Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 vs Nemotron 3 Ultra
Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 (2025) and Nemotron 3 Ultra (2026) are frontier reasoning models from AI at Meta and NVIDIA AI. Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 ships a 1m-token context window, while Nemotron 3 Ultra ships a 1m-token context window. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads.
Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 is ~233% cheaper at $0.15/1M; pay for Nemotron 3 Ultra only for reasoning depth.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 | Nemotron 3 Ultra |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | multimodal apps, long-context analysis, and provider-routed production | reasoning-heavy apps and long-context analysis |
| Decision fit | Coding, RAG, and Agents | Long context |
| Context window | 1m | 1m |
| Cheapest output | $0.60/1M tokens | $2.20/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 10 tracked | 1 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 0 shared | 0 shared |
Decision tradeoffs
- Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.60/1M tokens.
- Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and procurement flexibility.
- Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 uniquely exposes Vision, Multimodal, and Structured outputs in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
- Nemotron 3 Ultra uniquely exposes Reasoning in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Nemotron 3 Ultra for Long context.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.
Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8
$270
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter
Nemotron 3 Ultra
$950
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter
Estimated monthly gap: $680. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Nemotron 3 Ultra is $1.60/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Check replacement coverage for Vision, Multimodal, and Structured outputs before moving production traffic.
- Nemotron 3 Ultra adds Reasoning in local capability data.
- Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 is $1.60/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Check replacement coverage for Reasoning before moving production traffic.
- Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 adds Vision, Multimodal, and Structured outputs in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2025-04-05 | 2026-06-04 |
| Context window | 1m | 1m |
| Parameters | 400B (17B active) | 550B |
| Architecture | Mixture of Experts | Mixture of Experts |
| License | Llama 4 Community | NVIDIA Open Model |
| Openness | Open weights | Open weights |
| Commercial use | Commercial use: conditional | Commercial use: permitted |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2024-08 | - |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 | Nemotron 3 Ultra |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.15/1M tokens | $0.50/1M tokens |
| Output price | $0.60/1M tokens | $2.20/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 | Nemotron 3 Ultra |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | Yes | No |
| Multimodal | Yes | No |
| Reasoning | No | Yes |
| Function calling | No | No |
| Tool use | No | No |
| Structured outputs | Yes | No |
| Code execution | No | No |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
No shared benchmark scores are currently available for this pair.
Deep dive
The capability footprint differs most on vision: Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8, multimodal input: Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8, reasoning mode: Nemotron 3 Ultra, and structured outputs: Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8. Both models share the core language-model surface, so the practical split is not just feature count. Use those differences to decide whether the page is about raw model quality, agentic coding support, multimodal ingestion, or predictable structured API behavior.
For cost, Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 lists $0.15/1M input and $0.60/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider, while Nemotron 3 Ultra lists $0.50/1M input and $2.20/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 lower by about $0.73 per million blended tokens. Availability is 10 providers versus 1, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 when vision-heavy evaluation, lower input-token cost, and broader provider choice are central to the workload. Choose Nemotron 3 Ultra when reasoning depth are more important. For production, rerun your own prompts through the exact provider, region, and tool stack you plan to ship.
FAQ
Which has a larger context window, Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 or Nemotron 3 Ultra?
Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 supports 1m tokens, while Nemotron 3 Ultra supports 1m tokens. That gap matters most for long documents, large codebases, retrieval-heavy agents, and conversations where earlier context must remain visible.
Which is cheaper, Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 or Nemotron 3 Ultra?
Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 is cheaper on tracked token pricing. Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 costs $0.15/1M input and $0.60/1M output tokens. Nemotron 3 Ultra costs $0.50/1M input and $2.20/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.
Is Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 or Nemotron 3 Ultra open source?
Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 is listed under Llama 4 Community. Nemotron 3 Ultra is listed under NVIDIA Open Model. License labels affect whether you can self-host, redistribute weights, or rely only on hosted APIs, so confirm the upstream license before deployment.
Which is better for vision, Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 or Nemotron 3 Ultra?
Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 has the clearer documented vision signal in this comparison. If vision is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Which is better for multimodal input, Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 or Nemotron 3 Ultra?
Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 has the clearer documented multimodal input signal in this comparison. If multimodal input is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Where can I run Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 and Nemotron 3 Ultra?
Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 is available on Microsoft Foundry, Together AI, OpenRouter, Fireworks AI, and DeepInfra. Nemotron 3 Ultra is available on OpenRouter. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
Continue comparing
Last reviewed: 2026-06-15. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.