QVQ Max vs Sonar Deep Research
QVQ Max comes out ahead, 40 to 20 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
- Our pick
Alibaba (Qwen)QVQ Max
40/100- ECI—
- Price$1.20 / $4.80
- Context131K
PerplexitySonar Deep Research
20/100- ECI—
- Price$2.00 / $8.00
- Context128K
Add a model
Make it a three-way comparison.
QVQ Max is our pick
QVQ Max is the better all-round choice, scoring 40/100 against Sonar Deep Research (20). 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 priceQVQ MaxQVQ Max $2.10 · Sonar Deep Research $3.50 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextQVQ MaxQVQ Max 131,072 · Sonar Deep Research 128,000 tokens
- Widest inputsQVQ MaxQVQ Max: Text, Images · Sonar Deep Research: Text
- Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
| Measure | Weight | QVQ Max | Sonar Deep Research |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 35 | 24 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 60 | 10 |
| Context window | 20% | 24 | 24 |
| Overall | 100% | 40/100 | 20/100 |
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) | Sonar Deep ResearchPerplexity |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $1.20 (best) | $2.00 |
| Output | $4.80 (best) | $8.00 |
| Cached input | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $2.10 (best) | $3.50 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official Alibaba API | Official Perplexity API |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 131,072 tokens (best) | 128,000 tokens |
| Max output | 8,192 tokens | 32,768 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | No |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yesminimal · low · medium · high |
| Tool calling | Yes | No |
| Structured output | No | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| API model ID | qvq-max | sonar-deep-research |
| API providers | 1 | 3 (best) |
| Released | Mar 25, 2025 | Feb 1, 2025 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Apr 2024 | Jan 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
- Sonar Deep Research$36.00
Which should you choose?
Which is better: QVQ Max or Sonar Deep Research?
QVQ Max is the better all-round choice, scoring 40/100 against Sonar Deep Research (20). 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 Sonar Deep Research?
QVQ Max is cheaper at $1.20 input / $4.80 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). Sonar Deep Research costs $2.00 input / $8.00 output per million tokens (official Perplexity API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $2.10 per million tokens for QVQ Max versus $3.50 for Sonar Deep Research (1.7× 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 Sonar Deep Research has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for QVQ Max and Sonar Deep Research yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Note that Sonar Deep Research does not support tool calling, which most coding agents need.
Which has the bigger context window?
QVQ Max has the largest context window at 131,072 tokens, against 128,000 for Sonar Deep Research. Maximum output per response: QVQ Max up to 8,192, Sonar Deep Research up to 32,768 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
QVQ Max accepts text and images; Sonar Deep Research accepts text. QVQ Max handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
No. QVQ Max and Sonar Deep Research are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.
Which is newer?
QVQ Max is the newest, released Mar 25, 2025. Sonar Deep Research came out Feb 1, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: QVQ Max Apr 2024, Sonar Deep Research Jan 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.
