Qwen-MT Plus vs QVQ Max vs Step 1 (32K)
QVQ Max comes out ahead, 40 to 18 and 12 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
Alibaba (Qwen)Qwen-MT Plus
12/100- ECI—
- Price$2.46 / $7.37
- Context16K
- Our pickAlibaba (Qwen)
QVQ Max
40/100- ECI—
- Price$1.20 / $4.80
- Context131K
StepFunStep 1 (32K)
18/100- ECI—
- Price$2.05 / $9.59
- Context33K
QVQ Max is our pick
QVQ Max is the better all-round choice, scoring 40/100 against Step 1 (32K) (18) and Qwen-MT Plus (12). It leads on price, inputs & features and context window. 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 · Qwen-MT Plus $3.69 · Step 1 (32K) $3.94 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextQVQ MaxQVQ Max 131,072 · Step 1 (32K) 32,768 · Qwen-MT Plus 16,384 tokens
- Widest inputsQVQ MaxQwen-MT Plus: Text · QVQ Max: Text, Images · Step 1 (32K): Text
- Self-hostingNo open weightsAll three are available only through APIs
| Measure | Weight | Qwen-MT Plus | QVQ Max | Step 1 (32K) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 23 | 35 | 22 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 0 | 60 | 25 |
| Context window | 20% | 0 | 24 | 0 |
| Overall | 100% | 12/100 | 40/100 | 18/100 |
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 | Qwen-MT PlusAlibaba (Qwen) | QVQ MaxAlibaba (Qwen) | Step 1 (32K)StepFun |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $2.46 | $1.20 (best) | $2.05 |
| Output | $7.37 | $4.80 (best) | $9.59 |
| Cached input | — | — | $0.41 |
| Blended (3:1) | $3.69 | $2.10 (best) | $3.94 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official Alibaba API | Official Alibaba API | Official StepFun (Global) API |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 16,384 tokens | 131,072 tokens (best) | 32,768 tokens |
| Max output | 8,192 tokens | 8,192 tokens | 32,768 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | Yes | No |
| PDFs | No | No | No |
| Audio | No | No | No |
| Video | No | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | Yes | No |
| Tool calling | No | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | No | No |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| API model ID | qwen-mt-plus | qvq-max | step-1-32k |
| API providers | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Released | Jan 2025 | Mar 25, 2025 | Jan 1, 2025 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Apr 2024 | Apr 2024 | Jun 2024 |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Qwen-MT Plus$39.34
- QVQ Max$21.60
- Step 1 (32K)$39.68
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Qwen-MT Plus, QVQ Max or Step 1 (32K)?
QVQ Max is the better all-round choice, scoring 40/100 against Step 1 (32K) (18) and Qwen-MT Plus (12). It leads on price, inputs & features and context window. 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-MT Plus, QVQ Max or Step 1 (32K)?
QVQ Max is cheaper at $1.20 input / $4.80 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). Qwen-MT Plus costs $2.46 input / $7.37 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price); Step 1 (32K) costs $2.05 input / $9.59 output per million tokens (official StepFun (Global) 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 $3.69 for Qwen-MT Plus (1.8× as much) and $3.94 for Step 1 (32K) (1.9× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers all three models yet. Qwen-MT Plus has not been scored yet, QVQ Max has not been scored yet and Step 1 (32K) has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Qwen-MT Plus, QVQ Max and Step 1 (32K) yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Note that Qwen-MT Plus 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 32,768 for Step 1 (32K) and 16,384 for Qwen-MT Plus. Maximum output per response: Qwen-MT Plus up to 8,192, QVQ Max up to 8,192, Step 1 (32K) up to 32,768 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Qwen-MT Plus accepts text; QVQ Max accepts text and images; Step 1 (32K) accepts text. QVQ Max handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
No. Qwen-MT Plus, QVQ Max and Step 1 (32K) are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.
Which is newer?
QVQ Max is the newest, released Mar 25, 2025. Qwen-MT Plus came out Jan 2025; Step 1 (32K) came out Jan 1, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Qwen-MT Plus Apr 2024, QVQ Max Apr 2024, Step 1 (32K) Jun 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.
