Grok-4.1 vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct
Grok-4.1 and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct are closely matched at 19.6 and 20.1 on the LLM Stats Score. Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is 17.5x cheaper per token.
xAI · Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Grok-4.1 and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct are closely matched on the overall LLM Stats Score at 19.6 and 20.1.
In the 1 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Grok-4.1 wins 1; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
On price, Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is roughly 17.5x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct also accepts a larger context window (262,144 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose Grok-4.1
- your work emphasizes reasoning — it leads those capability indexes
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 1 of 1 exact shared results
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Nov 2025
Choose Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct
- cost matters — it's about 17.5x cheaper per token
- you process long inputs — it offers a 262,144 token context window
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Individual benchmarks
4 reported for Grok-4.1 · 24 for Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct
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.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Grok-4.1 ($3.00/1M tokens) is 33.3x more expensive than Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct ($0.09/1M tokens).
For output processing, Grok-4.1 ($15.00/1M tokens) is 13.6x more expensive than Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct ($1.10/1M 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
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct accepts 262,144 input tokens compared to Grok-4.1's 256,000 tokens. Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct can generate longer responses up to 262,144 tokens, while Grok-4.1 is limited to 8,000 tokens.
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
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
10 months ago
2mo newerSep 10, 2025
1.1 years 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 DeepInfra, Novita.
Grok-4.1
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Grok-4.1 and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Grok-4.1 vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct.