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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Nov 2, 2026

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking vs Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B

Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B comes out ahead, 51 to 44 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Alibaba (Qwen)

    Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking

    Released Sep 23, 2025

    44/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.50 / $3.95
    • Context131K
    Full specs Remove Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking
  2. Our pick

    Nous Research

    Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B

    Released Apr 30, 2024

    51/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.14 / $0.14
    • Context8K
    Full specs Remove Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B is our pick

Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B is the better all-round choice, scoring 51/100 against Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking (44). It leads on price. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking wins on inputs & features and context window. 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 priceHermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8BHermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B $0.14 · Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking $1.36 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextQwen3 VL 235B A22B ThinkingQwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking 131,072 · Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B 8,192 tokens
  • Widest inputsQwen3 VL 235B A22B ThinkingQwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking: Text, Images · Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B: Text
  • Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
How the score is built
MeasureWeightQwen3 VL 235B A22B ThinkingHermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B
Price50%4287
Inputs & features30%6025
Context window20%250
Overall100%44/10051/100

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 VL 235B A22B Thinking vs Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B specifications side by side
SpecificationQwen3 VL 235B A22B ThinkingAlibaba (Qwen)Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8BNous Research
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
Input$0.50$0.14 (best)
Output$3.95$0.14 (best)
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$1.36$0.14 (best)
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 5 providersMedian of 2 providers
Limits
Context window131,072 tokens (best)8,192 tokens
Max output32,768 tokens (best)8,192 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesNo
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningYesNo
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsOpenOpenLlama 3 Community License
API model ID——
API providers5 (best)2
ReleasedSep 23, 2025Apr 30, 2024
Knowledge cutoffMar 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 VL 235B A22B Thinking$12.90
  • Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B$1.68
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking or Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B?

Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B is the better all-round choice, scoring 51/100 against Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking (44). It leads on price. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking wins on inputs & features and context window. 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 VL 235B A22B Thinking or Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B?

Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B is cheaper at $0.14 input / $0.14 output per million tokens (median across 2 API providers). Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking costs $0.50 input / $3.95 output per million tokens (median across 5 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.14 per million tokens for Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B versus $1.36 for Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking (9.7× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking has not been scored yet and Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking and Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B 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 VL 235B A22B Thinking has the largest context window at 131,072 tokens, against 8,192 for Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B. Maximum output per response: Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking up to 32,768, Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B up to 8,192 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking accepts text and images; Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B accepts text. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

Yes, both publish their weights (Llama 3 Community License), so you can self-host them.

Which is newer?

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking is the newest, released Sep 23, 2025. Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B came out Apr 30, 2024. Knowledge cutoff: 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 Nov 2, 2026.

05 — Keep comparing

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