Qwen3 Max Preview vs Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct
Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct comes out ahead, 40 to 33 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
Alibaba (Qwen)Qwen3 Max Preview
33/100- ECI—
- Price$0.975 / $4.14
- Context262K
- Our pickAlibaba (Qwen)
Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct
40/100- ECI—
- Price$0.50 / $2.00
- Context262K
Add a model
Make it a three-way comparison.
Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct is our pick
Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct is the better all-round choice, scoring 40/100 against Qwen3 Max Preview (33). It leads 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 priceQwen3-Next 80B-A3B InstructQwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct $0.875 · Qwen3 Max Preview $1.77 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextAbout the sameQwen3 Max Preview 262,144 · Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct 262,144 tokens
- Widest inputsSame inputsQwen3 Max Preview: Text · Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct: Text
- Self-hostingQwen3-Next 80B-A3B InstructPublishes downloadable weights
| Measure | Weight | Qwen3 Max Preview | Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 37 | 50 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 25 | 25 |
| Context window | 20% | 37 | 37 |
| Overall | 100% | 33/100 | 40/100 |
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 | Qwen3 Max PreviewAlibaba (Qwen) | Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B InstructAlibaba (Qwen) |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.975 | $0.50 (best) |
| Output | $4.14 | $2.00 (best) |
| Cached input | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $1.77 | $0.875 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 2 providers | Official Alibaba API |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 262,144 tokens | 262,144 tokens |
| Max output | 32,768 tokens | 32,768 tokens |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | No |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | Open |
| API model ID | — | qwen3-next-80b-a3b-instruct |
| API providers | 2 | 18 (best) |
| Released | Sep 5, 2025 | Sep 2025 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Apr 2025 | Apr 2025 |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Qwen3 Max Preview$18.03
- Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct$9.00
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Qwen3 Max Preview or Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct?
Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct is the better all-round choice, scoring 40/100 against Qwen3 Max Preview (33). It leads 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, Qwen3 Max Preview or Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct?
Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct is cheaper at $0.50 input / $2.00 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). Qwen3 Max Preview costs $0.975 input / $4.14 output per million tokens (median across 2 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.875 per million tokens for Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct versus $1.77 for Qwen3 Max Preview (2× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Qwen3 Max Preview has not been scored yet and Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Qwen3 Max Preview and Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct 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 Max Preview and Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct share the same 262,144-token context window. Maximum output per response: Qwen3 Max Preview up to 32,768, Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct up to 32,768 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Qwen3 Max Preview accepts text; Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct accepts text. They handle the same number of input types.
Are any of these open source?
Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; Qwen3 Max Preview is proprietary.
Which is newer?
Qwen3 Max Preview is the newest, released Sep 5, 2025. Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct came out Sep 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Qwen3 Max Preview Apr 2025, Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct Apr 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 Nov 2, 2026.
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