Model Comparison
Claude Haiku 4.5 vs Qwen3 VL 4B InstructWhich is better in 2026?
Claude Haiku 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct is 8.9x cheaper per token.
Verdict: Claude Haiku 4.5 vs Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct — which is better?
Claude Haiku 4.5 (by Anthropic) and Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct (by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team) are two of the AI models people compare most. Here is how they stack up on benchmarks, price and capabilities, and which one to pick in 2026.
Claude Haiku 4.5 outperforms in 2 benchmarks (AIME 2025, OSWorld), while Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct is better at 0 benchmarks. Claude Haiku 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
On price, Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct is roughly 8.9x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct also accepts a larger context window (262,144 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Choose Claude Haiku 4.5 if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 2 shared benchmarks
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Oct 2025
Choose Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct if…
- cost matters — it's about 8.9x cheaper per token
- you process long inputs — it offers a 262,144 token context window
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Claude Haiku 4.5 outperforms in 2 benchmarks (AIME 2025, OSWorld), while Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct is better at 0 benchmarks.
Claude Haiku 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Claude Haiku 4.5 ($1.00/1M tokens) is 10.0x more expensive than Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct ($0.10/1M tokens).
For output processing, Claude Haiku 4.5 ($5.00/1M tokens) is 8.3x more expensive than Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct ($0.60/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Claude Haiku 4.5 is more expensive than Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct accepts 262,144 input tokens compared to Claude Haiku 4.5's 200,000 tokens. Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct can generate longer responses up to 262,144 tokens, while Claude Haiku 4.5 is limited to 64,000 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Both Claude Haiku 4.5 and Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Claude Haiku 4.5
Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct
License
Usage and distribution terms
Claude Haiku 4.5 is licensed under a proprietary license, while Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct uses Apache 2.0.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Proprietary
Closed source
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Claude Haiku 4.5 was released on 2025-10-15, while Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct was released on 2025-09-22.
Claude Haiku 4.5 is 1 month newer than Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct.
Oct 15, 2025
8 months ago
3w newerSep 22, 2025
9 months ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Claude Haiku 4.5 has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2025-02-01, while Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm Claude Haiku 4.5's training data extends to 2025-02-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct's cutoff date.
Feb 2025
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Provider Availability
Claude Haiku 4.5 is available from Anthropic, Vertex AI. Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct is available from DeepInfra.
Claude Haiku 4.5
Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Claude Haiku 4.5
View detailsAnthropic
Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct
View detailsAlibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Detailed Comparison
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FAQ
Common questions about Claude Haiku 4.5 vs Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct.