Nemotron 3.5 Lightning vs 
Quasar Alpha
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning is the newer model, released after Quasar Alpha.
Minimalist Landing Page
Whole landing page for a startup that reads your face. It renders or it doesn't.
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Which answer wins?
Price and specs
| Spec | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning | Quasar Alpha |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.08/M tokens | — |
| Output price | $0.2/M tokens | — |
| Context window | 1.0M tokens | 1.0M tokens |
| Weights | Open | — |
| Free API (OpenRouter) | Yes (1 provider) | — |
| Released | Aug 2026 | Apr 2025 |
| At 10M a month | $0.80 | not listed |
Input tokens at list price. No caching, no batch discount.
Where to run it
Quasar 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 Nemotron 3.5 Lightning and Quasar Alpha?
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning is developed by NVIDIA while Quasar Alpha is developed by OpenRouter. Nemotron 3.5 Lightning has a 1.0M token context window vs Quasar Alpha's 1.0M. You can compare their actual outputs across 6 challenges on Rival to see how they differ in practice.
Which is better, Nemotron 3.5 Lightning or Quasar Alpha?
It depends on your use case. Nemotron 3.5 Lightning and Quasar Alpha each have strengths in different areas. Rival lets you compare their real outputs side-by-side across 6 challenges so you can judge which fits your needs best.
How can I compare Nemotron 3.5 Lightning and Quasar Alpha on Rival?
This page shows a side-by-side comparison of Nemotron 3.5 Lightning and Quasar 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
- Nemotron 3.5 Lightning vs Step 5 PreviewLanded Oct 2026
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- Nemotron 3.5 Lightning vs Ling 3.1 FlashLanded Oct 2026
- Quasar Alpha vs Mistral Large 4Landed Oct 2026
- Nemotron 3.5 Lightning vs GPT-6.1 SolLanded Sep 2026
- Quasar Alpha vs Claude Sonnet 5.5Landed Sep 2026
- Nemotron 3.5 Lightning vs Solar Mini 4Landed Sep 2026
- Quasar Alpha vs Qwen3.8 Max PrimeLanded Sep 2026
Same lab, same size, long tail
- Nemotron 3.5 Lightning vs NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Super (free)Version compare
- Nemotron 3.5 Lightning vs Nemotron 3 Nano Omni (free)Same lab
- Quasar Alpha vs Ox AlphaSame lab
- Quasar Alpha vs OpenRouter Fusion · Budget (Jun 2026)Same lab
- Nemotron 3.5 Lightning vs MiniMax M1New provider
- Nemotron 3.5 Lightning vs MiniMax M2Same size
- Nemotron 3.5 Lightning vs MiniMax M2-herNew provider
- Nemotron 3.5 Lightning vs MiniMax M2.1New provider
