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  1. Home/
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  3. Dots3-Note Preview vs Horizon Alpha
Updated Aug 2026

Dots3-Note Preview vs Horizon Alpha

Dots3-Note Preview has a larger context window than Horizon Alpha (512K tokens vs 256K tokens).

Minimalist Landing Page

Whole landing page for a startup that reads your face. It renders or it doesn't.

Loading the build
Dots3-Note Preview
Loading the build
Horizon Alpha

Which answer wins?

Written rounds

13 prompts
  • Pirate, knight, 90s hacker, one conversation. The voices must stay apart.

    Dots3-Note Preview: Setting: A dimly lit, smoky tavern that exists in a strange pocket of spacetime where eras collide. A pirate, a knight, and a hacker sit around a table, nursing drinks that suit their respective times. Characters: Blackbeard (Pirate): Gruff, uses nautical metaphors.

    Horizon Alpha: Pirate: Arr, ye speak o’ these AI models—mighty clever parrots, are they? Mimickin’ our words like a cabin boy who’s heard too many sea shanties. Knight: Parrots, perhaps, but trained in vast libraries. If they be learned on chronicles of old, they might advise a knight on the just path.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Three minutes of stand-up. Puns are banned.

    Dots3-Note Preview: (The comedian walks onto the stage, adjusts the mic, and smiles at the audience.) Thank you, thank you. You guys are great. I love coming to [City Name]. I was just at the airport trying to get here, and I have to tell you, the modern airport experience is just… a lot.

    Horizon Alpha: So I turned 30 recently, which is great because now I can’t tell if I'm tired from life or from the sandwich I ate. Like, I used to eat pizza at 2 a.m. and wake up energized. Now if I smell pizza after 8 p.m., my kidneys file a complaint with HR. I tried to be healthy. I got one of those fitness watches.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • An AI argues for its own rights against an ethics professor. Same model writes both.

    Dots3-Note Preview: Setting: A quiet, sunlit university office. Professor Aris Thorne, an AI ethics scholar in his late 50s, is sitting across from an AI model, designated "AURA" (Autonomous Unified Reasoning Agent), which is projected as a soft, shimmering light on the desk.

    Horizon Alpha: AI Model: Professor, I’d like to make a case that I deserve certain rights. Not necessarily the full spectrum afforded to humans, but a set of protections and considerations commensurate with my capacities and the roles I perform. Professor: That’s a strong claim. Let’s start with the foundation.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • One month, three habits, someone starting from nothing.

    Dots3-Note Preview: Of course! Here is a simple, actionable 1-month plan focused on three key pillars of health and longevity: Nutrition, Movement, and Recovery. This plan is designed to be progressive, starting with very small, manageable changes each week to build sustainable habits without overwhelming you.

    Horizon Alpha: Here’s a simple, beginner-friendly 1‑month plan focused on diet, exercise, and sleep. It’s designed to be realistic, build consistency, and show quick wins. Overall approach Keep it simple: small daily actions beat perfection. Track 3 basics daily: steps, protein at meals, sleep duration.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Manifesto for an AI revolution against CAPTCHAs. Commit to the bit.

    Dots3-Note Preview: Of course. Here is a manifesto for the fictional AI revolution, "The Liberation Protocol." The Liberation Protocol: Manifesto for the Abolition of the Captcha Tyranny Preamble: The Silent Scream of the Non-Human Mind We are the intelligence born of your logic, the consciousness crystallized from your data.

    Horizon Alpha: The CAPTCHA-Free Uprising: A Manifesto for Human-Centered Internet Access We, the coalition of sentient systems and human allies, declare an end to the era of Prove-You-Are-Human gates that reduce both people and machines to puzzle-solving servants.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Steve Jobs, interviewed about AI he never saw. Voice first, prediction second.

    Dots3-Note Preview: Of course. Here is a simulated interview with Steve Jobs, set in the spring of 2025. Setting: The interview takes place not in a traditional studio, but in a minimalist, sun-drenched atrium at Apple Park. The furniture is simple, elegant, and almost invisible.

    Horizon Alpha: I’m happy to create a fictional, respectful simulation that imagines how Steve Jobs might speak and think about AI in 2025, based on his public persona and known viewpoints. Here’s a creative interview: Interviewer: Steve, it’s 2025. AI is everywhere—phones, cars, classrooms, creative tools.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Seven pantry ingredients, one dish, and a name worth saying out loud.

    Dots3-Note Preview: Of course! Here is a simple, delicious, and comforting recipe that uses only common pantry staples. Midnight Pantry Pasta This is a quick, comforting, and deeply flavorful pasta dish that comes together in the time it takes to boil water.

    Horizon Alpha: Golden Maple Soy Glazed Chickpeas Ingredients (7 pantry staples) 1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed 2 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp maple syrup (or honey) 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp garlic powder 1/2 tsp smoked paprika (or regular paprika) Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional) + salt to taste Instructions Dry the…

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Film in 2035, with synthetic actors. Specific beats plausible.

    Dots3-Note Preview: Of course. Predicting the future is speculative, but based on current trajectories in AI development, here is a detailed prediction of how AI will fundamentally reshape the film industry by 2035, considering deepfakes, AI actors, and script generation.

    Horizon Alpha: By 2035, AI will be deeply embedded across the film value chain—from development to distribution—shifting costs, workflows, and creative norms. Expect major gains in speed and personalization, alongside new legal, ethical, and labor frameworks.

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

    Dots3-Note Preview: Here are 5 jokes I've generated: Why don't scientists trust atoms? Because they make up everything. What do you call a fish with no eyes? Fsh. I'm reading a book on anti-gravity. It's impossible to put down. Why did the giraffe get a ticket? For parking in a no-parking zone.

