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DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash vs Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash leads the LLM Stats Score 51.8 to 16.4. Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct is 1.3x cheaper per token.

DeepSeek · Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team · Updated for 2026

Which is better?

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash leads the overall LLM Stats Score 51.8 to 16.4, ranking #12 overall.

In the 1 individual benchmarks reported for both models, DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash wins 1; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.

On price, Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct is roughly 1.3x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash also accepts a larger context window (1,040,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.

Choose DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash

  • overall performance matters — it scores 51.8 and ranks #12 on LLM Stats
  • your work emphasizes reasoning and agents — it leads those capability indexes
  • you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 1 of 1 exact shared results
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 1,040,000 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Sep 2026

Choose Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct

  • cost matters — it's about 1.3x cheaper per token

At a glance

The differences that matter most.

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash
DeepSeek
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Core performance indexes
LLM Stats Score
51.8
#12
16.4
#222
Reasoning
48.9
#17
15.0
#225
Agents
41.3
#4
4.5
#154
Cost, coverage & limits
Benchmark wins
1 of 1
0 of 1
Input price
$0.22 / M
$0.15 / M
Output price
$0.66 / M
$0.60 / M
Context window
1,040,000
262,144

Capability indexes

Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks

3 shared
Index
DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct
Math
35.2#43
16.5#202
Vision
29.5#31
11.3#109
Multimodal
34.3#13
13.8#95
Conservative TrueSkill rating · higher is betterHow scores work

Individual benchmarks

20 reported for DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash · 50 for Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct

1 shared

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct is better at 0 benchmarks.

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Fri Sep 11 2026 • llm-stats.com

Human preference

Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct costs less

For input processing, DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash ($0.22/1M tokens) is 1.5x more expensive than Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct ($0.15/1M tokens).

For output processing, DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash ($0.66/1M tokens) is 1.1x more expensive than Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct ($0.60/1M tokens).

In conclusion, DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash is more expensive than Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Fri Sep 11 2026 • llm-stats.com
DeepSeek
DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash
Input tokens$0.22
Output tokens$0.66
Best providerFireworks
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct
Input tokens$0.15
Output tokens$0.60
Best providerDeepinfra
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

732.2B diff

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash has 732.2B more parameters than Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct, making it 2362.0% larger.

DeepSeek
DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash
763.2Bparameters
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct
31.0Bparameters
763.2B
DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash
31.0B
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash accepts 1,040,000 input tokens compared to Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct's 262,144 tokens. DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash can generate longer responses up to 393,216 tokens, while Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct is limited to 262,144 tokens.

DeepSeek
DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash
Input1,040,000 tokens
Output393,216 tokens
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct
Input262,144 tokens
Output262,144 tokens
Fri Sep 11 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input capabilities

Documented input modalities across available providers

Both DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash and Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct support multimodal inputs.

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

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash is licensed under MIT, while Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct uses Apache 2.0.

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

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash

MIT

Open weights

Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash was released on 2026-09-10, while Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct was released on 2025-09-22.

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash is 12 months newer than Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct.

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash

Sep 10, 2026

0 days ago

11mo newer
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct

Sep 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.

No cutoff dates available

Provider Availability

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash is available from Fireworks, DeepInfra, DeepSeek, Novita. Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct is available from DeepInfra, Novita.

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash

fireworks logo
Fireworks
Input Price:Input: $0.22/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.66/1M
deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.30/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.20/1M
deepseek logo
DeepSeek
Input Price:Input: $0.30/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.20/1M
novita logo
Novita
Input Price:Input: $0.30/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.20/1M

Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct

deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.15/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.60/1M
novita logo
Novita
Input Price:Input: $0.20/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.70/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash and Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash
✓ Preferred
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct
Open in Playground

FAQ

Common questions about DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash vs Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct.

Which is better, DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash or Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct?

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash leads the LLM Stats Score 51.8 to 16.4. DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash is made by DeepSeek and Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct is made by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their capability indexes, individual benchmarks, pricing, and limits above.

How does DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash compare to Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct in benchmarks?

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash scores CodeForces: 100.0%, GPQA: 90.9%, Terminal-Bench 2.1: 90.6%, BabyVision: 89.6%, CyberGym: 88.1%. Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct scores DocVQAtest: 95.0%, ScreenSpot: 94.7%, OCRBench: 90.3%, MMLU-Redux: 88.4%, MMBench-V1.1: 87.0%.

Is DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash cheaper than Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct?

Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct is 1.5x cheaper for input tokens. DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash costs $0.22/M input and $0.66/M output via fireworks. Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct costs $0.15/M input and $0.60/M output via deepinfra.

What are the context window sizes for DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash and Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct?

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash supports 1.0M tokens and Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct 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 DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash and Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct?

Key differences include LLM Stats Score (51.8 vs 16.4), context window (1.0M vs 262K), input pricing ($0.22 vs $0.15/M), licensing (MIT vs Apache 2.0). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash and Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct?

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash is developed by DeepSeek and Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct is developed by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team.

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