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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Nov 2, 2026

Grok Code Fast 1 vs Qwen3-VL Plus

Qwen3-VL Plus comes out ahead, 58 to 48 on our weighted score.

  1. xAI

    Grok Code Fast 1

    Released Sep 2, 2025

    48/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.20 / $1.50
    • Context256K
    Full specs Remove Grok Code Fast 1
  2. Our pick

    Alibaba (Qwen)

    Qwen3-VL Plus

    Released Sep 23, 2025

    58/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.20 / $1.60
    • Context262K
    Full specs Remove Qwen3-VL Plus

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Qwen3-VL Plus is our pick

Qwen3-VL Plus is the better all-round choice, scoring 58/100 against Grok Code Fast 1 (48). It leads on inputs & features. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.

  • CapabilityNot enough dataNo independent benchmark covers every model here yet
  • Lowest priceGrok Code Fast 1Grok Code Fast 1 $0.525 · Qwen3-VL Plus $0.55 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextQwen3-VL PlusQwen3-VL Plus 262,144 · Grok Code Fast 1 256,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsQwen3-VL PlusGrok Code Fast 1: Text · Qwen3-VL Plus: Text, Images
  • Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
How the score is built
MeasureWeightGrok Code Fast 1Qwen3-VL Plus
Price50%6060
Inputs & features30%3570
Context window20%3637
Overall100%48/10058/100

Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.

02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.

Grok Code Fast 1 vs Qwen3-VL Plus specifications side by side
SpecificationGrok Code Fast 1xAIQwen3-VL PlusAlibaba (Qwen)
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
Input$0.20$0.20
Output$1.50 (best)$1.60
Cached input—$0.04
Blended (3:1)$0.525 (best)$0.55
Long-context rateSame rateOver 32K: $0.30 / $2.40
Price sourceMedian of 5 providersOfficial Alibaba API
Limits
Context window256,000 tokens262,144 tokens (best)
Max output10,000 tokens32,768 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoYes
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningYesYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoYes
Availability
WeightsProprietaryProprietary
API model ID—qwen3-vl-plus
API providers7 (best)6
ReleasedSep 2, 2025Sep 23, 2025
Knowledge cutoff—Apr 2025
03 — Cost

What would a month cost?

Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.

  • Grok Code Fast 1$5.00
  • Qwen3-VL Plus$5.20
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Grok Code Fast 1 or Qwen3-VL Plus?

Qwen3-VL Plus is the better all-round choice, scoring 58/100 against Grok Code Fast 1 (48). It leads on inputs & features. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.

Which is cheaper, Grok Code Fast 1 or Qwen3-VL Plus?

Grok Code Fast 1 is cheaper at $0.20 input / $1.50 output per million tokens (median across 5 API providers). Qwen3-VL Plus costs $0.20 input / $1.60 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.525 per million tokens for Grok Code Fast 1 versus $0.55 for Qwen3-VL Plus (1× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Grok Code Fast 1 has not been scored yet and Qwen3-VL Plus has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Grok Code Fast 1 and Qwen3-VL Plus yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.

Which has the bigger context window?

Qwen3-VL Plus has the largest context window at 262,144 tokens, against 256,000 for Grok Code Fast 1. Maximum output per response: Grok Code Fast 1 up to 10,000, Qwen3-VL Plus up to 32,768 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Grok Code Fast 1 accepts text; Qwen3-VL Plus accepts text and images. Qwen3-VL Plus handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

No. Grok Code Fast 1 and Qwen3-VL Plus are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.

Which is newer?

Qwen3-VL Plus is the newest, released Sep 23, 2025. Grok Code Fast 1 came out Sep 2, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Qwen3-VL Plus Apr 2025.

How do you decide the winner?

Each model gets a 0–100 score on capability (50%, independent benchmark results); price (25%, blended price per million tokens (3 input : 1 output), log scale); inputs & features (15%, image, PDF, audio and video input, tool calling, structured output and reasoning); context window (10%, maximum tokens per request, log scale). Dimensions missing for any model are dropped and the remaining weights rescaled, so every model is judged on the same evidence. Specs and prices come from public model listings and the labs’ own API pages; capability scores come from independent benchmark runs. Data updated Nov 2, 2026.

05 — Keep comparing

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