Palmyra X5 vs QVQ Max vs Qwen Flash
Qwen Flash comes out ahead, 68 to 48 and 40 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
Writer
Palmyra X5
48/100- ECI—
- Price$0.60 / $6.00
- Context1M
Alibaba (Qwen)QVQ Max
40/100- ECI—
- Price$1.20 / $4.80
- Context131K
- Our pickAlibaba (Qwen)
Qwen Flash
68/100- ECI—
- Price$0.05 / $0.40
- Context1M
Qwen Flash is our pick
Qwen Flash is the better all-round choice, scoring 68/100 against Palmyra X5 (48) and QVQ Max (40). It leads on price. 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 priceQwen FlashQwen Flash $0.138 · Palmyra X5 $1.95 · QVQ Max $2.10 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextPalmyra X5 and Qwen FlashPalmyra X5 1,000,000 · Qwen Flash 1,000,000 · QVQ Max 131,072 tokens
- Widest inputsPalmyra X5 and QVQ MaxPalmyra X5: Text, Images · QVQ Max: Text, Images · Qwen Flash: Text
- Self-hostingNo open weightsAll three are available only through APIs
| Measure | Weight | Palmyra X5 | QVQ Max | Qwen Flash |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 36 | 35 | 91 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 60 | 60 | 35 |
| Context window | 20% | 60 | 24 | 60 |
| Overall | 100% | 48/100 | 40/100 | 68/100 |
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 | Palmyra X5Writer | QVQ MaxAlibaba (Qwen) | Qwen FlashAlibaba (Qwen) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $0.60 | $1.20 | $0.05 (best) |
| Output | $6.00 | $4.80 | $0.40 (best) |
| Cached input | — | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $1.95 | $2.10 | $0.138 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 1 providers | Official Alibaba API | Official Alibaba API |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 1,000,000 tokens (best) | 131,072 tokens | 1,000,000 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 8,192 tokens | 8,192 tokens | 32,768 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | Yes | No |
| PDFs | No | No | No |
| Audio | No | No | No |
| Video | No | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | No | No |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| API model ID | — | qvq-max | qwen-flash |
| API providers | 1 | 1 | 6 (best) |
| Released | Apr 28, 2025 | Mar 25, 2025 | Jul 28, 2025 |
| Knowledge cutoff | — | Apr 2024 | Apr 2024 |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Palmyra X5$18.00
- QVQ Max$21.60
- Qwen Flash$1.30
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Palmyra X5, QVQ Max or Qwen Flash?
Qwen Flash is the better all-round choice, scoring 68/100 against Palmyra X5 (48) and QVQ Max (40). It leads on price. 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, Palmyra X5, QVQ Max or Qwen Flash?
Qwen Flash is cheaper at $0.05 input / $0.40 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). Palmyra X5 costs $0.60 input / $6.00 output per million tokens (median across 1 API provider); QVQ Max costs $1.20 input / $4.80 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.138 per million tokens for Qwen Flash versus $1.95 for Palmyra X5 (14× as much) and $2.10 for QVQ Max (15× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers all three models yet. Palmyra X5 has not been scored yet, QVQ Max has not been scored yet and Qwen Flash has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Palmyra X5, QVQ Max and Qwen Flash yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. All three support tool calling for agent workflows.
Which has the bigger context window?
Palmyra X5 and Qwen Flash have the largest context windows (1,000,000 and 1,000,000 tokens), against 131,072 for QVQ Max. Maximum output per response: Palmyra X5 up to 8,192, QVQ Max up to 8,192, Qwen Flash up to 32,768 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Palmyra X5 accepts text and images; QVQ Max accepts text and images; Qwen Flash accepts text. Palmyra X5 handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
No. Palmyra X5, QVQ Max and Qwen Flash are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.
Which is newer?
Qwen Flash is the newest, released Jul 28, 2025. Palmyra X5 came out Apr 28, 2025; QVQ Max came out Mar 25, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: QVQ Max Apr 2024, Qwen Flash Apr 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 Oct 4, 2026.
