Model Comparison
Grok-3 Mini vs Qwen3.5-35B-A3BWhich is better in 2026?
Qwen3.5-35B-A3B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Grok-3 Mini is 2.0x cheaper per token.
Verdict: Grok-3 Mini vs Qwen3.5-35B-A3B — which is better?
Grok-3 Mini (by xAI) and Qwen3.5-35B-A3B (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 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3.5-35B-A3B is better at 1 benchmark (GPQA). Qwen3.5-35B-A3B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
On price, Grok-3 Mini is roughly 2.0x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Qwen3.5-35B-A3B also accepts a larger context window (262,144 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Choose Grok-3 Mini if…
- cost matters — it's about 2.0x cheaper per token
Choose Qwen3.5-35B-A3B if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 1 of 1 shared benchmarks
- you process long inputs — it offers a 262,144 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Feb 2026
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Grok-3 Mini outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3.5-35B-A3B is better at 1 benchmark (GPQA).
Qwen3.5-35B-A3B 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 1.2x more expensive than Qwen3.5-35B-A3B ($0.25/1M tokens).
For output processing, Grok-3 Mini ($0.50/1M tokens) is 4.0x cheaper than Qwen3.5-35B-A3B ($2.00/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Qwen3.5-35B-A3B 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
Qwen3.5-35B-A3B accepts 262,144 input tokens compared to Grok-3 Mini's 128,000 tokens. Qwen3.5-35B-A3B can generate longer responses up to 65,000 tokens, while Grok-3 Mini is limited to 8,000 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Both Grok-3 Mini and Qwen3.5-35B-A3B support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Grok-3 Mini
Qwen3.5-35B-A3B
License
Usage and distribution terms
Grok-3 Mini is licensed under a proprietary license, while Qwen3.5-35B-A3B 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 Qwen3.5-35B-A3B was released on 2026-02-24.
Qwen3.5-35B-A3B is 12 months newer than Grok-3 Mini.
Feb 17, 2025
1.4 years ago
Feb 24, 2026
5 months ago
1.0yr newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Grok-3 Mini has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-11-17, while Qwen3.5-35B-A3B'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 Qwen3.5-35B-A3B's cutoff date.
Nov 2024
—
Provider Availability
Grok-3 Mini is available from xAI. Qwen3.5-35B-A3B is available from Novita.
Grok-3 Mini
Qwen3.5-35B-A3B
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Qwen3.5-35B-A3B
View detailsAlibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Grok-3 Mini
Qwen3.5-35B-A3BDetailed Comparison
Interactive Arena
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Grok-3 Mini and Qwen3.5-35B-A3B side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
| Feature | | |
|---|
FAQ
Common questions about Grok-3 Mini vs Qwen3.5-35B-A3B.