Model Comparison
Grok-3 Mini vs Qwen3 VL 30B A3B ThinkingWhich is better in 2026?
Grok-3 Mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Grok-3 Mini is 1.1x cheaper per token.
Verdict: Grok-3 Mini vs Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking — which is better?
Grok-3 Mini (by xAI) 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.
Grok-3 Mini outperforms in 2 benchmarks (AIME 2025, GPQA), while Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking is better at 0 benchmarks. Grok-3 Mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
On price, Grok-3 Mini is roughly 1.1x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking also accepts a larger context window (131,072 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Choose Grok-3 Mini if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 2 shared benchmarks
- cost matters — it's about 1.1x cheaper per token
Choose Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking if…
- you process long inputs — it offers a 131,072 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
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Grok-3 Mini outperforms in 2 benchmarks (AIME 2025, GPQA), while Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking is better at 0 benchmarks.
Grok-3 Mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Grok-3 Mini ($0.30/1M tokens) is 1.5x more expensive than Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking ($0.20/1M tokens).
For output processing, Grok-3 Mini ($0.50/1M tokens) is 2.0x cheaper than Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking ($0.99/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking is more expensive than Grok-3 Mini.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking accepts 131,072 input tokens compared to Grok-3 Mini's 128,000 tokens. Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking can generate longer responses up to 32,768 tokens, while Grok-3 Mini is limited to 8,000 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Both Grok-3 Mini and Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Grok-3 Mini
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking
License
Usage and distribution terms
Grok-3 Mini is licensed under a proprietary license, 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.
Proprietary
Closed source
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Grok-3 Mini was released on 2025-02-17, while Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking was released on 2025-09-22.
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking is 7 months newer than Grok-3 Mini.
Feb 17, 2025
1.3 years ago
Sep 22, 2025
9 months ago
7mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Grok-3 Mini has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-11-17, while Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm Grok-3 Mini's training data extends to 2024-11-17, but cannot make a direct comparison without Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking's cutoff date.
Nov 2024
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Provider Availability
Grok-3 Mini is available from xAI. Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking is available from Novita, DeepInfra.
Grok-3 Mini
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking
View detailsAlibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Grok-3 Mini
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B ThinkingDetailed Comparison
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FAQ
Common questions about Grok-3 Mini vs Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking.