Model Comparison
Claude Sonnet 4 vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-ThinkingWhich is better in 2026?
Both models are evenly matched across the benchmarks. Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking is 12.3x cheaper per token.
Verdict: Claude Sonnet 4 vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking — which is better?
Claude Sonnet 4 (by Anthropic) and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking (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 Sonnet 4 outperforms in 2 benchmarks (TAU-bench Airline, TAU-bench Retail), while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking is better at 2 benchmarks (AIME 2025, GPQA). Both models are evenly matched across the benchmarks.
On price, Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking is roughly 12.3x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Claude Sonnet 4 also accepts a larger context window (200,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Choose Claude Sonnet 4 if…
- you process long inputs — it offers a 200,000 token context window
Choose Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking if…
- cost matters — it's about 12.3x cheaper per token
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Sep 2025
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Claude Sonnet 4 outperforms in 2 benchmarks (TAU-bench Airline, TAU-bench Retail), while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking is better at 2 benchmarks (AIME 2025, GPQA).
Both models are evenly matched across the benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Claude Sonnet 4 ($3.00/1M tokens) is 20.0x more expensive than Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking ($0.15/1M tokens).
For output processing, Claude Sonnet 4 ($15.00/1M tokens) is 10.0x more expensive than Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking ($1.50/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Claude Sonnet 4 is more expensive than Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Claude Sonnet 4 accepts 200,000 input tokens compared to Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking's 65,536 tokens. Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking can generate longer responses up to 65,536 tokens, while Claude Sonnet 4 is limited to 64,000 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Claude Sonnet 4 supports multimodal inputs, whereas Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking does not.
Claude Sonnet 4 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
Claude Sonnet 4
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking
License
Usage and distribution terms
Claude Sonnet 4 is licensed under a proprietary license, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking 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 Sonnet 4 was released on 2025-05-22, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking was released on 2025-09-10.
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking is 4 months newer than Claude Sonnet 4.
May 22, 2025
1.1 years ago
Sep 10, 2025
9 months ago
3mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Provider Availability
Claude Sonnet 4 is available from Anthropic, Bedrock, Google. Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking is available from Novita.
Claude Sonnet 4
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Claude Sonnet 4
View detailsAnthropic
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking
View detailsAlibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Claude Sonnet 4
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-ThinkingDetailed Comparison
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FAQ
Common questions about Claude Sonnet 4 vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking.