Pick Amazon Nova Pro for multimodal input across text, image and video at $0.80/$3.20 or deep aws and bedrock integration for enterprise pipelines. Pick MAI-1-preview for microsoft's first fully in-house, end-to-end foundation model - a historic break from relying solely on openai or ranked in the top 15 on lm arena at launch. On a tight budget at scale, MAI-1-preview is the value pick.
Amazon Nova Pro (Amazon) and MAI-1-preview (Microsoft) are two of the models people most often weigh against each other in 2026. Amazon Nova Pro is amazon's multimodal Bedrock model at $0.80/$3.20 with a 300K window — an enterprise-integrated generalist, not a frontier model. MAI-1-preview is microsoft's first fully in-house foundation model - a strategic break from sole reliance on OpenAI, trained on ~15,000 H100 GPUs. They diverge most on price and context window — each quantified below from the models' real specs.
Key differences
Context window: Amazon Nova Pro holds 2.3× more — 300K (~450 pages) vs 128K (~192 pages). But effective recall usually fades long before the advertised ceiling, so the bigger number only helps if the model reasons over it.
Recency: MAI-1-preview is the newer model by about 9 months (released August 28, 2025), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Specifications
Spec
Amazon Nova Pro
MAI-1-preview
Provider
Amazon (US)
Microsoft (US)
Released
December 5, 2024
August 28, 2025
Context window
300K (~450 pages)
128K (~192 pages)
Price (in/out)
$0.8/$3.2 per 1M tokens
Not published
Open weight?
No — API only
No — API only
Modalities
text, image, video, code
text, code
SWE-Bench Verified
Not published
Not published
MRCR v2 @ 1M
Not published
Not published
Who wins what
Multimodal input across text, image and video at $0.80/$3.20: Amazon Nova Pro — Amazon's multimodal Bedrock model at $0.80/$3.20 with a 300K window — an enterprise-integrated generalist, not a frontier model — and it carries the larger 300K context.
Deep AWS and Bedrock integration for enterprise pipelines: Amazon Nova Pro — Amazon Nova Pro lists deep AWS and Bedrock integration for enterprise pipelines among its strengths; MAI-1-preview does not.
Balanced cost-to-capability for general business tasks: Amazon Nova Pro — MAI-1-preview is comparatively weak here — distinct from Microsoft's later MAI-Thinking-1 reasoning model - an earlier, more general-purpose entry
Microsoft's first fully in-house, end-to-end foundation model - a historic break from relying solely on OpenAI: MAI-1-preview — Amazon Nova Pro is comparatively weak here — not a frontier reasoning or coding model against 2026 flagships
Ranked in the top 15 on LM Arena at launch: MAI-1-preview — Microsoft's first fully in-house foundation model - a strategic break from sole reliance on OpenAI, trained on ~15,000 H100 GPUs — and it is the newer of the two.
Trained on roughly 15,000 NVIDIA H100 GPUs, a genuine internal infrastructure investment: MAI-1-preview — MAI-1-preview lists trained on roughly 15,000 NVIDIA H100 GPUs, a genuine internal infrastructure investment among its strengths; Amazon Nova Pro does not.
Lowest cost at scale: MAI-1-preview — Its weights are open, so at volume you pay for your own hardware instead of Amazon Nova Pro's $0.8/$3.2 per 1M tokens.
Largest single-prompt input: Amazon Nova Pro — Its 300K window is about 2.3× larger than MAI-1-preview's 128K, fitting roughly 450 pages in one prompt.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume: MAI-1-preview — At Not published it undercuts Amazon Nova Pro, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Someone analysing very long documents or codebases: Amazon Nova Pro — Larger 300K window fits more in one prompt.
Anyone whose priority is multimodal input across text, image and video at $0.80/$3.20: Amazon Nova Pro — It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is microsoft's first fully in-house, end-to-end foundation model - a historic break from relying solely on openai: MAI-1-preview — That is its strongest area.
Amazon Nova Pro: where it fits
Amazon's multimodal Bedrock model at $0.80/$3.20 with a 300K window — an enterprise-integrated generalist, not a frontier model. Released December 5, 2024 by Amazon, it is built for multimodal input across text, image and video at $0.80/$3.20, deep AWS and Bedrock integration for enterprise pipelines, balanced cost-to-capability for general business tasks, and a 300K context for long documents and mixed media.
Its trade-offs are real: not a frontier reasoning or coding model against 2026 flagships, no published SWE-Bench Verified score, best value is realised inside the AWS ecosystem, and late-2024 model — older than most of the field here. At $0.8 in / $3.2 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget price band.
