DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) vs Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking
DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) leads the LLM Stats Score 32.9 to 18.3. DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) is 1.3x cheaper per token.
DeepSeek · Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) leads the overall LLM Stats Score 32.9 to 18.3, ranking #95 overall.
In the 3 individual benchmarks reported for both models, DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) wins 3; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
On price, DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) is roughly 1.3x 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-V3.2 (Thinking)
- overall performance matters — it scores 32.9 and ranks #95 on LLM Stats
- your work emphasizes reasoning — it leads those capability indexes
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 3 of 3 exact shared results
- cost matters — it's about 1.3x cheaper per token
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Dec 2025
Choose Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking
- you want predictable pricing at $0.20/M input and $0.99/M output
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
14 reported for DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) · 50 for Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking
DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) outperforms in 3 benchmarks (AIME 2025, GPQA, MMLU-Pro), while Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking is better at 0 benchmarks.
DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) ($0.28/1M tokens) is 1.4x more expensive than Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking ($0.20/1M tokens).
For output processing, DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) ($0.42/1M tokens) is 2.4x cheaper than Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking ($0.99/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking is more expensive than DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking).*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) has 654.0B more parameters than Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking, making it 2109.7% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Both models have the same input context window of 131,072 tokens. DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) can generate longer responses up to 65,536 tokens, while Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking is limited to 32,768 tokens.
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking supports multimodal inputs, whereas DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) does not.
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking)
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking
License
Usage and distribution terms
DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) is licensed under MIT, while Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking 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-V3.2 (Thinking) was released on 2025-12-01, while Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking was released on 2025-09-22.
DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) is 2 months newer than Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking.
Dec 1, 2025
9 months ago
2mo newerSep 22, 2025
11 months ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Provider Availability
DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) is available from DeepSeek. Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking is available from Novita, DeepInfra.
DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking)
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) and Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about DeepSeek-V3.2 (Thinking) vs Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking.