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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct vs Ling-1T

Too close to call on our weighted score (Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct 39, Ling-1T 37). The right pick depends on what you value most.

  1. Alibaba (Qwen)

    Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct

    Released Sep 2025

    39/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.50 / $2.00
    • Context131K
  2. inclusionAI

    Ling-1T

    Released Oct 2025

    37/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.57 / $2.29
    • Context128K
  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Too close to call

It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 2 points (Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct 39/100, Ling-1T 37/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct on price and Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct for long inputs. 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 · Ling-1T $1.00 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextQwen3-Next 80B-A3B InstructQwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct 131,072 · Ling-1T 128,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsSame inputsQwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct: Text · Ling-1T: Text
  • Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
How the score is built
MeasureWeightQwen3-Next 80B-A3B InstructLing-1T
Price50%5350
Inputs & features30%2525
Context window20%2424
Overall100%39/10037/100

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-Next 80B-A3B Instruct vs Ling-1T specifications side by side
SpecificationQwen3-Next 80B-A3B InstructAlibaba (Qwen)Ling-1TinclusionAI
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
Input$0.50 (best)$0.57
Output$2.00 (best)$2.29
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$0.875 (best)$1.00
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial Alibaba APIOfficial Bailing API
Limits
Context window131,072 tokens (best)128,000 tokens
Max output32,768 tokens (best)32,000 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoNo
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningNoNo
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsOpenOpen
API model IDqwen3-next-80b-a3b-instructLing-1T
API providers13 (best)1
ReleasedSep 2025Oct 2025
Knowledge cutoffApr 2025Jun 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-Next 80B-A3B Instruct$9.00
  • Ling-1T$10.28
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct or Ling-1T?

It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 2 points (Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct 39/100, Ling-1T 37/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct on price and Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct for long inputs. 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-Next 80B-A3B Instruct or Ling-1T?

Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct is cheaper at $0.50 input / $2.00 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). Ling-1T costs $0.57 input / $2.29 output per million tokens (official Bailing API price). 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 $1.00 for Ling-1T (1.1× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct has not been scored yet and Ling-1T has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct and Ling-1T 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-Next 80B-A3B Instruct has the largest context window at 131,072 tokens, against 128,000 for Ling-1T. Maximum output per response: Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct up to 32,768, Ling-1T up to 32,000 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct accepts text; Ling-1T 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?

Ling-1T is the newest, released Oct 2025. Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct came out Sep 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct Apr 2025, Ling-1T Jun 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.