through December 31, 2026. $1.50 starting January 1, 2027. [...] Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview [...] Input price | Not available | $2.00, prompts <= 200k tokens $4.00, prompts > 200k tokens”
Read 2026-09-06 · official pricing
- Pricing — Novita AI ↗
“Qwen3.8 Max 977K $2 /Mt · Cache Read $0.25 /Mt $6 /Mt”
Read 2026-09-07 · official pricing
Output price, top model
- Google Gemini API
- $3.75 per million output tokens for Gemini 3.8 Flash through 31 December 2026, then $7.50. Thinking tokens are billed as output.
- Novita AI
- $6.00 per million output tokens for Qwen3.8 Max.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Gemini Developer API Pricing ↗
“Output price (including thinking tokens) | Free of charge | $3.75 through December 31, 2026. $7.50 starting January 1, 2027.”
Read 2026-09-06 · official pricing
- Pricing — Novita AI ↗
“Qwen3.8 Max 977K $2 /Mt · Cache Read $0.25 /Mt $6 /Mt”
Read 2026-09-07 · official pricing
Input price, cheapest model
- Google Gemini API
- $0.30 per million input tokens for Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite, with output at $2.50.
- Novita AI
- $0.075 per million input tokens for GLM 5.3 Flash at short context, rising to $0.15 above the threshold, with cache reads at $0.015 and output at $0.25. Fireworks serves the same model at $0.15.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Gemini Developer API Pricing ↗
“Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite [...] Input price | Free of charge | $0.30 (text / image / video / audio) Output price (including thinking tokens) | Free of charge | $2.50”
Read 2026-09-06 · official pricing
- Pricing — Novita AI ↗
“GLM 5.3 Flash 1M $0.075 /Mt · Cache Read $0.015 /Mt $0.15 /Mt · Cache Read $0.03 /Mt $0.25 /Mt $0.5 /Mt”
Read 2026-09-07 · official pricing
Context window
1,048,576 tokens for Gemini 3.8 Flash. Read from the Vertex AI model card: the Gemini API docs build their model cards client-side and publish no figure a fetch can read.
1M tokens on the DeepSeek V4 line and GLM 5.3, published as "1M" rather than an exact figure — so it is recorded at 1,000,000 and may in practice be the 1,048,576 other providers state. Qwen3.8 is listed at 977K.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Gemini 3.8 Flash — Vertex AI model card, Google Cloud ↗
“Token limits Context window 1,048,576 Maximum output tokens 65,536”
Read 2026-09-06 · official docs
- Pricing — Novita AI ↗
“DeepSeek V4 Pro 0813 1M [...] GLM 5.3 1M [...] Qwen3.8 Max 977K”
Read 2026-09-07 · official pricing
When these numbers change, hear about it. Sources are re-checked monthly; a repricing goes out as a short note.
Documented by only one.
These criteria are published by one provider and not the other. An absence here means we have not found a source, not that the feature is missing.
Questions this comparison answers.
Should I choose Google Gemini API or Novita AI?
Pick Google Gemini API if Getting to a working prototype without a card, then staying on the cheapest frontier-adjacent rates in this set — $0.75 per million input tokens is well under half what Anthropic and OpenAI charge for their top models.
Pick Novita AI if Breadth — 200+ models under one API with a cache-read rate published next to most of them, and an H100 SXM at $3.39 an hour if the same vendor should run the dedicated side too.