Model Comparison

Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs Qwen3 VL 235B A22B ThinkingWhich is better in 2026?

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking is 5.0x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking — which is better?

Claude Sonnet 4.5 (by Anthropic) and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B 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 4.5 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (OSWorld), while Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking is better at 2 benchmarks (AIME 2025, MMMUval). Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.

On price, Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking is roughly 5.0x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking also accepts a larger context window (262,144 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose Claude Sonnet 4.5 if…

  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Sep 2025

Choose Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 3 shared benchmarks
  • cost matters — it's about 5.0x 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

3 benchmarks

Claude Sonnet 4.5 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (OSWorld), while Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking is better at 2 benchmarks (AIME 2025, MMMUval).

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.

Tue Jul 21 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking costs less

For input processing, Claude Sonnet 4.5 ($3.00/1M tokens) is 6.7x more expensive than Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking ($0.45/1M tokens).

For output processing, Claude Sonnet 4.5 ($15.00/1M tokens) is 4.3x more expensive than Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking ($3.49/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Claude Sonnet 4.5 is more expensive than Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking.*

* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens

Lowest available price from all providers
Tue Jul 21 2026 • llm-stats.com
Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 4.5
Input tokens$3.00
Output tokens$15.00
Best providerAnthropic
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking
Input tokens$0.45
Output tokens$3.49
Best providerDeepinfra
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking accepts 262,144 input tokens compared to Claude Sonnet 4.5's 200,000 tokens. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking can generate longer responses up to 262,144 tokens, while Claude Sonnet 4.5 is limited to 64,000 tokens.

Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 4.5
Input200,000 tokens
Output64,000 tokens
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking
Input262,144 tokens
Output262,144 tokens
Tue Jul 21 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Claude Sonnet 4.5 and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking support multimodal inputs.

They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.

Claude Sonnet 4.5

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Claude Sonnet 4.5 is licensed under a proprietary license, while Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking uses Apache 2.0.

License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.

Claude Sonnet 4.5

Proprietary

Closed source

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Claude Sonnet 4.5 was released on 2025-09-29, while Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking was released on 2025-09-22.

Claude Sonnet 4.5 is 0 month newer than Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking.

Claude Sonnet 4.5

Sep 29, 2025

9 months ago

1w newer
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking

Sep 22, 2025

10 months ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Claude Sonnet 4.5 has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2025-01-31, while Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Claude Sonnet 4.5's training data extends to 2025-01-31, but cannot make a direct comparison without Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking's cutoff date.

Claude Sonnet 4.5

Jan 2025

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking

—

Provider Availability

Claude Sonnet 4.5 is available from Anthropic. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking is available from DeepInfra, Novita.

Claude Sonnet 4.5

anthropic logo
Anthropic
Input Price:Input: $3.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $15.00/1M

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking

deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.45/1MOutput Price:Output: $3.49/1M
novita logo
Novita
Input Price:Input: $0.98/1MOutput Price:Output: $3.95/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Anthropic
Higher OSWorld score (61.4% vs 38.1%)
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Larger context window (262,144 tokens)
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Has open weights
Higher AIME 2025 score (89.7% vs 87.0%)
Higher MMMUval score (80.6% vs 77.8%)

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Claude Sonnet 4.5 and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Claude Sonnet 4.5
✓ Preferred
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 4.5
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking

FAQ

Common questions about Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking.

Which is better, Claude Sonnet 4.5 or Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking?

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. Claude Sonnet 4.5 is made by Anthropic and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking is made by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Claude Sonnet 4.5 compare to Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking in benchmarks?

Claude Sonnet 4.5 scores MMMLU: 89.1%, AIME 2025: 87.0%, TAU-bench Retail: 86.2%, GPQA: 83.4%, MMMUval: 77.8%. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking scores ZebraLogic: 97.3%, DocVQAtest: 96.5%, ScreenSpot: 95.4%, CountBench: 93.7%, MMLU-Redux: 93.7%.

Is Claude Sonnet 4.5 cheaper than Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking?

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking is 6.7x cheaper for input tokens. Claude Sonnet 4.5 costs $3.00/M input and $15.00/M output via anthropic. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking costs $0.45/M input and $3.49/M output via deepinfra.

What are the context window sizes for Claude Sonnet 4.5 and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking?

Claude Sonnet 4.5 supports 200K tokens and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking supports 262K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Claude Sonnet 4.5 and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking?

Key differences include context window (200K vs 262K), input pricing ($3.00 vs $0.45/M), licensing (Proprietary vs Apache 2.0). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Claude Sonnet 4.5 and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking?

Claude Sonnet 4.5 is developed by Anthropic and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking is developed by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team.

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