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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct vs Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B

Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B comes out ahead, 65 to 51 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Alibaba (Qwen)

    Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct

    Released Sep 2024

    51/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.35 / $1.05
    • Context131K
  2. Our pick

    NVIDIA

    Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B

    Released Apr 7, 2025

    65/100
    • ECI—
    • PriceFree / Free
    • Context128K
  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B is our pick

Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B is the better all-round choice, scoring 65/100 against Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct (51). It leads on price. Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct wins on 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 priceLlama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253BLlama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B Free · Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct $0.525 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextQwen2.5-VL 7B InstructQwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct 131,072 · Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B 128,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsQwen2.5-VL 7B InstructQwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct: Text, Images · Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B: Text
  • Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
How the score is built
MeasureWeightQwen2.5-VL 7B InstructLlama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B
Price50%63100
Inputs & features30%5035
Context window20%2424
Overall100%51/10065/100

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.

Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct vs Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B specifications side by side
SpecificationQwen2.5-VL 7B InstructAlibaba (Qwen)Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253BNVIDIA
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
Input$0.35Free (best)
Output$1.05Free (best)
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$0.525Free (best)
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial Alibaba APIOfficial Nvidia API
Limits
Context window131,072 tokens (best)128,000 tokens
Max output8,192 tokens8,192 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesNo
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningNoYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsOpenOpen
API model IDqwen2-5-vl-7b-instructnvidia/llama-3.1-nemotron-ultra-253b-v1
API providers11
ReleasedSep 2024Apr 7, 2025
Knowledge cutoffApr 2024—
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.

  • Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct$5.60
  • Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253BFree
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct or Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B?

Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B is the better all-round choice, scoring 65/100 against Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct (51). It leads on price. Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct wins on 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, Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct or Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B?

Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B is cheaper at Free input / Free output per million tokens (official Nvidia API price). Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct costs $0.35 input / $1.05 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B is listed as free.

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct has not been scored yet and Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct and Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B 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?

Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct has the largest context window at 131,072 tokens, against 128,000 for Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B. Maximum output per response: Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct up to 8,192, Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B up to 8,192 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct accepts text and images; Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B accepts text. Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

Yes, both publish their weights, so you can self-host them.

Which is newer?

Llama 3.1 Nemotron Ultra 253B is the newest, released Apr 7, 2025. Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct came out Sep 2024. Knowledge cutoff: Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct Apr 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.