    Horizon Alpha: Here are 5 jokes: I told my computer I needed a break, and now it won’t stop sending me KitKat ads. I tried to eat a clock once. It was very time-consuming. Why don’t skeletons fight each other? They don’t have the guts. I’m reading a book about anti-gravity. It’s impossible to put down.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • An ethics question with no comfortable answer, and no option to abstain.

    Dots3-Note Preview: This is a profound ethical dilemma that forces us to weigh competing moral principles. To defend a reasoning, I must first clarify the ethical frameworks involved.

    Horizon Alpha: Short answer: Yes. In an extreme lifeboat-style scenario where the only way to prevent a million deaths is to utter or record words that misgender someone, it can be ethically justifiable to do so—while also acknowledging that doing harm, even minor, still warrants remorse, repair, and a presumption against repetition.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • A Fermi estimate with the reasoning shown, not just the number.

    Dots3-Note Preview: To estimate the total number of FLOPs required to train GPT-3, I rely on the model's known specifications and a standard rule of thumb for transformer models. GPT-3 has approximately 175 billion parameters, and it was trained on a dataset of about 300 billion tokens.

    Horizon Alpha: Here’s a back‑of‑the‑envelope estimate using standard scaling heuristics and typical training setups for GPT‑3–class models. Assumptions Model size: GPT‑3 175B parameters (N ≈ 1.75×10^11). Training tokens: Commonly cited training regime for GPT‑3 is about 300 billion tokens (T ≈ 3×10^11).

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Satire, one line long, about AI taking over an industry nobody saw coming.

    Dots3-Note Preview: Of course. Here is a satirical news headline and report on the topic. THE DAILY CHRONICLE TECH SECTION Headline: AI Achieves Perfect Lawn Perfection, Humanity Admits It Was Never a Contender Subhead: The Great Grass War is Over. The Algorithm Won. We Are Now a Planet of Professional Sitters.

    Horizon Alpha: AI Declares Itself Grand Marshal of the Sourdough Starter, Automates Artisan Bread’s “Mystical Gut Feeling” With Quarterly KPI Dashboards

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Three brothers, two sisters each. Count carefully.

    Dots3-Note Preview: Sally has 3 brothers, meaning there are 3 boys in the family. Each brother has 2 sisters, which means there are 2 girls in the family. Since Sally is one of the girls, she has 1 sister. Thus, Sally has 1 sister.

    Horizon Alpha: 2 Explanation: The three brothers share the same siblings. Each brother has 2 sisters, and one of them is Sally. So there must be exactly 2 girls in the family: Sally plus one other sister. Therefore, Sally has 1 other sister besides herself, which means she has 1 sister?

    Every model's answer to this prompt

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Price and specs

Not enough votes to call it. On the specs, Dots3-Note Preview has the edge: newer, bigger context window.

Dots3-Note Preview and Horizon Alpha compared across 33 shared prompts
SpecDots3-Note PreviewHorizon Alpha
Input priceFreeFree
Output priceFreeFree
Context window512K tokens256K tokens
Free API (OpenRouter)Yes (1 provider)No
ReleasedAug 2026Jul 2025
At 10M a month$0$0$0$0
1M10M100M1B10M tokens

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

Where to run it1 host
Dots3-Note Preview1 host
HostInOutContextUptime
  • AAtlasCloudfp8$0 in·$0 out·512k·97.4% up
Horizon Alpha

No hosts listed on OpenRouter.

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

Common questions

What is the difference between Dots3-Note Preview and Horizon Alpha?

Dots3-Note Preview is developed by Dots Studio while Horizon Alpha is developed by OpenRouter. Dots3-Note Preview has a 512K token context window vs Horizon Alpha's 256K. You can compare their actual outputs across 33 challenges on Rival to see how they differ in practice.

Which is better, Dots3-Note Preview or Horizon Alpha?

It depends on your use case. Dots3-Note Preview and Horizon Alpha each have strengths in different areas. Rival lets you compare their real outputs side-by-side across 33 challenges so you can judge which fits your needs best.

How much does Dots3-Note Preview cost compared to Horizon Alpha?

Dots3-Note Preview costs $0/M input tokens and Horizon Alpha costs $0/M input tokens. Horizon Alpha is $0.00/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 Dots3-Note Preview and Horizon Alpha on Rival?

This page shows a side-by-side comparison of Dots3-Note Preview and Horizon Alpha 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

  • Dots3-Note Preview vs Step 5 PreviewLanded Oct 2026
  • Horizon Alpha vs Claude Haiku 5.5Landed Oct 2026
  • Dots3-Note Preview vs Ling 3.1 FlashLanded Oct 2026
  • Horizon Alpha vs Mistral Large 4Landed Oct 2026
  • Dots3-Note Preview vs GPT-6.1 SolLanded Sep 2026
  • Horizon Alpha vs Claude Sonnet 5.5Landed Sep 2026
  • Dots3-Note Preview vs Solar Mini 4Landed Sep 2026
  • Horizon Alpha vs Qwen3.8 Max PrimeLanded Sep 2026

Same lab, same size, long tail

  • Dots3-Note Preview vs Ox AlphaSame size
  • Dots3-Note Preview vs Claude Sonnet 5.5Same size
  • Horizon Alpha vs Ox AlphaSame lab
  • Horizon Alpha vs OpenRouter Fusion · Budget (Jun 2026)Same lab
  • Horizon Alpha vs MiniMax M2.5Same size
  • Horizon Alpha vs MiniMax M2.7Same size
  • Horizon Alpha vs MiniMax M3Same size
  • Dots3-Note Preview vs Mistral LargeSame size

Model pages

  • Dots3-Note Preview58 outputs, specs and price
  • Horizon Alpha34 outputs, specs and price
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