# The cheapest language model in every context tier

Paying for context you never send is the quiet waste in model selection. The cheapest model in each tier: Qwen 2 Instruct (1.5B) (32K) at $0.02, Trinity Mini (128K) at $0.045, Qwen3 Next 80B A3b Instruct (256K) at $0.15, MiniMax M3 (512K) at $0.30, Llama 4 Scout Instruct (17Bx16E) (1M) at $0.18 per million input tokens at list.

## Ranked list

1. **Qwen 2 Instruct (1.5B)**. Qwen · 32K context · $0.02 in / $0.02 out per M tokens · Qwen license. https://allocate.network/models/qwen-qwen2-1-5b-instruct
2. **LFM2.5-8B-A1B**. LiquidAI · 32K context · $0.03 in / $0.12 out per M tokens · Custom license. https://allocate.network/models/liquid-lfm2-5-8b-a1b
3. **Trinity Mini**. Arcee AI · 128K context · $0.045 in / $0.15 out per M tokens · Not listed. https://allocate.network/models/arcee-trinity-mini
4. **OpenAI GPT-OSS 20B**. OpenAI · 128K context · $0.05 in / $0.20 out per M tokens · Apache 2.0. https://allocate.network/models/openai-gpt-oss-20b
5. **Qwen3 Next 80B A3b Instruct**. Qwen · 256K context · $0.15 in / $1.50 out per M tokens · Apache 2.0. https://allocate.network/models/qwen-qwen3-next-80b-a3b-instruct
6. **Qwen3 Next 80B A3b Thinking**. Qwen · 256K context · $0.15 in / $1.50 out per M tokens · Apache 2.0. https://allocate.network/models/qwen-qwen3-next-80b-a3b-thinking
7. **MiniMax M3**. MiniMaxAI · 512K context · $0.30 in / $1.20 out per M tokens · Proprietary API. https://allocate.network/models/minimaxai-minimax-m3
8. **NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Ultra 550B A55B NVFP4**. NVIDIA · 512K context · $0.60 in / $3.60 out per M tokens · Proprietary API. https://allocate.network/models/nvidia-nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b
9. **Llama 4 Scout Instruct (17Bx16E)**. Meta · 1M context · $0.18 in / $0.59 out per M tokens · Llama community. https://allocate.network/models/meta-llama-4-scout-17b-16e-instruct
10. **Llama Guard 4 12B**. Meta · 1M context · $0.20 in / $0.20 out per M tokens · Llama community. https://allocate.network/models/meta-llama-guard-4-12b

## Data table

| Rank | Model | Input | Output | Page |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Qwen 2 Instruct (1.5B) | $0.02 | $0.02 | https://allocate.network/models/qwen-qwen2-1-5b-instruct.md |
| 2 | LFM2.5-8B-A1B | $0.03 | $0.12 | https://allocate.network/models/liquid-lfm2-5-8b-a1b.md |
| 3 | Trinity Mini | $0.045 | $0.15 | https://allocate.network/models/arcee-trinity-mini.md |
| 4 | OpenAI GPT-OSS 20B | $0.05 | $0.20 | https://allocate.network/models/openai-gpt-oss-20b.md |
| 5 | Qwen3 Next 80B A3b Instruct | $0.15 | $1.50 | https://allocate.network/models/qwen-qwen3-next-80b-a3b-instruct.md |
| 6 | Qwen3 Next 80B A3b Thinking | $0.15 | $1.50 | https://allocate.network/models/qwen-qwen3-next-80b-a3b-thinking.md |
| 7 | MiniMax M3 | $0.30 | $1.20 | https://allocate.network/models/minimaxai-minimax-m3.md |
| 8 | NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Ultra 550B A55B NVFP4 | $0.60 | $3.60 | https://allocate.network/models/nvidia-nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b.md |
| 9 | Llama 4 Scout Instruct (17Bx16E) | $0.18 | $0.59 | https://allocate.network/models/meta-llama-4-scout-17b-16e-instruct.md |
| 10 | Llama Guard 4 12B | $0.20 | $0.20 | https://allocate.network/models/meta-llama-guard-4-12b.md |

Provider list prices from the Allocate catalog, checked 2026-07-08. Billed price is list plus the 7% transaction fee.

## Match the window to the workload

Requests have a natural size: a support turn is thousands of tokens, a contract is tens of thousands, a corpus is hundreds of thousands. The right model is the cheapest one whose window fits your real request size, not the biggest window on the menu.

Each tier lists its two cheapest models by input list price. Ranked this way, the price of context itself becomes visible: the jump from a 128K-class model to a 1M-class one is often smaller than the jump between two labs in the same tier.

## Common questions

### How do I pick a context tier?

Measure your real request sizes (the token counter helps) and pick the tier that fits the 95th percentile, not the maximum imaginable document. Route the rare oversized request to a bigger-window model instead of paying its price on every call.

### What is the cheapest 1M-context model?

Llama 4 Scout Instruct (17Bx16E) at $0.18 per million input tokens at list.

## Related

- [LLM token counter](https://allocate.network/tools/llm-token-counter)
- [Cheapest LLM APIs](https://allocate.network/best/cheapest-llm-api)
- [Open models with the longest context](https://allocate.network/best/open-models-with-the-longest-context)
- [What is a context window?](https://allocate.network/glossary/context-window)

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[HTML page](https://allocate.network/best/cheapest-models-by-context-tier) · [Machine-readable catalog](https://allocate.network/catalog.json)