Model comparison
MAI-Thinking-1 vs Nemotron 3 Ultra
Head-to-head evidence from 7 shared benchmark results across 4 categories. Overall scores shown here use the public BenchAlign v5 ranking lane.
Evidence parity. MAI-Thinking-1 and Nemotron 3 Ultra share 7 comparable benchmark results. 4 of 8 categories are comparable. 6 results are unique to MAI-Thinking-1; 31 to Nemotron 3 Ultra.
Updated July 23, 2026- Shared results
- 7
- MAI-Thinking-1 only
- 6
- Nemotron 3 Ultra only
- 31
- Comparable categories
- 4 / 8
Treat this as a split decision. MAI-Thinking-1 makes more sense if knowledge is the priority; Nemotron 3 Ultra is the better fit if agentic is the priority or you need the larger 1M context window.
Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 7 shared benchmark results across 4 evidence categories; 4 of 8 categories currently have scoreable aggregates for both models. Treat the verdict as directional until coverage is more balanced.
Why this result
MAI-Thinking-1 and Nemotron 3 Ultra finish on the same BenchAlign overall score, so this is less about a single winner and more about where the edge shows up. The BenchAlign headline says tie; the benchmark table is where the real choice happens.
Nemotron 3 Ultra gives you the larger context window at 1M, compared with 256K for MAI-Thinking-1.
Category breakdown
Exact category averages are shown below. Not measured means BenchLM does not have enough sourced public coverage for that model and category.
| Category | MAI-Thinking-1 | Δ | Nemotron 3 Ultra |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knowledge | MAI-Thinking-172.5 | Margin← 18.7 | Nemotron 3 Ultra53.8 |
| Coding | MAI-Thinking-165.5 | Margin← 7.2 | Nemotron 3 Ultra58.3 |
| Agentic | MAI-Thinking-146.0 | Margin→ 5.3 | Nemotron 3 Ultra51.3 |
| Inst. Following | MAI-Thinking-185.0 | Margin← 3.3 | Nemotron 3 Ultra81.7 |
| Reasoning | MAI-Thinking-1Not measured | MarginNo overlap | Nemotron 3 Ultra61.9 |
| Math | MAI-Thinking-189.7 | MarginNo overlap | Nemotron 3 UltraNot measured |
| Multilingual | MAI-Thinking-1Not measured | MarginNo overlap | Nemotron 3 Ultra83.0 |
Decisive benchmark drivers
The largest measured benchmark gaps in this matchup, with exact reported values.
More
- Source ↗
Terminal-Bench 2.0
AgenticA 46%B 56.4%Winner: Nemotron 3 UltraΔ 10.4Terminal-Bench 2.0: MAI-Thinking-1 scored 46%; Nemotron 3 Ultra scored 56.4%. Nemotron 3 Ultra wins this benchmark. - Source ↗
IFBench
Inst. FollowingA 85%B 81.7%Winner: MAI-Thinking-1Δ 3.3IFBench: MAI-Thinking-1 scored 85%; Nemotron 3 Ultra scored 81.7%. MAI-Thinking-1 wins this benchmark. - Source ↗
GPQA
KnowledgeA 84.2%B 87%Winner: Nemotron 3 UltraΔ 2.8GPQA: MAI-Thinking-1 scored 84.2%; Nemotron 3 Ultra scored 87%. Nemotron 3 Ultra wins this benchmark. - Source ↗
MMLU-Pro
KnowledgeA 85%B 86.8%Winner: Nemotron 3 UltraΔ 1.8MMLU-Pro: MAI-Thinking-1 scored 85%; Nemotron 3 Ultra scored 86.8%. Nemotron 3 Ultra wins this benchmark. - Source ↗
SWE-bench Verified
CodingA 73.5%B 71.9%Winner: MAI-Thinking-1Δ 1.6SWE-bench Verified: MAI-Thinking-1 scored 73.5%; Nemotron 3 Ultra scored 71.9%. MAI-Thinking-1 wins this benchmark.
Operational comparison
Runtime and commercial metrics are compared only when both models have a complete sourced value.
