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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Nov 2, 2026

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking vs Hermes 4 405B

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking comes out ahead, 44 to 35 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Our pick

    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. Nous Research

    Hermes 4 405B

    Released Aug 26, 2025

    35/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$1.00 / $3.00
    • Context131K
    Full specs Remove Hermes 4 405B

  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 44/100 against Hermes 4 405B (35). It leads on price and inputs & features. 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 VL 235B A22B ThinkingQwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking $1.36 · Hermes 4 405B $1.50 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextAbout the sameQwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking 131,072 · Hermes 4 405B 131,072 tokens
  • Widest inputsQwen3 VL 235B A22B ThinkingQwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking: Text, Images · Hermes 4 405B: 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 4 405B
Price50%4240
Inputs & features30%6035
Context window20%2525
Overall100%44/10035/100

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 4 405B specifications side by side
SpecificationQwen3 VL 235B A22B ThinkingAlibaba (Qwen)Hermes 4 405BNous Research
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
Input$0.50 (best)$1.00
Output$3.95$3.00 (best)
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$1.36 (best)$1.50
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 5 providersMedian of 5 providers
Limits
Context window131,072 tokens131,072 tokens
Max output32,768 tokens117,964 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesNo
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningYesYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsOpenOpen
API model ID——
API providers55
ReleasedSep 23, 2025Aug 26, 2025
Knowledge cutoffMar 31, 2025Aug 31, 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 VL 235B A22B Thinking$12.90
  • Hermes 4 405B$16.00
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking or Hermes 4 405B?

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking is the better all-round choice, scoring 44/100 against Hermes 4 405B (35). It leads on price and inputs & features. 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 4 405B?

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking is cheaper at $0.50 input / $3.95 output per million tokens (median across 5 API providers). Hermes 4 405B costs $1.00 input / $3.00 output per million tokens (median across 5 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $1.36 per million tokens for Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking versus $1.50 for Hermes 4 405B (1.1× 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 4 405B 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 4 405B 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 and Hermes 4 405B share the same 131,072-token context window. Maximum output per response: Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking up to 32,768, Hermes 4 405B up to 117,964 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking accepts text and images; Hermes 4 405B accepts text. 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. Hermes 4 405B came out Aug 26, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking Mar 31, 2025, Hermes 4 405B Aug 31, 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 Nov 2, 2026.

05 — Keep comparing

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