AI Models · Open-Source vs Paid

REBeam 1.0 501B A23B Open vs AMNova Micro 1.0 Paid

Beam 1.0 501B A23B vs Nova Micro 1.0 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.

REBeam 1.0 501B A23BOpenReflection
$0.25 /M input
$1 /M outputNo per-token fees if you self-host
TypeOpen-weight
Context window1M tokens
MultimodalNo
Self-hostYes
AMNova Micro 1.0PaidAmazon
$0.04 /M input
$0.14 /M outputManaged API (no infra to run)
TypeProprietary
Context window128K tokens
MultimodalNo
Self-hostNo
Choose Beam 1.0 501B A23B 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 Nova Micro 1.0 if you want frontier capability through a managed API with zero infrastructure to run.

Beam 1.0 501B A23B vs Nova Micro 1.0 specs

SpecBeam 1.0 501B A23BNova Micro 1.0Winner
MakerReflectionAmazon–
TypeOpen-weightProprietaryREBeam 1.0 501B A23B
Context window1M tokens128K tokensREBeam 1.0 501B A23B
Input price$0.25/M · free self-host$0.04/MAMNova Micro 1.0
Output price$1/M · free self-host$0.14/MAMNova Micro 1.0
Vision / multimodalNoNo–
Tool / function callingYesYes= Tie
Self-hostableYesNo (API only)REBeam 1.0 501B A23B
LicenseOpen weightsProprietaryREBeam 1.0 501B A23B

Price gap & when to choose each

7.1×cheaper per output token

Nova Micro 1.0 is ~7.1× cheaper than Beam 1.0 501B A23B on output tokens ($0.14 vs $1 per M tokens).

REChoose Beam 1.0 501B A23B if…
  • You want to self-host or run on your cloud
  • You need the longer 1M context window
  • You prioritize data privacy & control
  • You are building open or reproducible AI
AMChoose Nova Micro 1.0 if…
  • You want frontier performance through a managed API
  • You want the lower output price
  • You value reliability & ecosystem
  • You don't want to manage infrastructure

Feature comparison

CapabilityBeam 1.0 501B A23BNova Micro 1.0
Open weights (downloadable)✓✗
Self-hostable✓✗
Runs fully offline✓✗
Vision / multimodal✗✗
Tool / function calling✓✓
1M+ context window✓✗

Benchmarks: Beam 1.0 501B A23B vs Nova Micro 1.0

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

Beam 1.0 501B A23B
Nova Micro 1.0
Intelligence index
30.3
–
Humanity's Last Exam
34.7%
–
Long Context Reasoning
78%
–
SciCode
48.5%
–
Speed
391.1 tok/s
–
Latency
0.5s
–
Intelligence per $
50.5
–

Benchmark data by Artificial Analysis.

How Beam 1.0 501B A23B and Nova Micro 1.0 score

🏆 Best value & openness: Beam 1.0 501B A23B (4.6 vs 2.9 / 5)
CriterionBeam 1.0 501B A23BNova Micro 1.0
Cost-efficiency4.55.0
Context window5.03.5
Openness5.01.5
Self-hosting5.01.0
Multimodality3.53.5

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

Beam 1.0 501B A23B Open

Reflection · Open-weight

Beam 1.0 is Reflection's open-weight reasoning model for coding and long-horizon agentic workflows. It uses a sparse mixture-of-experts architecture with 501B total and 23B active parameters per token, and a...

Nova Micro 1.0 Paid

Amazon · Proprietary

Amazon Nova Micro 1.0 is a text-only model that delivers the lowest latency responses in the Amazon Nova family of models at a very low cost. With a context length...

Frequently asked questions

Is Beam 1.0 501B A23B as good as Nova Micro 1.0?

Beam 1.0 501B A23B is open-weight and competitive on many tasks, but Nova Micro 1.0 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 Beam 1.0 501B A23B locally?

Yes. Beam 1.0 501B A23B has open weights, so you can self-host it on your own GPUs or run it via a low-cost API. Nova Micro 1.0 is API-only and cannot be self-hosted.

Beam 1.0 501B A23B vs Nova Micro 1.0 — which should I pick in 2026?

Choose Beam 1.0 501B A23B 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 Nova Micro 1.0 if you want frontier capability through a managed API with zero infrastructure to run.

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