Model Comparison

Grok-1.5 vs Qwen2 7B InstructWhich is better in 2026?

Grok-1.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Verdict: Grok-1.5 vs Qwen2 7B Instruct — which is better?

Grok-1.5 (by xAI) and Qwen2 7B 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.

Grok-1.5 outperforms in 5 benchmarks (GPQA, GSM8k, MATH, MMLU, MMLU-Pro), while Qwen2 7B Instruct is better at 1 benchmark (HumanEval). Grok-1.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Choose Grok-1.5 if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 5 of 6 shared benchmarks

Choose Qwen2 7B Instruct if…

  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jul 2024
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
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Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

6 benchmarks

Grok-1.5 outperforms in 5 benchmarks (GPQA, GSM8k, MATH, MMLU, MMLU-Pro), while Qwen2 7B Instruct is better at 1 benchmark (HumanEval).

Grok-1.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Thu Jun 18 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

License

Usage and distribution terms

Grok-1.5 is licensed under a proprietary license, while Qwen2 7B Instruct uses Apache 2.0.

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

Grok-1.5

Proprietary

Closed source

Qwen2 7B Instruct

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Grok-1.5 was released on 2024-03-28, while Qwen2 7B Instruct was released on 2024-07-23.

Qwen2 7B Instruct is 4 months newer than Grok-1.5.

Grok-1.5

Mar 28, 2024

2.2 years ago

Qwen2 7B Instruct

Jul 23, 2024

1.9 years ago

3mo 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

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Key Takeaways

xAI
Higher GPQA score (35.9% vs 25.3%)
Higher GSM8k score (90.0% vs 82.3%)
Higher MATH score (50.6% vs 49.6%)
Higher MMLU score (81.3% vs 70.5%)
Higher MMLU-Pro score (51.0% vs 44.1%)
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team

Qwen2 7B Instruct

View details

Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team

Has open weights
Higher HumanEval score (79.9% vs 74.1%)

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
xAI
Grok-1.5
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen2 7B Instruct

FAQ

Common questions about Grok-1.5 vs Qwen2 7B Instruct.

Which is better, Grok-1.5 or Qwen2 7B Instruct?

Grok-1.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Grok-1.5 is made by xAI and Qwen2 7B Instruct 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 Grok-1.5 compare to Qwen2 7B Instruct in benchmarks?

Grok-1.5 scores GSM8k: 90.0%, DocVQA: 85.6%, MMLU: 81.3%, HumanEval: 74.1%, MMMU: 53.6%. Qwen2 7B Instruct scores MT-Bench: 84.1%, GSM8k: 82.3%, HumanEval: 79.9%, C-Eval: 77.2%, AlignBench: 72.1%.

What are the main differences between Grok-1.5 and Qwen2 7B Instruct?

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

Who makes Grok-1.5 and Qwen2 7B Instruct?

Grok-1.5 is developed by xAI and Qwen2 7B Instruct is developed by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team.

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