Jamba Mini vs Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct comes out ahead, 62 to 55 on our weighted score.
AI21 LabsJamba Mini
55/100- ECI—
- Price$0.20 / $0.40
- Context256K
- Our pick
Alibaba (Qwen)Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct
62/100- ECI—
- Price$0.15 / $0.60
- Context262K
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Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct is our pick
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct is the better all-round choice, scoring 62/100 against Jamba Mini (55). 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 priceJamba MiniJamba Mini $0.25 · Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct $0.263 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextQwen3 VL 30B A3B InstructQwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct 262,144 · Jamba Mini 256,000 tokens
- Widest inputsQwen3 VL 30B A3B InstructJamba Mini: Text · Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct: Text, Images, Video
- Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
| Measure | Weight | Jamba Mini | Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 75 | 74 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 35 | 60 |
| Context window | 20% | 36 | 37 |
| Overall | 100% | 55/100 | 62/100 |
Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | Jamba MiniAI21 Labs | Qwen3 VL 30B A3B InstructAlibaba (Qwen) |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.20 | $0.15 (best) |
| Output | $0.40 (best) | $0.60 |
| Cached input | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.25 (best) | $0.263 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official AI21 Labs API | Median of 13 providers |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 256,000 tokens | 262,144 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 4,096 tokens | 32,768 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | Yes |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | Yes |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | Yes | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Open | OpenApache-2.0 |
| API model ID | jamba-mini | — |
| API providers | 1 | 13 (best) |
| Released | Jan 8, 2026 | Oct 4, 2025 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Aug 22, 2024 | — |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Jamba Mini$2.80
- Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct$2.70
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Jamba Mini or Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct?
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct is the better all-round choice, scoring 62/100 against Jamba Mini (55). 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, Jamba Mini or Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct?
Jamba Mini is cheaper at $0.20 input / $0.40 output per million tokens (official AI21 Labs API price). Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct costs $0.15 input / $0.60 output per million tokens (median across 13 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.25 per million tokens for Jamba Mini versus $0.263 for Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct (1.1× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Jamba Mini has not been scored yet and Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Jamba Mini and Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct 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 30B A3B Instruct has the largest context window at 262,144 tokens, against 256,000 for Jamba Mini. Maximum output per response: Jamba Mini up to 4,096, Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct up to 32,768 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Jamba Mini accepts text; Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct accepts text, images and video. Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
Yes, both publish their weights (Apache-2.0), so you can self-host them.
Which is newer?
Jamba Mini is the newest, released Jan 8, 2026. Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct came out Oct 4, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Jamba Mini Aug 22, 2024.
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.
