Grok-2 mini vs Qwen3 VL 32B Instruct
Qwen3 VL 32B Instruct leads the LLM Stats Score 20.2 to 8.6.
xAI · Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Qwen3 VL 32B Instruct leads the overall LLM Stats Score 20.2 to 8.6, ranking #211 overall.
In the 3 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Qwen3 VL 32B Instruct wins 3; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose Grok-2 mini
- you are already invested in the xAI ecosystem
Choose Qwen3 VL 32B Instruct
- overall performance matters — it scores 20.2 and ranks #211 on LLM Stats
- your work emphasizes reasoning — it leads those capability indexes
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 3 of 3 exact shared results
- 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
Individual benchmarks
8 reported for Grok-2 mini · 45 for Qwen3 VL 32B Instruct
Grok-2 mini outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3 VL 32B Instruct is better at 3 benchmarks (GPQA, MMLU, MMLU-Pro).
Qwen3 VL 32B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Both Grok-2 mini and Qwen3 VL 32B Instruct support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Grok-2 mini
Qwen3 VL 32B Instruct
License
Usage and distribution terms
Grok-2 mini is licensed under a proprietary license, while Qwen3 VL 32B 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
Grok-2 mini was released on 2024-08-13, while Qwen3 VL 32B Instruct was released on 2025-09-22.
Qwen3 VL 32B Instruct is 14 months newer than Grok-2 mini.
Aug 13, 2024
2.2 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.
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Grok-2 mini and Qwen3 VL 32B Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Grok-2 mini vs Qwen3 VL 32B Instruct.