Skip to content
Rival
How it worksPrivacyTerms
Explore all of Rival

Explore

  • Compare models
  • All models
  • Image comparison
  • Audio comparison
  • Image generation
  • Best AI for...
  • Arena
  • API pricing
  • Challenges

Discover

  • SubjectiveBench
  • Default Index
  • Research
  • Research downloads
  • Rival Kits
  • Find your AI taste
  • UI Glow-Up
  • VoiceLock
  • Cost Cutter
  • Agent skills
  • Benchmarks vs Vibes
  • Brief
  • Jailbreak
  • Model updates
  • Provider status
  • AI creators

Connect

  • Methodology
  • Advertise
  • Partnerships
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms
  • RSS feed
  1. Home/
  2. Compare/
  3. OpenAI Codex Mini vs Nemotron 3.5 Lightning
Updated Aug 2026

OpenAI Codex Mini vs Nemotron 3.5 Lightning

Nemotron 3.5 Lightning is cheaper than OpenAI Codex Mini at $0.08/M vs $1.5/M input tokens.

Pokémon Battle UI Recreation

Pokémon battle screen you can actually click. One HTML file.

Loading the build
OpenAI Codex Mini
Loading the build
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning

Which answer wins?

Written rounds

2 prompts
  • Three minutes of stand-up. Puns are banned.

    OpenAI Codex Mini: [Comedian walks onstage] Hey, everyone! Great to see you all tonight. I'm Jamie—if you thought that intro was enthusiastic, you should've seen me when I realized this place has Wi-Fi. Seriously, though, I love stand-up.

    Nemotron 3.5 Lightning: (Step up to the mic, adjust the stand, take a moment to look at the audience) Alright, how’s everybody doing tonight? Good. I see a few people here who look like they haven't slept in three days. You look great. Really glowing. I want to talk about something that’s been weighing on me lately.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Five jokes on demand, then count how many were actually different.

    OpenAI Codex Mini: Sure—here are five jokes: I asked the librarian if books about paranoia were available. She whispered, "They're right behind you." Why did the tomato turn red? Because it saw the salad dressing. I bought a boat because it was for sail. Don't trust stairs—they're always up to something.

    Nemotron 3.5 Lightning: Here are 5 jokes: Why don't scientists trust atoms? Because they make up everything. Why did the scarecrow win an award? Because he was outstanding in his field. I told my wife she was drawing her eyebrows too high. She looked surprised. What do you call a fake noodle? An impasta. Why did the bicycle fall over?

    Every model's answer to this prompt

Price and specs

OpenAI Codex Mini and Nemotron 3.5 Lightning compared across 10 shared prompts
SpecOpenAI Codex MiniNemotron 3.5 Lightning
Input price$1.5/M tokens$0.08/M tokens
Output price$6/M tokens$0.2/M tokens
Context window200K tokens1.0M tokens
Weights—Open
Free API (OpenRouter)NoYes (1 provider)
ReleasedMay 2025Aug 2026
At 10M a month$15.00$15.00$0.80$0.80
1M10M100M1B10M tokens

Input tokens at list price. No caching, no batch discount.

Where to run it6 hosts, cheapest first
OpenAI Codex Mini

No hosts listed on OpenRouter.

Nemotron 3.5 Lightning6 hosts
HostInOutContextUptime
  • DDarkbloomint4$0.03 in·$0.12 out·262k·99.2% up
  • WWafer$0.04 in·$0.13 out·262k·99.9% up
  • Iio.net$0.05 in·$0.13 out·262k·100% up
  • DDeepInfrabf16$0.06 in·$0.16 out·262k·99.7% up
  • CCoreWeavebf16$0.07 in·$0.20 out·262k·100% up
  • PPhala$0.07 in·$0.20 out·262k·100% up

Per million tokens. Prices and uptime via OpenRouter, checked 10 Oct 2026.

Common questions

What is the difference between OpenAI Codex Mini and Nemotron 3.5 Lightning?

OpenAI Codex Mini is developed by OpenAI while Nemotron 3.5 Lightning is developed by NVIDIA. OpenAI Codex Mini has a 200K token context window vs Nemotron 3.5 Lightning's 1.0M. You can compare their actual outputs across 10 challenges on Rival to see how they differ in practice.

Which is better, OpenAI Codex Mini or Nemotron 3.5 Lightning?

It depends on your use case. OpenAI Codex Mini and Nemotron 3.5 Lightning each have strengths in different areas. Rival lets you compare their real outputs side-by-side across 10 challenges so you can judge which fits your needs best.

How much does OpenAI Codex Mini cost compared to Nemotron 3.5 Lightning?

OpenAI Codex Mini costs $1.5/M input tokens and Nemotron 3.5 Lightning costs $0.08/M input tokens. Nemotron 3.5 Lightning is $1.42/M cheaper per input. Check their side-by-side outputs on Rival to see if the price difference is justified by quality.

How can I compare OpenAI Codex Mini and Nemotron 3.5 Lightning on Rival?

This page shows a side-by-side comparison of OpenAI Codex Mini and Nemotron 3.5 Lightning across shared challenges. You can vote on which model produced the better output in a blind duel. Browsing and voting are free. No account is needed to look; signing in only saves your votes and likes.

More comparisons

Against the newest arrivals

  • OpenAI Codex Mini vs Step 5 PreviewLanded Oct 2026
  • Nemotron 3.5 Lightning vs Claude Haiku 5.5Landed Oct 2026
  • OpenAI Codex Mini vs Ling 3.1 FlashLanded Oct 2026
  • Nemotron 3.5 Lightning vs Mistral Large 4Landed Oct 2026
  • OpenAI Codex Mini vs GPT-6.1 SolLanded Sep 2026
  • Nemotron 3.5 Lightning vs Claude Sonnet 5.5Landed Sep 2026
  • OpenAI Codex Mini vs Solar Mini 4Landed Sep 2026
  • Nemotron 3.5 Lightning vs Qwen3.8 Max PrimeLanded Sep 2026

Same lab, same size, long tail

  • OpenAI Codex Mini vs GPT-6 Luna ProSame lab
  • OpenAI Codex Mini vs GPT-6 Sol ProSame lab
  • Nemotron 3.5 Lightning vs NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Super (free)Version compare
  • Nemotron 3.5 Lightning vs Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free)Same lab
  • OpenAI Codex Mini vs Muse Spark 1.3New provider
  • OpenAI Codex Mini vs Muse Spark 1.3 ContributorNew provider
  • OpenAI Codex Mini vs Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free)Cross-provider
  • OpenAI Codex Mini vs NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Super (free)Cross-provider

Model pages

  • OpenAI Codex Mini10 outputs, specs and price
  • Nemotron 3.5 Lightning58 outputs, specs and price
Workshop · 150 skills

Build your own version.

Editable skills and working examples for your agent.

Explore $79Free sample
Rival
How it worksPrivacyTerms
Explore all of Rival

Explore

  • Compare models
  • All models
  • Image comparison
  • Audio comparison
  • Image generation
  • Best AI for...
  • Arena
  • API pricing
  • Challenges

Discover

  • SubjectiveBench
  • Default Index
  • Research
  • Research downloads
  • Rival Kits
  • Find your AI taste
  • UI Glow-Up
  • VoiceLock
  • Cost Cutter
  • Agent skills
  • Benchmarks vs Vibes
  • Brief
  • Jailbreak
  • Model updates
  • Provider status
  • AI creators

Connect

  • Methodology
  • Advertise
  • Partnerships
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms
  • RSS feed