Qwen3 30B A3B vs DeepSeek V3 0324
Qwen3 30B A3B comes out ahead, 58 to 54 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
- Our pick
Alibaba (Qwen)Qwen3 30B A3B
58/100- ECI136.2
- Price$0.114 / $0.50
- Context131K
DeepSeekDeepSeek V3 0324
54/100- ECI135.9
- Price$0.24 / $0.90
- Context164K
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Make it a three-way comparison.
Qwen3 30B A3B is our pick
Qwen3 30B A3B is the better all-round choice, scoring 58/100 against DeepSeek V3 0324 (54). It leads on price and inputs & features. DeepSeek V3 0324 wins on context window. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.
- CapabilityQwen3 30B A3BCapabilities Index (ECI): Qwen3 30B A3B 136.2 · DeepSeek V3 0324 135.9
- Lowest priceQwen3 30B A3BQwen3 30B A3B $0.21 · DeepSeek V3 0324 $0.405 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextDeepSeek V3 0324DeepSeek V3 0324 163,840 · Qwen3 30B A3B 131,072 tokens
- Widest inputsSame inputsQwen3 30B A3B: Text · DeepSeek V3 0324: Text
- Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
| Measure | Weight | Qwen3 30B A3B | DeepSeek V3 0324 |
|---|---|---|---|
| CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI) | 50% | 61 | 60 |
| Price | 25% | 82 | 68 |
| Inputs & features | 15% | 35 | 25 |
| Context window | 10% | 24 | 28 |
| Overall | 100% | 58/100 | 54/100 |
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | Qwen3 30B A3BAlibaba (Qwen) | DeepSeek V3 0324DeepSeek |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | 136.2 (best) | 135.9 |
| ECI rank | #112 of 148 (best) | #114 of 148 |
| GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions | 61.7% | 67.6% (best) |
| OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics | 62.8% (best) | 37.8% |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.114 (best) | $0.24 |
| Output | $0.50 (best) | $0.90 |
| Cached input | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.21 (best) | $0.405 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 8 providers | Median of 5 providers |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 131,072 tokens | 163,840 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 16,384 tokens | 163,840 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | No |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | No |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Open | Open |
| API model ID | — | — |
| API providers | 8 (best) | 5 |
| Released | Apr 28, 2025 | Mar 24, 2025 |
| Knowledge cutoff | — | — |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Qwen3 30B A3B$2.14
- DeepSeek V3 0324$4.20
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Qwen3 30B A3B or DeepSeek V3 0324?
Qwen3 30B A3B is the better all-round choice, scoring 58/100 against DeepSeek V3 0324 (54). It leads on price and inputs & features. DeepSeek V3 0324 wins on context window. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.
Which is cheaper, Qwen3 30B A3B or DeepSeek V3 0324?
Qwen3 30B A3B is cheaper at $0.114 input / $0.50 output per million tokens (median across 8 API providers). DeepSeek V3 0324 costs $0.24 input / $0.90 output per million tokens (median across 5 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.21 per million tokens for Qwen3 30B A3B versus $0.405 for DeepSeek V3 0324 (1.9× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
Qwen3 30B A3B scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): Qwen3 30B A3B 136.2 (#112 of 148) and DeepSeek V3 0324 135.9 (#114 of 148). The confidence ranges of the top two overlap (130.3–138.7 vs 132.4–138.0), so treat the gap as small. On individual benchmarks: GPQA Diamond — DeepSeek V3 0324 67.6%, Qwen3 30B A3B 61.7%; OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025 — Qwen3 30B A3B 62.8%, DeepSeek V3 0324 37.8%.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Qwen3 30B A3B and DeepSeek V3 0324 yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. On overall capability, Qwen3 30B A3B leads, which tends to carry over to coding, but test on your own codebase. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.
Which has the bigger context window?
DeepSeek V3 0324 has the largest context window at 163,840 tokens, against 131,072 for Qwen3 30B A3B. Maximum output per response: Qwen3 30B A3B up to 16,384, DeepSeek V3 0324 up to 163,840 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Qwen3 30B A3B accepts text; DeepSeek V3 0324 accepts text. They handle the same number of input types.
Are any of these open source?
Yes, both publish their weights, so you can self-host them.
Which is newer?
Qwen3 30B A3B is the newest, released Apr 28, 2025. DeepSeek V3 0324 came out Mar 24, 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.
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