Novita AI

Freemium

Low-cost LLM inference API with 200+ models starting at $0.02 per million tokens

What is Novita AI?

Novita AI is a developer-focused inference API platform that competes primarily on price, offering over 200 open-weight LLMs, image models, and embedding models at some of the lowest per-token rates in the industry. While the biggest names in the inference space (Groq, Together AI, Fireworks) focus on speed or full-stack features, Novita leans hard into cost: Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is priced at just $0.02 per million tokens, Qwen3 4B at $0.03 per million, Llama 3 8B at $0.04 per million, GPT-OSS 120B at $0.05 per million, and Qwen3 Coder 30B at $0.07 per million — prices that are 30-50% cheaper than most competitors. For teams building high-volume applications where per-request cost dominates the budget (document processing at scale, classification pipelines, agent systems), Novita's pricing can cut LLM spend by half or more. Novita also offers pay-as-you-go pricing with no monthly fees, no hidden rate limits on paid tiers, and a batch inference option at a 50% introductory discount for supported models. The platform supports GPU instances and agent sandboxes in addition to standard LLM APIs. The tradeoffs: speed and reliability are generally good but not at Groq LPU levels, and enterprise support is lighter than Fireworks. For cost-sensitive production workloads that can tolerate slightly higher latency variance in exchange for dramatic savings, Novita is one of the best values on the market in 2026.

⚡ Quick Verdict

Best for

Cost-sensitive production workloads with high LLM call volume — agents, document processing, bulk classification

Not ideal for

Teams that need absolute fastest inference or enterprise-grade SLAs

Starting price

From $0.02 per million tokens · Batch 50% off

Free plan

Starter credits for new users

Key strength

Among the cheapest per-token rates in the industry with a broad 200+ model catalog

Limitation

Speed and enterprise features lag top-tier providers

Bottom line: Novita AI scores 4.3/5 — the top pick when your LLM spend is dominated by per-token cost. Start with Llama 3.1 8B at $0.02/M, scale up as needed.

Pricing

LLM inference — From $0.02 per million tokens: Llama 3.1 8B Instruct at $0.02/M · Qwen3 4B at $0.03/M · Llama 3 8B at $0.04/M · GPT-OSS 120B at $0.05/M · Qwen3 Coder 30B at $0.07/M. Among the cheapest per-token rates available anywhere in 2026.

Batch inference — 50% introductory discount: Both input and output tokens priced at half of standard rates for supported models.

Pay-as-you-go: No monthly fees, no hidden rate limits on paid tiers, no minimum commitments.

GPU instances and agent sandboxes: Additional compute products available on the platform for custom workloads.

Key Features

200+ LLM, image, and embedding models
Llama 3.1 8B at $0.02 per million tokens
Batch inference at 50% introductory discount
OpenAI-compatible API format
GPU instances for custom workloads
Agent sandboxes for development
Pay-as-you-go with no monthly fees
No rate limits on paid tiers

Pros & Cons

Pros

Among the cheapest per-token inference pricing in 2026
Broad 200+ model catalog including image and embedding models
Batch API halves already-low prices for offline workloads
Pay-as-you-go with no minimum commitment

Cons

Speed not quite at Groq LPU levels
Enterprise support lighter than Fireworks or Together
Some catalog models are less battle-tested

✅ Pricing verified April 2026 · ✅ Independently reviewed · ✅ Scoring methodology

FAQ

How can Novita be so cheap?

Novita operates on thin margins with aggressive GPU utilization and efficient open-source serving stacks like vLLM. They do not invest in custom silicon like Groq, which keeps infrastructure costs lower. The tradeoff is slightly more variable latency and fewer enterprise features. For high-volume workloads where per-token cost dominates, Novita's pricing is a step-change savings.

Is Novita AI reliable for production?

Yes, for most production workloads. Novita publishes uptime metrics and operates redundant inference clusters. The main caveat is that enterprise-grade SLAs (99.95%+) and dedicated support are thinner than at Fireworks or Together. For mission-critical applications, consider using Novita as primary with OpenRouter or another provider as failover.

Does Novita train on my data?

No. Novita does not use customer API requests for model training. Individual model providers whose weights are hosted on Novita have their own policies, but the inference platform itself does not collect prompts or completions for training.

What models are cheapest on Novita?

The cheapest LLM on Novita in 2026 is Llama 3.1 8B Instruct at $0.02 per million tokens. Other ultra-low-cost options include Qwen3 4B at $0.03/M, Llama 3 8B at $0.04/M, GPT-OSS 120B at $0.05/M, and Qwen3 Coder 30B at $0.07/M.

Does Novita support function calling and agents?

Yes. Novita's API supports OpenAI-compatible function calling on models that have been trained for tool use. The platform also offers agent sandboxes — managed environments for developing and testing AI agents with persistent state and tool access.

How does Novita compare to OpenRouter?

Both let you access many open-weight models through one API. OpenRouter aggregates across multiple providers including Novita, so going direct to Novita skips the OpenRouter 5.5% markup. For the specific models Novita hosts, going direct is cheaper. OpenRouter is better when you need the widest possible model catalog.