MAI-1-preview: where it fits
Microsoft's first fully in-house foundation model - a strategic break from sole reliance on OpenAI, trained on ~15,000 H100 GPUs. Released August 28, 2025 by Microsoft, it is built for microsoft's first fully in-house, end-to-end foundation model - a historic break from relying solely on OpenAI, ranked in the top 15 on LM Arena at launch, trained on roughly 15,000 NVIDIA H100 GPUs, a genuine internal infrastructure investment, and rolled into Copilot alongside OpenAI models, giving Microsoft a real second option.
Its trade-offs: a 'preview' release, not yet positioned as Microsoft's primary Copilot model, no public per-token API pricing - not sold as a standalone product, and distinct from Microsoft's later MAI-Thinking-1 reasoning model - an earlier, more general-purpose entry.
The bottom line for this matchup
Amazon Nova Pro and MAI-1-preview overlap enough that the right pick depends on your specific job. MAI-1-preview costs less per token; Amazon Nova Pro holds the larger context; and each leads in its own area — Amazon Nova Pro for multimodal input across text, image and video at $0.80/$3.20, MAI-1-preview for microsoft's first fully in-house, end-to-end foundation model - a historic break from relying solely on openai. Rather than crowning one, run the same hard task through both once and let the results decide.
Frequently asked questions
Is Amazon Nova Pro or MAI-1-preview better for coding?
Public SWE-Bench figures are not available for either model, so the honest test is your own repository — run an identical real bug through both. By design, Amazon Nova Pro leans toward multimodal input across text, image and video at $0.80/$3.20 while MAI-1-preview leans toward microsoft's first fully in-house, end-to-end foundation model - a historic break from relying solely on openai, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, Amazon Nova Pro or MAI-1-preview?
MAI-1-preview is cheaper — $0.8/$3.2 per 1M tokens vs Not published.
Which has the bigger context window?
Amazon Nova Pro — 300K vs 128K, about 2.3× larger. Useful only if the model actually reasons over the full window, which not all do.
Can I use both Amazon Nova Pro and MAI-1-preview together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you Amazon Nova Pro, MAI-1-preview and 40+ others under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day), so you can draft with one and cross-check with the other instead of buying two subscriptions.
Which is newer, Amazon Nova Pro or MAI-1-preview?
MAI-1-preview — released August 28, 2025, about 9 months after Amazon Nova Pro.
Amazon Nova Pro vs MAI-1-preview
Amazon · US | Microsoft · US · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
Pick Amazon Nova Pro for multimodal input across text, image and video at $0.80/$3.20 or deep aws and bedrock integration for enterprise pipelines. Pick MAI-1-preview for microsoft's first fully in-house, end-to-end foundation model - a historic break from relying solely on openai or ranked in the top 15 on lm arena at launch. On a tight budget at scale, MAI-1-preview is the value pick.
Amazon Nova Pro (Amazon) and MAI-1-preview (Microsoft) are two of the models people most often weigh against each other in 2026. Amazon Nova Pro is amazon's multimodal Bedrock model at $0.80/$3.20 with a 300K window — an enterprise-integrated generalist, not a frontier model. MAI-1-preview is microsoft's first fully in-house foundation model - a strategic break from sole reliance on OpenAI, trained on ~15,000 H100 GPUs. They diverge most on price and context window — each quantified below from the models' real specs.
Key differences at a glance
▸Context window: Amazon Nova Pro holds 2.3× more — 300K (~450 pages) vs 128K (~192 pages). But effective recall usually fades long before the advertised ceiling, so the bigger number only helps if the model reasons over it.
▸Recency: MAI-1-preview is the newer model by about 9 months (released August 28, 2025), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Side-by-side specs
Spec
Amazon Nova Pro
MAI-1-preview
Provider
Amazon (US)
Microsoft (US)
Released
December 5, 2024
August 28, 2025
Context window
300K (~450 pages)
128K (~192 pages)
Price (in/out)
$0.8/$3.2 per 1M tokens
Not published
Open weight?
No — API only
No — API only
Modalities
text, image, video, code
text, code
SWE-Bench Verified
Not published
Not published
MRCR v2 @ 1M
Not published
Not published
Who wins what
Multimodal input across text, image and video at $0.80/$3.20
Amazon Nova Pro
Amazon's multimodal Bedrock model at $0.80/$3.20 with a 300K window — an enterprise-integrated generalist, not a frontier model — and it carries the larger 300K context.
Deep AWS and Bedrock integration for enterprise pipelines
Amazon Nova Pro
Amazon Nova Pro lists deep AWS and Bedrock integration for enterprise pipelines among its strengths; MAI-1-preview does not.
