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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Nov 2, 2026

Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B vs Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking

Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B comes out ahead, 51 to 44 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Our pick

    Nous Research

    Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B

    Released Apr 30, 2024

    51/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.14 / $0.14
    • Context8K
    Full specs Remove Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B

  2. Alibaba (Qwen)

    Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking

    Released Sep 23, 2025

    44/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.50 / $3.95
    • Context131K
    Full specs Remove Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B is our pick

Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B is the better all-round choice, scoring 51/100 against Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking (44). It leads on price. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking wins on inputs & features and context window. 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 priceHermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8BHermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B $0.14 · Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking $1.36 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextQwen3 VL 235B A22B ThinkingQwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking 131,072 · Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B 8,192 tokens
  • Widest inputsQwen3 VL 235B A22B ThinkingHermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B: Text · Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking: Text, Images
  • Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
How the score is built
MeasureWeightHermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8BQwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking
Price50%8742
Inputs & features30%2560
Context window20%025
Overall100%51/10044/100

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.

Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B vs Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking specifications side by side
SpecificationHermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8BNous ResearchQwen3 VL 235B A22B ThinkingAlibaba (Qwen)
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
Input$0.14 (best)$0.50
Output$0.14 (best)$3.95
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$0.14 (best)$1.36
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 2 providersMedian of 5 providers
Limits
Context window8,192 tokens131,072 tokens (best)
Max output8,192 tokens32,768 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoYes
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningNoYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsOpenLlama 3 Community LicenseOpen
API model ID——
API providers25 (best)
ReleasedApr 30, 2024Sep 23, 2025
Knowledge cutoff—Mar 31, 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.

  • Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B$1.68
  • Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking$12.90
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B or Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking?

Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B is the better all-round choice, scoring 51/100 against Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking (44). It leads on price. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking wins on inputs & features and context window. 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, Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B or Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking?

Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B is cheaper at $0.14 input / $0.14 output per million tokens (median across 2 API providers). Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking costs $0.50 input / $3.95 output per million tokens (median across 5 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.14 per million tokens for Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B versus $1.36 for Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking (9.7× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B has not been scored yet and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking 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 235B A22B Thinking has the largest context window at 131,072 tokens, against 8,192 for Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B. Maximum output per response: Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B up to 8,192, Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking up to 32,768 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B accepts text; Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking accepts text and images. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

Yes, both publish their weights (Llama 3 Community License), so you can self-host them.

Which is newer?

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking is the newest, released Sep 23, 2025. Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B came out Apr 30, 2024. Knowledge cutoff: Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking Mar 31, 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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