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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct vs Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking comes out ahead, 48 to 39 on our weighted score, though Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct is 33% cheaper per token.

  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. Our pick

    Alibaba (Qwen)

    Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking

    Released Sep 23, 2025

    48/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.40 / $4.00
    • Context131K
    Full specs Remove Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking is our pick

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking is the better all-round choice, scoring 48/100 against Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct (39). It leads on inputs & features. 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 · Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking $1.30 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextAbout the sameQwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct 131,072 · Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking 131,072 tokens
  • Widest inputsQwen3 VL 235B A22B ThinkingQwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct: Text · Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking: Text, Images
  • Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
How the score is built
MeasureWeightQwen3-Next 80B-A3B InstructQwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking
Price50%5344
Inputs & features30%2570
Context window20%2424
Overall100%39/10048/100

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 Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking specifications side by side
SpecificationQwen3-Next 80B-A3B InstructAlibaba (Qwen)Qwen3 VL 235B A22B ThinkingAlibaba (Qwen)
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
Input$0.50$0.40 (best)
Output$2.00 (best)$4.00
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$0.875 (best)$1.30
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial Alibaba APIMedian of 9 providers
Limits
Context window131,072 tokens131,072 tokens
Max output32,768 tokens32,768 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoYes
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningNoYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoYes
Availability
WeightsOpenOpen
API model IDqwen3-next-80b-a3b-instruct—
API providers13 (best)9
ReleasedSep 2025Sep 23, 2025
Knowledge cutoffApr 2025Mar 31, 2025
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
  • Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking$12.00
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct or Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking?

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking is the better all-round choice, scoring 48/100 against Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct (39). It leads on inputs & features. 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 Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking?

Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct is cheaper at $0.50 input / $2.00 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking costs $0.40 input / $4.00 output per million tokens (median across 9 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 $1.30 for Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking (1.5× 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 Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking 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 Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking 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 Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking share the same 131,072-token context window. Maximum output per response: Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct up to 32,768, Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking up to 32,768 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct accepts text; Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking accepts text and images. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

Yes, both publish their weights, so you can self-host them.

Which is newer?

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking is the newest, released Sep 23, 2025. Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct came out Sep 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct Apr 2025, Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking Mar 31, 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.

05 — Keep comparing

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