Moondream 3 Preview overview
Moondream 3 Preview by Moondream
Send an image with a text prompt to the chat completions endpoint and receive a text answer.
Moondream 3 Preview specs
- Model ID
moondream/moondream3-preview- Developer
- Moondream
- Context window
- 32,000 tokens
- Max output
- 4,096 tokens
- Input
- Text, Image
- Output
- Text
- API
- OpenAI-compatible, base URL
https://api.aimlapi.com/v1
What Is Moondream 3 Preview?
Moondream 3 Preview is a vision-language model from Moondream. It is a mixture-of-experts model with 9B total parameters, of which 2B are active for each token, which keeps inference close to the cost of a small dense model. It reads images together with a text prompt and answers in text, covering visual question answering, captioning, OCR and visual reasoning. It is available on AI/ML API as moondream/moondream3-preview.
Moondream 3 Preview is the first release of Moondream's third generation. Its successor, Moondream 3.1, keeps the same 9B/2B layout, limits and price on AI/ML API.
Specifications
- Available on AI/ML API since: 15 October 2026
- Architecture: mixture of experts, 9B total / 2B active parameters
- Input: text and images, output: text
- Capabilities: vision, streaming
What It Is Built For
The model targets high-volume image understanding rather than long conversations: answering a question about a photo or screenshot, writing a caption, reading the text in an image and reasoning about what the image shows. The 32,000-token context and 4,096-token output limit fit short, image-centred requests.
Use cases
Visual question answering over photos, screenshots and product images, where an application asks a specific question and needs a short text answer.
Captioning and alt text for image libraries, catalogues and user uploads.
OCR: reading text from signs, labels, receipts, documents and UI screenshots.
Visual reasoning steps inside a larger pipeline, such as checking what an image contains before routing it to another model or tool.
Capabilities
- Streaming
- Vision
Moondream 3 Preview API pricing
| Usage | Price | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Input | $0.3174 | 1M tokens |
| Output | $2.65 | 1M tokens |
Prices from the AI/ML API price list, checked on Nov 4, 2026.
Moondream 3 Preview vs other models: token prices
AI/ML API input and output rates for 5 models, per million tokens.
| Model | Input | Output |
|---|---|---|
 Moondream 3 Preview | $0.3174 | $2.65 |
| Moondream 3.1 | $0.3174 | $2.65 |
| Nova 2 Lite | $0.3174 | $2.65 |
 Seed 2.1 Turbo | $0.529 | $2.65 |
 Kimi K2 Thinking | $0.6348 | $2.65 |
How to use the Moondream 3 Preview API
View docs
Build with your agent
Give your agent the model details, code and documentation.
1Get your API key
Create API keyexport AIMLAPI_KEY="8f2b4c7d9a1e6b3f…"2Make your first request
curl 'https://api.aimlapi.com/v1/chat/completions' \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $AIMLAPI_KEY" \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-d '{
"model": "moondream/moondream3-preview",
"messages": [
{
"role": "user",
"content": "Write a haiku about the ocean."
}
]
}'import os
import requests
headers = {
"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['AIMLAPI_KEY']}",
"Content-Type": "application/json",
}
payload = {
"model": "moondream/moondream3-preview",
"messages": [
{
"role": "user",
"content": "Write a haiku about the ocean."
}
]
}
response = requests.post("https://api.aimlapi.com/v1/chat/completions", headers=headers, json=payload, timeout=120)
response.raise_for_status()
print(response.json())const response = await fetch("https://api.aimlapi.com/v1/chat/completions", {
method: "POST",
headers: {
Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.AIMLAPI_KEY}`,
"Content-Type": "application/json",
},
body: JSON.stringify({
"model": "moondream/moondream3-preview",
"messages": [
{
"role": "user",
"content": "Write a haiku about the ocean."
}
]
}),
});
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`HTTP ${response.status}`);
console.log(await response.json());Models similar to Moondream 3 Preview
Moondream 3 Preview FAQ
Is Moondream 3 Preview available on AI/ML API?
Yes. Moondream 3 Preview is live on AI/ML API as moondream/moondream3-preview, through the chat completions endpoint.
How many parameters does Moondream 3 Preview have?
It is a mixture-of-experts model with 9B total parameters, of which 2B are active for each token.
What can Moondream 3 Preview do?
Visual question answering, captioning, OCR and visual reasoning over images. It takes text and images as input and returns text.
What is the context window of Moondream 3 Preview?
32,000 tokens, with up to 4,096 output tokens per request.
How is Moondream 3 Preview different from Moondream 3.1?
Moondream 3.1 is the successor to Moondream 3 Preview. Both have 9B total and 2B active parameters, the same limits and the same price on AI/ML API.
How much does Moondream 3 Preview cost?
Moondream 3 Preview costs $0.3174 input and $2.65 output per 1M tokens on AI/ML API, billed as you go with no subscription.
What is the Moondream 3 Preview model ID?
Use moondream/moondream3-preview as the model parameter. Requests go to the OpenAI-compatible endpoint with your AI/ML API key.