Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct vs Palmyra X5
Palmyra X5 comes out ahead, 48 to 39 on our weighted score, though Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct is 2.2× cheaper per token.
Alibaba (Qwen)Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct
39/100- ECI—
- Price$0.50 / $2.00
- Context131K
- Our pick
Writer
Palmyra X5
48/100- ECI—
- Price$0.60 / $6.00
- Context1M
Add a model
Make it a three-way comparison.
Palmyra X5 is our pick
Palmyra X5 is the better all-round choice, scoring 48/100 against Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct (39). It leads on inputs & features and context window. Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct wins 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 · Palmyra X5 $1.95 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextPalmyra X5Palmyra X5 1,000,000 · Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct 131,072 tokens
- Widest inputsPalmyra X5Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct: Text · Palmyra X5: Text, Images
- Self-hostingQwen3-Next 80B-A3B InstructPublishes downloadable weights
| Measure | Weight | Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct | Palmyra X5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 53 | 36 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 25 | 60 |
| Context window | 20% | 24 | 60 |
| Overall | 100% | 39/100 | 48/100 |
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-Next 80B-A3B InstructAlibaba (Qwen) | Palmyra X5Writer |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.50 (best) | $0.60 |
| Output | $2.00 (best) | $6.00 |
| Cached input | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.875 (best) | $1.95 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official Alibaba API | Median of 1 providers |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 131,072 tokens | 1,000,000 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 32,768 tokens (best) | 8,192 tokens |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | Yes |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Open | Proprietary |
| API model ID | qwen3-next-80b-a3b-instruct | — |
| API providers | 13 (best) | 1 |
| Released | Sep 2025 | Apr 28, 2025 |
| Knowledge cutoff | 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-Next 80B-A3B Instruct$9.00
- Palmyra X5$18.00
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct or Palmyra X5?
Palmyra X5 is the better all-round choice, scoring 48/100 against Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct (39). It leads on inputs & features and context window. Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct wins 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-Next 80B-A3B Instruct or Palmyra X5?
Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct is cheaper at $0.50 input / $2.00 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). Palmyra X5 costs $0.60 input / $6.00 output per million tokens (median across 1 API provider). 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 $1.95 for Palmyra X5 (2.2× 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 Palmyra X5 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 Palmyra X5 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?
Palmyra X5 has the largest context window at 1,000,000 tokens, against 131,072 for Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct. Maximum output per response: Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct up to 32,768, Palmyra X5 up to 8,192 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct accepts text; Palmyra X5 accepts text and images. Palmyra X5 handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; Palmyra X5 is proprietary.
Which is newer?
Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct is the newest, released Sep 2025. Palmyra X5 came out Apr 28, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: 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 Oct 4, 2026.
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