DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B vs Qwen3 30B A3B
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B and Qwen3 30B A3B are closely matched at 14.5 and 17.3 on the LLM Stats Score. Qwen3 30B A3B is 1.2x cheaper per token.
DeepSeek · Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B and Qwen3 30B A3B are closely matched on the overall LLM Stats Score at 14.5 and 17.3.
In the 3 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Qwen3 30B A3B wins 2; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
On price, Qwen3 30B A3B is roughly 1.2x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B
- you want predictable pricing at $0.10/M input and $0.40/M output
Choose Qwen3 30B A3B
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 2 of 3 exact shared results
- cost matters — it's about 1.2x cheaper per token
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Apr 2025
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
4 reported for DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B · 8 for Qwen3 30B A3B
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B outperforms in 1 benchmarks (AIME 2024), while Qwen3 30B A3B is better at 2 benchmarks (GPQA, LiveCodeBench).
Qwen3 30B A3B shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B ($0.10/1M tokens) costs the same as Qwen3 30B A3B ($0.10/1M tokens).
For output processing, DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B ($0.40/1M tokens) is 1.3x more expensive than Qwen3 30B A3B ($0.30/1M tokens).
In conclusion, DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B is more expensive than Qwen3 30B A3B.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B has 40.1B more parameters than Qwen3 30B A3B, making it 131.5% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Both models have the same input context window of 128,000 tokens. Both models can generate responses up to 128,000 tokens.
License
Usage and distribution terms
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B is licensed under MIT, while Qwen3 30B A3B uses Apache 2.0.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
MIT
Open weights
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B was released on 2025-01-20, while Qwen3 30B A3B was released on 2025-04-29.
Qwen3 30B A3B is 3 months newer than DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B.
Jan 20, 2025
1.7 years ago
Apr 29, 2025
1.4 years 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
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B is available from DeepInfra. Qwen3 30B A3B is available from DeepInfra, Novita, Fireworks.
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B
Qwen3 30B A3B
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B and Qwen3 30B A3B side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B vs Qwen3 30B A3B.