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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct vs QVQ Max

Too close to call on our weighted score (QVQ Max 40, Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct 39). 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
    Full specs Remove Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct

  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

Too close to call

It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 2 points (QVQ Max 40/100, Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct 39/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct 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 · QVQ Max $2.10 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextAbout the sameQwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct 131,072 · QVQ Max 131,072 tokens
  • Widest inputsQVQ MaxQwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct: Text · QVQ Max: Text, Images
  • Self-hostingQwen3-Next 80B-A3B InstructPublishes downloadable weights
How the score is built
MeasureWeightQwen3-Next 80B-A3B InstructQVQ Max
Price50%5335
Inputs & features30%2560
Context window20%2424
Overall100%39/10040/100

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-Next 80B-A3B Instruct vs QVQ Max specifications side by side
SpecificationQwen3-Next 80B-A3B InstructAlibaba (Qwen)QVQ MaxAlibaba (Qwen)
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
Input$0.50 (best)$1.20
Output$2.00 (best)$4.80
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$0.875 (best)$2.10
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial Alibaba APIOfficial Alibaba API
Limits
Context window131,072 tokens131,072 tokens
Max output32,768 tokens (best)8,192 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoYes
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningNoYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsOpenProprietary
API model IDqwen3-next-80b-a3b-instructqvq-max
API providers13 (best)1
ReleasedSep 2025Mar 25, 2025
Knowledge cutoffApr 2025Apr 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
  • QVQ Max$21.60
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct or QVQ Max?

It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 2 points (QVQ Max 40/100, Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct 39/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct 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 QVQ Max?

Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct is cheaper at $0.50 input / $2.00 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). 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 $0.875 per million tokens for Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct versus $2.10 for QVQ Max (2.4× 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 QVQ Max 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 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-Next 80B-A3B Instruct and QVQ Max share the same 131,072-token context window. Maximum output per response: Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct up to 32,768, QVQ Max up to 8,192 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct accepts text; QVQ Max accepts text and images. QVQ Max 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; QVQ Max is proprietary.

Which is newer?

Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct is the newest, released Sep 2025. QVQ Max came out Mar 25, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct Apr 2025, 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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