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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Nov 2, 2026

Qwen3-VL Plus vs Grok 4.1 Fast

Grok 4.1 Fast comes out ahead, 66 to 58 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Alibaba (Qwen)

    Qwen3-VL Plus

    Released Sep 23, 2025

    58/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.20 / $1.60
    • Context262K
  2. Our pick

    xAI

    Grok 4.1 Fast

    Released Nov 19, 2025

    66/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.20 / $0.50
    • Context2M
  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Grok 4.1 Fast is our pick

Grok 4.1 Fast is the better all-round choice, scoring 66/100 against Qwen3-VL Plus (58). It leads on price and context window. Qwen3-VL Plus wins on 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 priceGrok 4.1 FastGrok 4.1 Fast $0.275 · Qwen3-VL Plus $0.55 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextGrok 4.1 FastGrok 4.1 Fast 2,000,000 · Qwen3-VL Plus 262,144 tokens
  • Widest inputsSame inputsQwen3-VL Plus: Text, Images · Grok 4.1 Fast: Text, Images
  • Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
How the score is built
MeasureWeightQwen3-VL PlusGrok 4.1 Fast
Price50%6073
Inputs & features30%7050
Context window20%3772
Overall100%58/10066/100

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 Plus vs Grok 4.1 Fast specifications side by side
SpecificationQwen3-VL PlusAlibaba (Qwen)Grok 4.1 FastxAI
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
Input$0.20$0.20
Output$1.60$0.50 (best)
Cached input$0.04—
Blended (3:1)$0.55$0.275 (best)
Long-context rateOver 32K: $0.30 / $2.40Same rate
Price sourceOfficial Alibaba APIMedian of 6 providers
Limits
Context window262,144 tokens2,000,000 tokens (best)
Max output32,768 tokens (best)30,000 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesYes
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningYesNo
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputYesNo
Availability
WeightsProprietaryProprietary
API model IDqwen3-vl-plus—
API providers68 (best)
ReleasedSep 23, 2025Nov 19, 2025
Knowledge cutoffApr 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 Plus$5.20
  • Grok 4.1 Fast$3.00
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Qwen3-VL Plus or Grok 4.1 Fast?

Grok 4.1 Fast is the better all-round choice, scoring 66/100 against Qwen3-VL Plus (58). It leads on price and context window. Qwen3-VL Plus wins on 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 Plus or Grok 4.1 Fast?

Grok 4.1 Fast is cheaper at $0.20 input / $0.50 output per million tokens (median across 6 API providers). Qwen3-VL Plus costs $0.20 input / $1.60 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.275 per million tokens for Grok 4.1 Fast versus $0.55 for Qwen3-VL Plus (2× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Qwen3-VL Plus has not been scored yet and Grok 4.1 Fast has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Qwen3-VL Plus and Grok 4.1 Fast 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?

Grok 4.1 Fast has the largest context window at 2,000,000 tokens, against 262,144 for Qwen3-VL Plus. Maximum output per response: Qwen3-VL Plus up to 32,768, Grok 4.1 Fast up to 30,000 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Qwen3-VL Plus accepts text and images; Grok 4.1 Fast accepts text and images. They handle the same number of input types.

Are any of these open source?

No. Qwen3-VL Plus and Grok 4.1 Fast are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.

Which is newer?

Grok 4.1 Fast is the newest, released Nov 19, 2025. Qwen3-VL Plus came out Sep 23, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Qwen3-VL Plus Apr 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.