QVQ Max vs Qwen Flash vs Palmyra X5
Qwen Flash comes out ahead, 68 to 48 and 40 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
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
Writer
Palmyra X5
48/100- ECI—
- Price$0.60 / $6.00
- 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 contextQwen Flash and Palmyra X5Qwen Flash 1,000,000 · Palmyra X5 1,000,000 · QVQ Max 131,072 tokens
- Widest inputsQVQ Max and Palmyra X5QVQ Max: Text, Images · Qwen Flash: Text · Palmyra X5: Text, Images
- Self-hostingNo open weightsAll three are available only through APIs
| Measure | Weight | QVQ Max | Qwen Flash | Palmyra X5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 35 | 91 | 36 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 60 | 35 | 60 |
| Context window | 20% | 24 | 60 | 60 |
| Overall | 100% | 40/100 | 68/100 | 48/100 |
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 | QVQ MaxAlibaba (Qwen) | Qwen FlashAlibaba (Qwen) | Palmyra X5Writer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $1.20 | $0.05 (best) | $0.60 |
| Output | $4.80 | $0.40 (best) | $6.00 |
| Cached input | — | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $2.10 | $0.138 (best) | $1.95 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official Alibaba API | Official Alibaba API | Median of 1 providers |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 131,072 tokens | 1,000,000 tokens (best) | 1,000,000 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 8,192 tokens | 32,768 tokens (best) | 8,192 tokens |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | No | Yes |
| 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 | 6 (best) | 1 |
| Released | Mar 25, 2025 | Jul 28, 2025 | Apr 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.
- QVQ Max$21.60
- Qwen Flash$1.30
- Palmyra X5$18.00
Which should you choose?
Which is better: QVQ Max, Qwen Flash or Palmyra X5?
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, QVQ Max, Qwen Flash or Palmyra X5?
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. QVQ Max has not been scored yet, Qwen Flash has not been scored yet and Palmyra X5 has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for QVQ Max, Qwen Flash and Palmyra X5 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?
Qwen Flash and Palmyra X5 have the largest context windows (1,000,000 and 1,000,000 tokens), against 131,072 for QVQ Max. Maximum output per response: QVQ Max up to 8,192, Qwen Flash up to 32,768, Palmyra X5 up to 8,192 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
QVQ Max accepts text and images; Qwen Flash accepts text; Palmyra X5 accepts text and images. QVQ Max handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
No. QVQ Max, Qwen Flash and Palmyra X5 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.
