Nova 2 Lite vs Claude Sonnet 5
At a Glance
| Compare |  Nova 2 LiteAmazon | Claude Sonnet 5Anthropic |
|---|---|---|
| Intelligence, Cost, and Efficiency | ||
| IntelligenceHigher is better · MM Intelligence v2.5 | UnrankedNot in the 46-model eligible cohort | #26 of 4660.1 score · 2/3 sources · provisional · missing ARC-AGI-2 · full-core range 40.0–73.4 |
| CostLower is better · Published-token output estimate | UnrankedNot in the 44-model eligible cohort | #29 of 44$0.194 per LiveBench case |
| EfficiencyHigher is better · MM Efficiency v1.5 | UnrankedNot in the 38-model eligible cohort | #30 of 3847.4 score · 2/3 sources · provisional · missing ARC-AGI-2 · full-core range 37.4–54.0 |
| Pricing and Limits | ||
| Input priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | $0.30Amazon Bedrock ↗ · Aug 29, 2026 | $2.00Anthropic ↗ · Sep 3, 2026 |
| Output priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | $2.50Amazon Bedrock ↗ · Aug 29, 2026 | $10.00Anthropic ↗ · Sep 3, 2026 |
| Context windowMaximum documented tokens | 1,000K | 1,000K |
| Model facts checked | Aug 29, 2026View model evidence → | Aug 28, 2026View model evidence → |
Token prices are the lowest available sourced USD rates; input and output may use different providers. Cost ranking estimates output spend on LiveBench, not a full request bill. Ranking methodology →
Available Benchmarks
| Benchmark | Nova 2 Lite | Claude Sonnet 5 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text Arenatext-2026-09-13-d25aabda0010 · arena_rating · leader | 1,362.6294% of row best · rating · nova-2-lite; 95% CI [1356.54933238, 1368.69109380]; votes 12120; rank 182 | 1,442.15100% of row best · rating · claude-sonnet-5-high; 95% CI [1437.57467941, 1446.71829948]; votes 35301; rank 62 |
| Overall ResultCounted from the protocol-matched rows above | 0 benchmark winsNo overall winner | 1 benchmark winNo overall winner |
Third-party benchmark Only like-for-like primary-publisher results are shown; raw scores, relative scores, configuration, and token spend remain visible.
Side-by-Side Facts
| Field | Nova 2 Lite | Claude Sonnet 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | Amazon | Anthropic |
| Family | Nova 2 | Claude 5 |
| Model | Nova 2 Lite | Claude Sonnet 5 |
| Version | Nova 2 Lite | Claude Sonnet 5 |
| Lifecycle | active | active |
| Released | 2025-12-02 | 2026-06-30 |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2025-10-01 | Unknown |
| Input modalities | Text, Image, Video, Document | Text, Image |
| Output modalities | Text | Text |
| Context window | 1,000K | 1,000K |
| Total parameters | Unknown | Unknown |
| Active parameters | Unknown | Unknown |
| License | Unknown | Unknown |
| Open weights | No | No |
| API available | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | No | No |
| Provider access | Amazon Bedrock (Standard) | Anthropic (Standard), Deepinfra (Standard), Openrouter (Standard) |
| Capabilities | chat, generation, prompt-caching, tools, vision | chat, generation, reasoning, tools |
Nova 2 Lite Capabilities
Claude Sonnet 5 Capabilities
Related Comparisons
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|---|---|---|---|
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 MiniMax-M3MiniMax | vs | Nova 2 LiteAmazon | cross-developer peersimage, text |
Nova 2 LiteAmazon | vs |  GLM-5.3Z.ai | cross-developer peerstext |
Nova 2 LiteAmazon | vs |  Hy4 previewTencent | cross-developer peerstext |
Nova 2 LiteAmazon | vs | Seed 2.1 ProByteDance Seed | cross-developer peersimage, text, video |
Primary Evidence
Sources and Freshness
Questions
Nova 2 Lite vs Claude Sonnet 5 FAQs
Is Nova 2 Lite or Claude Sonnet 5 better for coding?+
This comparison does not currently contain a protocol-matched coding benchmark for both Nova 2 Lite and Claude Sonnet 5, so Model Markets cannot name a coding leader from pricing, context size, or capability labels alone.
Which is cheaper, Nova 2 Lite or Claude Sonnet 5?+
Nova 2 Lite is $0.30 and Claude Sonnet 5 is $2.00 per million tokens, so Nova 2 Lite is cheaper on this metric. Nova 2 Lite is $2.50 and Claude Sonnet 5 is $10.00 per million tokens, so Nova 2 Lite is cheaper on this metric.
Which has a larger context window, Nova 2 Lite or Claude Sonnet 5?+
Neither model has a larger sourced context window in this comparison. Nova 2 Lite is 1,000K and Claude Sonnet 5 is 1,000K.
Which performs better in benchmarks, Nova 2 Lite or Claude Sonnet 5?+
There is no overall benchmark winner: At least two independently verified, protocol-matched benchmarks are required for an overall winner.
Can Nova 2 Lite or Claude Sonnet 5 be self-hosted?+
Both models have the same recorded self-hosting status: unsupported. Nova 2 Lite is not marked open weight; Claude Sonnet 5 is not marked open weight.
Can Nova 2 Lite and Claude Sonnet 5 understand images?+
Nova 2 Lite is documented with image input; Claude Sonnet 5 is documented with image input. This reflects supported input modalities, not vision quality.
Which can generate longer answers, Nova 2 Lite or Claude Sonnet 5?+
Claude Sonnet 5 has the larger sourced maximum output: Nova 2 Lite supports 66K and Claude Sonnet 5 supports 128K output tokens.
Do Nova 2 Lite and Claude Sonnet 5 support reasoning and tool use?+
Nova 2 Lite: tool calling and image input. Claude Sonnet 5: reasoning, tool calling, and image input. Feature support does not establish relative quality.
Which is available from more inference providers, Nova 2 Lite or Claude Sonnet 5?+
Nova 2 Lite has 1 sourced provider route; Claude Sonnet 5 has 3, so Claude Sonnet 5 has broader tracked availability.
Which offers better value, Nova 2 Lite or Claude Sonnet 5?+
There is no universal value winner. Compare the input and output prices above with the matched benchmark result for your workload: cheaper tokens can be offset by different quality, token usage, latency, or provider availability.