GPT-4o vs Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct
GPT-4o and Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct are closely matched at 14.1 and 16.4 on the LLM Stats Score. Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct is 16.7x cheaper per token.
OpenAI · Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
GPT-4o and Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct are closely matched on the overall LLM Stats Score at 14.1 and 16.4.
In the 12 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct wins 8; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
On price, Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct is roughly 16.7x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct also accepts a larger context window (262,144 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 GPT-4o
- you want predictable pricing at $2.50/M input and $10.00/M output
Choose Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 8 of 12 exact shared results
- cost matters — it's about 16.7x cheaper per token
- you process long inputs — it offers a 262,144 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Sep 2025
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
1 more shared indexes
Individual benchmarks
38 reported for GPT-4o · 50 for Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct
GPT-4o outperforms in 4 benchmarks (AI2D, CharXiv-R, MMLU, SimpleQA), while Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct is better at 8 benchmarks (CharXiv-D, ERQA, GPQA, IFEval, MMLU-Pro, MMMU-Pro, Multi-IF, VideoMMMU).
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct 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, GPT-4o ($2.50/1M tokens) is 16.7x more expensive than Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct ($0.15/1M tokens).
For output processing, GPT-4o ($10.00/1M tokens) is 16.7x more expensive than Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct ($0.60/1M tokens).
In conclusion, GPT-4o is more expensive than Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct accepts 262,144 input tokens compared to GPT-4o's 128,000 tokens. Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct can generate longer responses up to 262,144 tokens, while GPT-4o is limited to 16,384 tokens.
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Both GPT-4o and Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
GPT-4o
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct
License
Usage and distribution terms
GPT-4o is licensed under a proprietary license, 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.
Proprietary
Closed source
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
GPT-4o was released on 2024-08-06, while Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct was released on 2025-09-22.
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct is 14 months newer than GPT-4o.
Aug 6, 2024
2.1 years ago
Sep 22, 2025
1.0 years ago
1.1yr newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Provider Availability
GPT-4o is available from Azure, OpenAI. Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct is available from DeepInfra, Novita.
GPT-4o
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against GPT-4o and Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about GPT-4o vs Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct.