Qwen-VL Plus vs Llama-3.2-3B
Qwen-VL Plus comes out ahead, 57 to 49 on our weighted score, though Llama-3.2-3B is 2× cheaper per token.
- Our pick
Alibaba (Qwen)Qwen-VL Plus
57/100- ECI—
- Price$0.21 / $0.63
- Context131K
MetaLlama-3.2-3B
49/100- ECI—
- Price$0.10 / $0.335
- Context131K
Add a model
Make it a three-way comparison.
Qwen-VL Plus is our pick
Qwen-VL Plus is the better all-round choice, scoring 57/100 against Llama-3.2-3B (49). It leads on inputs & features. Llama-3.2-3B wins 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 priceLlama-3.2-3BLlama-3.2-3B $0.159 · Qwen-VL Plus $0.315 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextAbout the sameQwen-VL Plus 131,072 · Llama-3.2-3B 131,072 tokens
- Widest inputsQwen-VL PlusQwen-VL Plus: Text, Images · Llama-3.2-3B: Text
- Self-hostingLlama-3.2-3BPublishes downloadable weights (Llama 3.2 Community License)
| Measure | Weight | Qwen-VL Plus | Llama-3.2-3B |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 74 | 88 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 50 | 0 |
| Context window | 20% | 24 | 24 |
| Overall | 100% | 57/100 | 49/100 |
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-VL PlusAlibaba (Qwen) | Llama-3.2-3BMeta |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.21 | $0.10 (best) |
| Output | $0.63 | $0.335 (best) |
| Cached input | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.315 | $0.159 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official Alibaba API | Median of 3 providers |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 131,072 tokens | 131,072 tokens |
| Max output | 8,192 tokens | 8,192 tokens |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | No |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| Tool calling | Yes | No |
| Structured output | No | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | OpenLlama 3.2 Community License |
| API model ID | qwen-vl-plus | — |
| API providers | 2 | 3 (best) |
| Released | Jan 25, 2024 | Sep 25, 2024 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Apr 2024 | Dec 2023 |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Qwen-VL Plus$3.36
- Llama-3.2-3B$1.67
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Qwen-VL Plus or Llama-3.2-3B?
Qwen-VL Plus is the better all-round choice, scoring 57/100 against Llama-3.2-3B (49). It leads on inputs & features. Llama-3.2-3B wins 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, Qwen-VL Plus or Llama-3.2-3B?
Llama-3.2-3B is cheaper at $0.10 input / $0.335 output per million tokens (median across 3 API providers). Qwen-VL Plus costs $0.21 input / $0.63 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.159 per million tokens for Llama-3.2-3B versus $0.315 for Qwen-VL Plus (2× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Qwen-VL Plus has not been scored yet and Llama-3.2-3B has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Qwen-VL Plus and Llama-3.2-3B yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Note that Llama-3.2-3B does not support tool calling, which most coding agents need.
Which has the bigger context window?
Qwen-VL Plus and Llama-3.2-3B share the same 131,072-token context window. Maximum output per response: Qwen-VL Plus up to 8,192, Llama-3.2-3B up to 8,192 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Qwen-VL Plus accepts text and images; Llama-3.2-3B accepts text. Qwen-VL Plus handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
Llama-3.2-3B publishes its weights (Llama 3.2 Community License) and can be self-hosted; Qwen-VL Plus is proprietary.
Which is newer?
Llama-3.2-3B is the newest, released Sep 25, 2024. Qwen-VL Plus came out Jan 25, 2024. Knowledge cutoff: Qwen-VL Plus Apr 2024, Llama-3.2-3B Dec 2023.
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.
