Model Comparison
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-InstructWhich is better in 2026?
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B is 2.8x cheaper per token.
Verdict: DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct — which is better?
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B (by DeepSeek) and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-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.
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is better at 1 benchmark (GPQA). Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
On price, DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B is roughly 2.8x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B also accepts a larger context window (128,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Choose DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B if…
- cost matters — it's about 2.8x cheaper per token
- you process long inputs — it offers a 128,000 token context window
Choose Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 1 of 1 shared benchmarks
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Sep 2025
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is better at 1 benchmark (GPQA).
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B ($0.10/1M tokens) is 1.5x cheaper than Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct ($0.15/1M tokens).
For output processing, DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B ($0.40/1M tokens) is 3.8x cheaper than Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct ($1.50/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is more expensive than DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct has 9.4B more parameters than DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B, making it 13.3% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B accepts 128,000 input tokens compared to Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct's 65,536 tokens. DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B can generate longer responses up to 128,000 tokens, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is limited to 65,536 tokens.
License
Usage and distribution terms
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B is licensed under MIT, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct 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-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct was released on 2025-09-10.
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is 8 months newer than DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B.
Jan 20, 2025
1.4 years ago
Sep 10, 2025
9 months ago
7mo 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-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is available from Novita.
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct
View detailsAlibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Detailed Comparison
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FAQ
Common questions about DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct.