Model Comparison

DeepSeek VL2 Tiny vs Qwen3 VL 30B A3B ThinkingWhich is better in 2026?

Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Verdict: DeepSeek VL2 Tiny vs Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking — which is better?

DeepSeek VL2 Tiny (by DeepSeek) and Qwen3 VL 30B A3B 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.

DeepSeek VL2 Tiny outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking is better at 5 benchmarks (AI2D, MMBench-V1.1, MMStar, OCRBench, RealWorldQA). Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Choose DeepSeek VL2 Tiny if…

  • you are already invested in the DeepSeek ecosystem

Choose Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 5 of 5 shared benchmarks
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Sep 2025

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

5 benchmarks

DeepSeek VL2 Tiny outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking is better at 5 benchmarks (AI2D, MMBench-V1.1, MMStar, OCRBench, RealWorldQA).

Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Wed Jul 15 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

28.0B diff

Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking has 28.0B more parameters than DeepSeek VL2 Tiny, making it 933.3% larger.

DeepSeek
DeepSeek VL2 Tiny
3.0Bparameters
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking
31.0Bparameters
3.0B
DeepSeek VL2 Tiny
31.0B
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking specifies input context (131,072 tokens). Only Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking specifies output context (32,768 tokens).

DeepSeek
DeepSeek VL2 Tiny
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking
Input131,072 tokens
Output32,768 tokens
Wed Jul 15 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both DeepSeek VL2 Tiny and Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking support multimodal inputs.

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

DeepSeek VL2 Tiny

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

DeepSeek VL2 Tiny is licensed under deepseek, 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.

DeepSeek VL2 Tiny

deepseek

Open weights

Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

DeepSeek VL2 Tiny was released on 2024-12-13, while Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking was released on 2025-09-22.

Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking is 9 months newer than DeepSeek VL2 Tiny.

DeepSeek VL2 Tiny

Dec 13, 2024

1.6 years ago

Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking

Sep 22, 2025

9 months ago

9mo newer

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

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

DeepSeek

No standout differentiators in the data we have for this pair.

Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team

Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking

View details

Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team

Larger context window (131,072 tokens)
Higher AI2D score (86.9% vs 71.6%)
Higher MMBench-V1.1 score (88.9% vs 68.3%)
Higher MMStar score (75.5% vs 45.9%)
Higher OCRBench score (83.9% vs 80.9%)
Higher RealWorldQA score (77.4% vs 64.2%)

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against DeepSeek VL2 Tiny and Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

DeepSeek VL2 Tiny
✓ Preferred
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
DeepSeek
DeepSeek VL2 Tiny
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking

FAQ

Common questions about DeepSeek VL2 Tiny vs Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking.

Which is better, DeepSeek VL2 Tiny or Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking?

Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. DeepSeek VL2 Tiny is made by DeepSeek and Qwen3 VL 30B A3B 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 DeepSeek VL2 Tiny compare to Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking in benchmarks?

DeepSeek VL2 Tiny scores DocVQA: 88.9%, ChartQA: 81.0%, OCRBench: 80.9%, TextVQA: 80.7%, AI2D: 71.6%. Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking scores DocVQAtest: 95.0%, ScreenSpot: 94.7%, MMLU-Redux: 90.9%, MMBench-V1.1: 88.9%, MMLU: 87.6%.

What are the context window sizes for DeepSeek VL2 Tiny and Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking?

DeepSeek VL2 Tiny supports an unknown number of tokens and Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking supports 131K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between DeepSeek VL2 Tiny and Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking?

Key differences include licensing (deepseek vs Apache 2.0). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes DeepSeek VL2 Tiny and Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking?

DeepSeek VL2 Tiny is developed by DeepSeek and Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking is developed by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team.

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