| Metric | MAI-Thinking-1 | Nemotron 3 Ultra | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokens | MAI-Thinking-1Not available | Nemotron 3 Ultra$0 input / $0 output | A complete price comparison is not available. |
| Generation speedtokens per second | MAI-Thinking-1Not available | Nemotron 3 UltraNot available | A complete speed comparison is not available. |
| First-answer latencyseconds to first token | MAI-Thinking-1Not available | Nemotron 3 UltraNot available | A complete latency comparison is not available. |
| Context windowmaximum listed tokens | MAI-Thinking-1256K | Nemotron 3 Ultra1M | Nemotron 3 Ultra lists the larger context window. |
Benchmark Deep Dive
AgenticNemotron 3 Ultra wins13 benchmarks
| Benchmark | MAI-Thinking-1 | Nemotron 3 Ultra | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terminal-Bench 2.0Source | 46% | 56.4% | Nemotron 3 Ultra leads |
| PinchBenchSource | — | 90.0% | Not comparable |
| BrowseCompSource | — | 44.4% | Not comparable |
| τ³-bench resultsSource | — | 70.9% | Not comparable |
| GDPval-AASource | — | 33.2% | Not comparable |
| HLE w/ toolsSource | — | 37.4% | Not comparable |
| AA Agentic IndexSource | — | 27.4% | Not comparable |
| τ²-bench resultsSource | — | 83.3% | Not comparable |
| GDPval-AASource | — | 1164 | Not comparable |
| AA BriefcaseSource | — | 870 | Not comparable |
| AA EnterpriseOps-GymSource | — | 28.9% | Not comparable |
| AA Harvey LABSource | — | 81.7% | Not comparable |
| terminalBenchHardSource | — | 36.4% | Not comparable |
CodingMAI-Thinking-1 wins7 benchmarks
| Benchmark | MAI-Thinking-1 | Nemotron 3 Ultra | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| SWE-bench VerifiedSource | 73.5% | 71.9% | MAI-Thinking-1 leads |
| SWE-bench ProSource | 52.8% | — | Not comparable |
| Terminal-Bench 2.0Source | 46.0% | 56.4% | Nemotron 3 Ultra leads |
| SWE MultilingualSource | — | 67.7% | Not comparable |
| SciCodeSource | — | 44.6% | Not comparable |
| AA Coding IndexSource | — | 49.3% | Not comparable |
| AA-SciCodeSource | — | 39.9% | Not comparable |
Reasoning4 benchmarks
KnowledgeMAI-Thinking-1 wins13 benchmarks
| Benchmark | MAI-Thinking-1 | Nemotron 3 Ultra | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQASource | 84.2% | 87% | Nemotron 3 Ultra leads |
| GPQA-DSource | 84.2% | 87.0% | Nemotron 3 Ultra leads |
| MMLU-ProSource | 85% | 86.8% | Nemotron 3 Ultra leads |
| SimpleQASource | 31% | — | Not comparable |
| HLESource | — | 26.7% | Not comparable |
| HLE w/o toolsSource | — | 26.7% | Not comparable |
| AA-Omniscience AccuracySource | — | 21.6% | Not comparable |
| Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexSource | — | 37.8% | Not comparable |
| AA-GPQA DiamondSource | — | 86.7% | Not comparable |
| AA-HLESource | — | 26.6% | Not comparable |
| AA-Omniscience IndexSource | — | -0.8% | Not comparable |
| AA-Omniscience Hallucination RateSource | — | 28.5% | Not comparable |
| AA Openness IndexSource | — | 83.3% | Not comparable |
Math3 benchmarks
Multilingual1 benchmarks
| Benchmark | MAI-Thinking-1 | Nemotron 3 Ultra | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| MMLU-ProXSource | — | 83% | Not comparable |
Multimodal1 benchmarks
| Benchmark | MAI-Thinking-1 | Nemotron 3 Ultra | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena WebsiteSource | — | 1129 | Not comparable |
Frequently Asked Questions (5)
Which is better, MAI-Thinking-1 or Nemotron 3 Ultra?
MAI-Thinking-1 and Nemotron 3 Ultra are tied on the BenchAlign overall score, so the right pick depends on which category matters most for your use case.
Which is better for knowledge tasks, MAI-Thinking-1 or Nemotron 3 Ultra?
MAI-Thinking-1 has the edge for knowledge tasks in this comparison, averaging 72.5 versus 53.8. Inside this category, GPQA is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
Which is better for coding, MAI-Thinking-1 or Nemotron 3 Ultra?
MAI-Thinking-1 has the edge for coding in this comparison, averaging 65.5 versus 58.3. Inside this category, Terminal-Bench 2.0 is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
Which is better for agentic tasks, MAI-Thinking-1 or Nemotron 3 Ultra?
Nemotron 3 Ultra has the edge for agentic tasks in this comparison, averaging 51.3 versus 46. Inside this category, Terminal-Bench 2.0 is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
Which is better for instruction following, MAI-Thinking-1 or Nemotron 3 Ultra?
MAI-Thinking-1 has the edge for instruction following in this comparison, averaging 85 versus 81.7. Inside this category, IFBench is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
Related Comparisons
Choose a model with this week’s evidence
Join 2,000+ readers for ranking moves, pricing changes, and the claims that still need proof.
One email each week. Unsubscribe anytime.