Model Comparison
Grok-4.1 vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-InstructWhich is better in 2026?
Grok-4.1 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is 12.3x cheaper per token.
Verdict: Grok-4.1 vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct — which is better?
Grok-4.1 (by xAI) and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-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-4.1 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (Creative Writing v3), while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is better at 0 benchmarks. Grok-4.1 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
On price, Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is roughly 12.3x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Grok-4.1 also accepts a larger context window (256,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Choose Grok-4.1 if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 1 of 1 shared benchmarks
- you process long inputs — it offers a 256,000 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Nov 2025
Choose Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct if…
- cost matters — it's about 12.3x cheaper per token
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Grok-4.1 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (Creative Writing v3), while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is better at 0 benchmarks.
Grok-4.1 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Grok-4.1 ($3.00/1M tokens) is 20.0x more expensive than Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct ($0.15/1M tokens).
For output processing, Grok-4.1 ($15.00/1M tokens) is 10.0x more expensive than Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct ($1.50/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Grok-4.1 is more expensive than Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Grok-4.1 accepts 256,000 input tokens compared to Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct's 65,536 tokens. Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct can generate longer responses up to 65,536 tokens, while Grok-4.1 is limited to 8,000 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Grok-4.1 supports multimodal inputs, whereas Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct does not.
Grok-4.1 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
Grok-4.1
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct
License
Usage and distribution terms
Grok-4.1 is licensed under a proprietary license, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-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-4.1 was released on 2025-11-17, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct was released on 2025-09-10.
Grok-4.1 is 2 months newer than Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct.
Nov 17, 2025
6 months ago
2mo newerSep 10, 2025
9 months ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Provider Availability
Grok-4.1 is available from xAI. Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is available from Novita.
Grok-4.1
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct
View detailsAlibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Detailed Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|
FAQ
Common questions about Grok-4.1 vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct.