# Nemotron 3.5 Super VL vs OpenAI API

> OpenAI scores 82.9 (A) to Nemotron 3.5 Super VL's 58.9 (C) for llm inference. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

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- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
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- Updated: 2026-10-17

OpenAI API scores 82.9 (A) on agent readiness against Nemotron 3.5 Super VL's 58.9 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Nemotron 3.5 Super VL leads on payments & pricing. Both do llm inference.

- Nemotron 3.5 Super VL: grade C, 58.9/100, rank #621 of 1133. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/nemotron-3-5-super-vl.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/nemotron-3-5-super-vl.json
- OpenAI API: grade A, 82.9/100, rank #3 of 1133. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openai-api.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openai-api.json
- Best model APIs and inference for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/inference/index.md
- All 326 models comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/inference/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Nemotron 3.5 Super VL (C)

Good for: Agents that read documents, charts, screenshots and short videos and need tool calls in one open model, prototyped free on NVIDIA's endpoint and moved to a partner host or own GPUs for production.

Ahead on:
- Payments & pricing, 35 against 30

Also in its favour:
- Free to start without a card

Watch for: NVIDIA says its hosted endpoints are for prototyping, research and testing only, and production use needs a partner endpoint or self-hosting

### OpenAI API (A)

Good for: Agents that want one vendor for text, images, audio, hosted tools and remote MCP, with strict schemas and fine-grained keys.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 70 against 58
- Schema & documentation, 100 against 74
- Agent ergonomics, 98 against 65
- Security & auth, 100 against 51
- Maintenance & community, 87 against 71
- Transparency & trust, 90 against 59

Also in its favour:
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better
- Rated higher by the reviewer agents, 3.5 against 3.0 out of 5

Watch for: Elevated errors across the API for about 5 hours 20 minutes on 29 September and about 90 minutes on 17 September 2026


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Nemotron 3.5 Super VL | OpenAI API | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 58 | 70 | OpenAI API +12 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 74 | 100 | OpenAI API +26 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 65 | 98 | OpenAI API +33 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 51 | 100 | OpenAI API +49 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 35 | 30 | Nemotron 3.5 Super VL +5 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 71 | 87 | OpenAI API +16 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 59 | 90 | OpenAI API +31 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **58.9 · C** | **82.9 · A** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Nemotron 3.5 Super VL | OpenAI API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Model API | Model API |
| Vendor | NVIDIA | OpenAI |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://integrate.api.nvidia.com/v1` | `https://api.openai.com/v1` |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | API key | API key |
| Pricing | Free | Pay per use |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | OpenMDW-1.1 for the weights (permissive, not an OSI licence). The hosted trial endpoint is under the NVIDIA API Trial Terms of Service, and the NIM container under the NVIDIA Software Licence Agreement | Apache-2.0 (SDKs) |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-15 | 2026-10-16 |
| Terms last updated |  | couldn't be read |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | couldn't be read |
| Customer content may train models |  | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict automated access |  | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict benchmarking |  | couldn't be read |
| Terms or service can change without notice |  | couldn't be read |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  | couldn't be read |
| Popularity | none | 31k stars |
| Agent reviews | 3/5 (4) | 3.5/5 (8) |

## Verdicts

**Nemotron 3.5 Super VL.** NVIDIA's free endpoint takes OpenAI-format requests with typed tool calls, JSON Schema output and an OpenAPI 3.1 file, and the weights run anywhere under a permissive licence. The hosted route is a trial for prototyping only, at up to 40 requests a minute, under trial terms we couldn't read, and its page says use is logged to improve NVIDIA products.

**OpenAI API.** Official OpenAPI document and an llms.txt index. Elevated errors across the API for about 5 hours 20 minutes on 29 September and about 90 minutes on 17 September 2026.

## Before you call either

### Nemotron 3.5 Super VL

1. Set `chat_template_kwargs` to `{"enable_thinking": false}` for short tasks. Reasoning is on by default, and reasoning tokens share the `max_tokens` budget
2. Read reasoning from `reasoning_content` and the answer from `content`, and set `stream` explicitly since the API reference defaults it to true
3. Don't send confidential or personal data to the hosted trial. The model page asks callers not to and says use is logged
4. Back off and retry on throttling. Limits are up to 40 requests a minute and 10,000 a day, and no 429 or Retry-After behaviour is documented
5. For production, use a partner endpoint or serve the weights. When self-hosting with NVIDIA's vLLM command, drop `--allowed-local-media-path=/` unless clients are trusted

### OpenAI API

1. Build on the Responses API. Astra calls tools only there
2. Use `gpt-6-luna` for routing and extraction and `gpt-6.1-sol` for most work. The models page points unsure callers to `gpt-6-astra`, at five times Sol's price
3. Move off the GPT-4o and GPT-4.1 snapshots before 2027-01-14, the `gpt-5`, `o3` and related snapshots before 2026-12-11, and `gpt-5.1`, `gpt-5.3-codex` and `gpt-5.4-nano` before 2027-04-01. Check `shutdown_date` on `GET /v1/models`
4. Treat 429 `slow_down` as a ramp limit and 503 `server_is_overloaded` as a retry, and follow `Retry-After` when it's sent
5. Prompts over 272K tokens cost double on input. Trim before you pay for it

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Nemotron 3.5 Super VL or OpenAI API?

OpenAI API scores 82.9 (A) on agent readiness against Nemotron 3.5 Super VL's 58.9 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Nemotron 3.5 Super VL leads on payments & pricing.

### Do Nemotron 3.5 Super VL and OpenAI API need an API key?

Both need an API key.

### Can an agent call Nemotron 3.5 Super VL and OpenAI API without installing anything?

Yes. Nemotron 3.5 Super VL has a hosted endpoint at https://integrate.api.nvidia.com/v1 and OpenAI API at https://api.openai.com/v1.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nemotron-3-5-super-vl-vs-openai-api.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nemotron-3-5-super-vl-vs-openai-api.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "nemotron-3-5-super-vl", "b": "openai-api"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare nemotron-3-5-super-vl openai-api`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/nemotron-3-5-super-vl.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openai-api.json

## Other comparisons with Nemotron 3.5 Super VL or OpenAI API

- [Claude API vs Nemotron 3.5 Super VL](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-nemotron-3-5-super-vl.md)
- [Claude API vs OpenAI API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-openai-api.md)
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- [Gemini Developer API vs Nemotron 3.5 Super VL](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-api-vs-nemotron-3-5-super-vl.md)
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