Model Comparison

Grok-2 mini vs Qwen3 VL 235B A22B InstructWhich is better in 2026?

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Verdict: Grok-2 mini vs Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct — which is better?

Grok-2 mini (by xAI) and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B 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-2 mini outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is better at 2 benchmarks (MMLU, MMLU-Pro). Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Choose Grok-2 mini if…

  • you are already invested in the xAI ecosystem

Choose Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 2 shared benchmarks
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Sep 2025
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

2 benchmarks

Grok-2 mini outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is better at 2 benchmarks (MMLU, MMLU-Pro).

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Fri Jun 26 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct specifies input context (262,144 tokens). Only Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct specifies output context (262,144 tokens).

xAI
Grok-2 mini
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct
Input262,144 tokens
Output262,144 tokens
Fri Jun 26 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Grok-2 mini and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct support multimodal inputs.

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

Grok-2 mini

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Grok-2 mini is licensed under a proprietary license, while Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct uses Apache 2.0.

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

Grok-2 mini

Proprietary

Closed source

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Grok-2 mini was released on 2024-08-13, while Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct was released on 2025-09-22.

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is 14 months newer than Grok-2 mini.

Grok-2 mini

Aug 13, 2024

1.9 years ago

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct

Sep 22, 2025

9 months ago

1.1yr 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

xAI

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

Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Larger context window (262,144 tokens)
Has open weights
Higher MMLU score (88.8% vs 86.2%)
Higher MMLU-Pro score (81.8% vs 72.0%)

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Grok-2 mini and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Grok-2 mini
✓ Preferred
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
xAI
Grok-2 mini
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct

FAQ

Common questions about Grok-2 mini vs Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct.

Which is better, Grok-2 mini or Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct?

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Grok-2 mini is made by xAI and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B 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-2 mini compare to Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct in benchmarks?

Grok-2 mini scores DocVQA: 93.2%, MMLU: 86.2%, HumanEval: 85.7%, MATH: 73.0%, MMLU-Pro: 72.0%. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct scores DocVQAtest: 97.1%, ScreenSpot: 95.4%, MMLU-Redux: 92.2%, OCRBench: 92.0%, MMBench-V1.1: 89.9%.

What are the context window sizes for Grok-2 mini and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct?

Grok-2 mini supports an unknown number of tokens and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B 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 Grok-2 mini and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct?

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

Who makes Grok-2 mini and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct?

Grok-2 mini is developed by xAI and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is developed by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team.

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