Qwen3-VL 30B-A3B vs Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct
Qwen3-VL 30B-A3B comes out ahead, 59 to 51 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
- Our pick
Alibaba (Qwen)Qwen3-VL 30B-A3B
59/100- ECI—
- Price$0.20 / $0.80
- Context131K
- Alibaba (Qwen)
Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct
51/100- ECI—
- Price$0.35 / $1.05
- Context131K
Add a model
Make it a three-way comparison.
Qwen3-VL 30B-A3B is our pick
Qwen3-VL 30B-A3B is the better all-round choice, scoring 59/100 against Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct (51). 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 30B-A3BQwen3-VL 30B-A3B $0.35 · Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct $0.525 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextAbout the sameQwen3-VL 30B-A3B 131,072 · Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct 131,072 tokens
- Widest inputsSame inputsQwen3-VL 30B-A3B: Text, Images · Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct: Text, Images
- Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
| Measure | Weight | Qwen3-VL 30B-A3B | Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 72 | 63 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 60 | 50 |
| Context window | 20% | 24 | 24 |
| Overall | 100% | 59/100 | 51/100 |
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-VL 30B-A3BAlibaba (Qwen) | Qwen2.5-VL 7B InstructAlibaba (Qwen) |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.20 (best) | $0.35 |
| Output | $0.80 (best) | $1.05 |
| Cached input | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.35 (best) | $0.525 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official Alibaba API | Official Alibaba API |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 131,072 tokens | 131,072 tokens |
| Max output | 32,768 tokens (best) | 8,192 tokens |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | Yes |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | No |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Open | Open |
| API model ID | qwen3-vl-30b-a3b | qwen2-5-vl-7b-instruct |
| API providers | 1 | 1 |
| Released | Apr 2025 | Sep 2024 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Apr 2025 | Apr 2024 |
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 30B-A3B$3.60
- Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct$5.60
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Qwen3-VL 30B-A3B or Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct?
Qwen3-VL 30B-A3B is the better all-round choice, scoring 59/100 against Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct (51). 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 30B-A3B or Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct?
Qwen3-VL 30B-A3B is cheaper at $0.20 input / $0.80 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct costs $0.35 input / $1.05 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.35 per million tokens for Qwen3-VL 30B-A3B versus $0.525 for Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct (1.5× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Qwen3-VL 30B-A3B has not been scored yet and Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Qwen3-VL 30B-A3B and Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct 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 30B-A3B and Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct share the same 131,072-token context window. Maximum output per response: Qwen3-VL 30B-A3B up to 32,768, Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct up to 8,192 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Qwen3-VL 30B-A3B accepts text and images; Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct accepts text and images. They handle the same number of input types.
Are any of these open source?
Yes, both publish their weights, so you can self-host them.
Which is newer?
Qwen3-VL 30B-A3B is the newest, released Apr 2025. Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct came out Sep 2024. Knowledge cutoff: Qwen3-VL 30B-A3B Apr 2025, Qwen2.5-VL 7B Instruct 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.
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