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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Qwen Flash vs Qwen3 Coder Flash

Qwen Flash comes out ahead, 68 to 50 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Our pick

    Alibaba (Qwen)

    Qwen Flash

    Released Jul 28, 2025

    68/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.05 / $0.40
    • Context1M
  2. Alibaba (Qwen)

    Qwen3 Coder Flash

    Released Jul 28, 2025

    50/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.30 / $1.50
    • Context1M
  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Qwen Flash is our pick

Qwen Flash is the better all-round choice, scoring 68/100 against Qwen3 Coder Flash (50). 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 priceQwen FlashQwen Flash $0.138 · Qwen3 Coder Flash $0.60 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextAbout the sameQwen Flash 1,000,000 · Qwen3 Coder Flash 1,000,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsSame inputsQwen Flash: Text · Qwen3 Coder Flash: Text
  • Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
How the score is built
MeasureWeightQwen FlashQwen3 Coder Flash
Price50%9160
Inputs & features30%3525
Context window20%6060
Overall100%68/10050/100

Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.

02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.

Qwen Flash vs Qwen3 Coder Flash specifications side by side
SpecificationQwen FlashAlibaba (Qwen)Qwen3 Coder FlashAlibaba (Qwen)
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
Input$0.05 (best)$0.30
Output$0.40 (best)$1.50
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$0.138 (best)$0.60
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial Alibaba APIOfficial Alibaba API
Limits
Context window1,000,000 tokens1,000,000 tokens
Max output32,768 tokens65,536 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoNo
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningYesNo
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsProprietaryProprietary
API model IDqwen-flashqwen3-coder-flash
API providers610 (best)
ReleasedJul 28, 2025Jul 28, 2025
Knowledge cutoffApr 2024Apr 2025
03 — Cost

What would a month cost?

Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.

  • Qwen Flash$1.30
  • Qwen3 Coder Flash$6.00
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Qwen Flash or Qwen3 Coder Flash?

Qwen Flash is the better all-round choice, scoring 68/100 against Qwen3 Coder Flash (50). 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, Qwen Flash or Qwen3 Coder Flash?

Qwen Flash is cheaper at $0.05 input / $0.40 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). Qwen3 Coder Flash costs $0.30 input / $1.50 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 $0.60 for Qwen3 Coder Flash (4.4× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Qwen Flash has not been scored yet and Qwen3 Coder Flash has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Qwen Flash and Qwen3 Coder Flash 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?

Qwen Flash and Qwen3 Coder Flash share the same 1,000,000-token context window. Maximum output per response: Qwen Flash up to 32,768, Qwen3 Coder Flash up to 65,536 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Qwen Flash accepts text; Qwen3 Coder Flash accepts text. They handle the same number of input types.

Are any of these open source?

No. Qwen Flash and Qwen3 Coder Flash are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.

Which is newer?

Qwen Flash is the newest, released Jul 28, 2025. Qwen3 Coder Flash came out Jul 28, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Qwen Flash Apr 2024, Qwen3 Coder Flash Apr 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.