QVQ Max vs Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking comes out ahead, 48 to 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)
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking
48/100- ECI—
- Price$0.40 / $4.00
- Context131K
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Make it a three-way comparison.
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking is our pick
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking is the better all-round choice, scoring 48/100 against QVQ Max (40). It leads on price and 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 priceQwen3 VL 235B A22B ThinkingQwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking $1.30 · QVQ Max $2.10 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextAbout the sameQVQ Max 131,072 · Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking 131,072 tokens
- Widest inputsSame inputsQVQ Max: Text, Images · Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking: Text, Images
- Self-hostingQwen3 VL 235B A22B ThinkingPublishes downloadable weights
| Measure | Weight | QVQ Max | Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 35 | 44 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 60 | 70 |
| Context window | 20% | 24 | 24 |
| Overall | 100% | 40/100 | 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) | Qwen3 VL 235B A22B ThinkingAlibaba (Qwen) |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $1.20 | $0.40 (best) |
| Output | $4.80 | $4.00 (best) |
| Cached input | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $2.10 | $1.30 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official Alibaba API | Median of 9 providers |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 131,072 tokens | 131,072 tokens |
| Max output | 8,192 tokens | 32,768 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | Yes |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | Yes |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | Open |
| API model ID | qvq-max | — |
| API providers | 1 | 9 (best) |
| Released | Mar 25, 2025 | Sep 23, 2025 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Apr 2024 | Mar 31, 2025 |
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
- Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking$12.00
Which should you choose?
Which is better: QVQ Max or Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking?
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking is the better all-round choice, scoring 48/100 against QVQ Max (40). It leads on price and 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, QVQ Max or Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking?
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking is cheaper at $0.40 input / $4.00 output per million tokens (median across 9 API providers). 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 $1.30 per million tokens for Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking versus $2.10 for QVQ Max (1.6× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. QVQ Max 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 QVQ Max 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?
QVQ Max and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking share the same 131,072-token context window. Maximum output per response: QVQ Max up to 8,192, Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking up to 32,768 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
QVQ Max accepts text and images; Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking accepts text and images. They handle the same number of input types.
Are any of these open source?
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; QVQ Max is proprietary.
Which is newer?
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking is the newest, released Sep 23, 2025. QVQ Max came out Mar 25, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: QVQ Max Apr 2024, 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 Oct 4, 2026.