Balanced cost-to-capability for general business tasks
Amazon Nova Pro
MAI-1-preview is comparatively weak here — distinct from Microsoft's later MAI-Thinking-1 reasoning model - an earlier, more general-purpose entry
Microsoft's first fully in-house, end-to-end foundation model - a historic break from relying solely on OpenAI
MAI-1-preview
Amazon Nova Pro is comparatively weak here — not a frontier reasoning or coding model against 2026 flagships
Ranked in the top 15 on LM Arena at launch
MAI-1-preview
Microsoft's first fully in-house foundation model - a strategic break from sole reliance on OpenAI, trained on ~15,000 H100 GPUs — and it is the newer of the two.
Trained on roughly 15,000 NVIDIA H100 GPUs, a genuine internal infrastructure investment
MAI-1-preview
MAI-1-preview lists trained on roughly 15,000 NVIDIA H100 GPUs, a genuine internal infrastructure investment among its strengths; Amazon Nova Pro does not.
Lowest cost at scale
MAI-1-preview
Its weights are open, so at volume you pay for your own hardware instead of Amazon Nova Pro's $0.8/$3.2 per 1M tokens.
Largest single-prompt input
Amazon Nova Pro
Its 300K window is about 2.3× larger than MAI-1-preview's 128K, fitting roughly 450 pages in one prompt.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume
→ MAI-1-preview
At Not published it undercuts Amazon Nova Pro, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Someone analysing very long documents or codebases
→ Amazon Nova Pro
Larger 300K window fits more in one prompt.
Anyone whose priority is multimodal input across text, image and video at $0.80/$3.20
→ Amazon Nova Pro
It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is microsoft's first fully in-house, end-to-end foundation model - a historic break from relying solely on openai
→ MAI-1-preview
That is its strongest area.
Amazon Nova Pro: where it fits
Amazon's multimodal Bedrock model at $0.80/$3.20 with a 300K window — an enterprise-integrated generalist, not a frontier model. Released December 5, 2024 by Amazon, it is built for multimodal input across text, image and video at $0.80/$3.20, deep AWS and Bedrock integration for enterprise pipelines, balanced cost-to-capability for general business tasks, and a 300K context for long documents and mixed media.
Its trade-offs are real: not a frontier reasoning or coding model against 2026 flagships, no published SWE-Bench Verified score, best value is realised inside the AWS ecosystem, and late-2024 model — older than most of the field here. At $0.8 in / $3.2 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget price band.
MAI-1-preview: where it fits
Microsoft's first fully in-house foundation model - a strategic break from sole reliance on OpenAI, trained on ~15,000 H100 GPUs. Released August 28, 2025 by Microsoft, it is built for microsoft's first fully in-house, end-to-end foundation model - a historic break from relying solely on OpenAI, ranked in the top 15 on LM Arena at launch, trained on roughly 15,000 NVIDIA H100 GPUs, a genuine internal infrastructure investment, and rolled into Copilot alongside OpenAI models, giving Microsoft a real second option.
Its trade-offs: a 'preview' release, not yet positioned as Microsoft's primary Copilot model, no public per-token API pricing - not sold as a standalone product, and distinct from Microsoft's later MAI-Thinking-1 reasoning model - an earlier, more general-purpose entry.
The bottom line for this matchup
Amazon Nova Pro and MAI-1-preview overlap enough that the right pick depends on your specific job. MAI-1-preview costs less per token; Amazon Nova Pro holds the larger context; and each leads in its own area — Amazon Nova Pro for multimodal input across text, image and video at $0.80/$3.20, MAI-1-preview for microsoft's first fully in-house, end-to-end foundation model - a historic break from relying solely on openai. Rather than crowning one, run the same hard task through both once and let the results decide.
Want both Amazon Nova Pro and MAI-1-preview without two subscriptions? LumiChats gives you these plus 40+ models under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day) — draft with one, cross-check with the other.
Is Amazon Nova Pro or MAI-1-preview better for coding?
Public SWE-Bench figures are not available for either model, so the honest test is your own repository — run an identical real bug through both. By design, Amazon Nova Pro leans toward multimodal input across text, image and video at $0.80/$3.20 while MAI-1-preview leans toward microsoft's first fully in-house, end-to-end foundation model - a historic break from relying solely on openai, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, Amazon Nova Pro or MAI-1-preview?
MAI-1-preview is cheaper — $0.8/$3.2 per 1M tokens vs Not published.
Which has the bigger context window?
Amazon Nova Pro — 300K vs 128K, about 2.3× larger. Useful only if the model actually reasons over the full window, which not all do.
Can I use both Amazon Nova Pro and MAI-1-preview together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you Amazon Nova Pro, MAI-1-preview and 40+ others under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day), so you can draft with one and cross-check with the other instead of buying two subscriptions.
Which is newer, Amazon Nova Pro or MAI-1-preview?
MAI-1-preview — released August 28, 2025, about 9 months after Amazon Nova Pro.
Specifications and benchmarks reflect publicly reported figures as of June 2026 and may change as providers release updates. Always verify on your own workload.