AI Models · Open-Source vs Paid

Nemotron 3.5 Super VL Open vs AIAion-2.0 Paid

Nemotron 3.5 Super VL vs Aion-2.0 compared — price per token, context window, multimodality, openness and which to choose. Can the open-source model replace the paid one? Full 2026 breakdown.

Prices & specs refreshed from live data · olud.ai

Open-model prices = cheapest provider via OpenRouter; official maker rates may be higher.

Nemotron 3.5 Super VLOpenNVIDIA
$0.15 /M input
$0.5 /M outputNo per-token fees if you self-host
TypeOpen-weight
Context window1M tokens
MultimodalYes
Self-hostYes
AIAion-2.0PaidAionLabs
$0.8 /M input
$1.6 /M outputManaged API (no infra to run)
TypeProprietary
Context window131K tokens
MultimodalNo
Self-hostNo
Choose Nemotron 3.5 Super VL if you want to self-host, keep your data private and skip per-token fees — it's open-weight and runs on your own hardware. Choose Aion-2.0 if you want frontier capability through a managed API with zero infrastructure to run.

Nemotron 3.5 Super VL vs Aion-2.0 specs

SpecNemotron 3.5 Super VLAion-2.0Winner
MakerNVIDIAAionLabs–
TypeOpen-weightProprietaryNemotron 3.5 Super VL
Context window1M tokens131K tokensNemotron 3.5 Super VL
Input price$0.15/M · free self-host$0.8/MNemotron 3.5 Super VL
Output price$0.5/M · free self-host$1.6/MNemotron 3.5 Super VL
Vision / multimodalYesNoNemotron 3.5 Super VL
Tool / function callingYesYes= Tie
Self-hostableYesNo (API only)Nemotron 3.5 Super VL
LicenseNVIDIA Open ModelProprietaryNemotron 3.5 Super VL

Price gap & when to choose each

3.2×cheaper per output token

Nemotron 3.5 Super VL is ~3.2× cheaper than Aion-2.0 on output tokens ($0.5 vs $1.6 per M tokens).

Choose Nemotron 3.5 Super VL if…
  • You want to self-host or run on your cloud
  • You need the longer 1M context window
  • You prioritize data privacy & control
  • You want the lowest operating costs
  • You are building open or reproducible AI
AIChoose Aion-2.0 if…
  • You want frontier performance through a managed API
  • You value reliability & ecosystem
  • You don't want to manage infrastructure

Feature comparison

CapabilityNemotron 3.5 Super VLAion-2.0
Open weights (downloadable)✓✗
Self-hostable✓✗
Runs fully offline✓✗
Vision / multimodal✓✗
Tool / function calling✓✓
1M+ context window✓✗

Benchmarks: Nemotron 3.5 Super VL vs Aion-2.0

Independent benchmark scores measured by Artificial Analysis. Higher is better (except latency).

Nemotron 3.5 Super VL
Aion-2.0
Intelligence index
26.5
–
Humanity's Last Exam
30.7%
–
Long Context Reasoning
69%
–
SciCode
47.8%
–
Speed
456.5 tok/s
–
Latency
0.51s
–
Intelligence per $
84.7
–

Benchmark data by Artificial Analysis.

How Nemotron 3.5 Super VL and Aion-2.0 score

🏆 Best value & openness: Nemotron 3.5 Super VL (5.0 vs 2.8 / 5)
CriterionNemotron 3.5 Super VLAion-2.0
Cost-efficiency5.04.5
Context window5.03.5
Openness5.01.5
Self-hosting5.01.0
Multimodality5.03.5

Scores come from live data — output price (cost), context length, open vs closed weights (openness & self-hosting) and vision/tool support (multimodality). Raw task quality isn't scored here; it depends on your benchmark — see the verdict.

What each model is

Nemotron 3.5 Super VL Open

NVIDIA · Open-weight

NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Super VL is an open multimodal mixture-of-experts model from NVIDIA, with 12B active parameters out of 120B total. It takes text, images, documents, GUI screenshots, and video...

Aion-2.0 Paid

AionLabs · Proprietary

Aion-2.0 is a variant of DeepSeek V3.2 optimized for immersive roleplaying and storytelling. It is particularly strong at introducing tension, crises, and conflict into stories, making narratives feel more engaging....

Other models in these families

These variants are tracked but not compared here — one page per family keeps the comparison readable.

Other variants tracked
Nemotron 3.5 Super VL (free)Nemotron 3 UltraNemotron 3 Ultra (free)Nemotron 3.5 LightningNemotron 3.5 Lightning (free)Nemotron 3 SuperNemotron 3 Nano Omni (free)Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3BNemotron 3.5 Content SafetyNemotron 3.5 Content Safety (free)

Frequently asked questions

Is Nemotron 3.5 Super VL as good as Aion-2.0?

Nemotron 3.5 Super VL is open-weight and competitive on many tasks, but Aion-2.0 may still lead on the hardest reasoning and agentic work. The gap keeps narrowing — benchmark both on your actual use case before deciding.

Can I run Nemotron 3.5 Super VL locally?

Yes. Nemotron 3.5 Super VL has open weights, so you can self-host it on your own GPUs or run it via a low-cost API. Aion-2.0 is API-only and cannot be self-hosted.

How much cheaper is Nemotron 3.5 Super VL?

Nemotron 3.5 Super VL costs $0.5/M output vs $1.6/M for Aion-2.0 — roughly 3x cheaper via API, and free if you self-host.

Nemotron 3.5 Super VL vs Aion-2.0 — which should I pick in 2026?

Choose Nemotron 3.5 Super VL if you want to self-host, keep your data private and skip per-token fees — it's open-weight and runs on your own hardware. Choose Aion-2.0 if you want frontier capability through a managed API with zero infrastructure to run.

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