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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Qwen3 235B-A22B Instruct 2507 vs QVQ Max

Qwen3 235B-A22B Instruct 2507 comes out ahead, 52 to 40 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Our pick

    Alibaba (Qwen)

    Qwen3 235B-A22B Instruct 2507

    Released Jul 21, 2025

    52/100
    • ECI138.9
    • Price$0.15 / $0.75
    • Context262K
    Full specs Remove Qwen3 235B-A22B Instruct 2507

  2. Alibaba (Qwen)

    QVQ Max

    Released Mar 25, 2025

    40/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$1.20 / $4.80
    • Context131K
    Full specs Remove QVQ Max

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Qwen3 235B-A22B Instruct 2507 is our pick

Qwen3 235B-A22B Instruct 2507 is the better all-round choice, scoring 52/100 against QVQ Max (40). It leads on price and context window. QVQ Max 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 priceQwen3 235B-A22B Instruct 2507Qwen3 235B-A22B Instruct 2507 $0.30 · QVQ Max $2.10 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextQwen3 235B-A22B Instruct 2507Qwen3 235B-A22B Instruct 2507 262,144 · QVQ Max 131,072 tokens
  • Widest inputsQVQ MaxQwen3 235B-A22B Instruct 2507: Text · QVQ Max: Text, Images
  • Self-hostingQwen3 235B-A22B Instruct 2507Publishes downloadable weights (Apache 2.0)
How the score is built
MeasureWeightQwen3 235B-A22B Instruct 2507QVQ Max
Price50%7535
Inputs & features30%2560
Context window20%3724
Overall100%52/10040/100

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.

Qwen3 235B-A22B Instruct 2507 vs QVQ Max specifications side by side
SpecificationQwen3 235B-A22B Instruct 2507Alibaba (Qwen)QVQ MaxAlibaba (Qwen)
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)138.9—
ECI rank#105 of 148—
Price per million tokens
Input$0.15 (best)$1.20
Output$0.75 (best)$4.80
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$0.30 (best)$2.10
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 11 providersOfficial Alibaba API
Limits
Context window262,144 tokens (best)131,072 tokens
Max output16,384 tokens (best)8,192 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoYes
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningNoYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsOpenApache 2.0Proprietary
API model ID—qvq-max
API providers11 (best)1
ReleasedJul 21, 2025Mar 25, 2025
Knowledge cutoff—Apr 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.

  • Qwen3 235B-A22B Instruct 2507$3.00
  • QVQ Max$21.60
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Qwen3 235B-A22B Instruct 2507 or QVQ Max?

Qwen3 235B-A22B Instruct 2507 is the better all-round choice, scoring 52/100 against QVQ Max (40). It leads on price and context window. QVQ Max 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, Qwen3 235B-A22B Instruct 2507 or QVQ Max?

Qwen3 235B-A22B Instruct 2507 is cheaper at $0.15 input / $0.75 output per million tokens (median across 11 API providers). QVQ Max costs $1.20 input / $4.80 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.30 per million tokens for Qwen3 235B-A22B Instruct 2507 versus $2.10 for QVQ Max (7× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Qwen3 235B-A22B Instruct 2507 has an ECI of 138.9 and QVQ Max has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Qwen3 235B-A22B Instruct 2507 and QVQ Max 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?

Qwen3 235B-A22B Instruct 2507 has the largest context window at 262,144 tokens, against 131,072 for QVQ Max. Maximum output per response: Qwen3 235B-A22B Instruct 2507 up to 16,384, QVQ Max up to 8,192 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Qwen3 235B-A22B Instruct 2507 accepts text; QVQ Max accepts text and images. QVQ Max handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

Qwen3 235B-A22B Instruct 2507 publishes its weights (Apache 2.0) and can be self-hosted; QVQ Max is proprietary.

Which is newer?

Qwen3 235B-A22B Instruct 2507 is the newest, released Jul 21, 2025. QVQ Max came out Mar 25, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: QVQ Max 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.

05 — Keep comparing

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