Grok-4.1 Thinking vs Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking
Grok-4.1 Thinking significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking is 15.1x cheaper per token.
xAI · Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Grok-4.1 Thinking outperforms in 1 benchmarks (Creative Writing v3), while Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking is better at 0 benchmarks. Grok-4.1 Thinking significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
On price, Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking is roughly 15.1x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Grok-4.1 Thinking also accepts a larger context window (256,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Based on current benchmark, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose Grok-4.1 Thinking
- 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 VL 30B A3B Thinking
- cost matters — it's about 15.1x cheaper per token
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Grok-4.1 Thinking outperforms in 1 benchmarks (Creative Writing v3), while Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking is better at 0 benchmarks.
Grok-4.1 Thinking significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Playground indexes and blind preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Grok-4.1 Thinking ($3.00/1M tokens) is 15.0x more expensive than Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking ($0.20/1M tokens).
For output processing, Grok-4.1 Thinking ($15.00/1M tokens) is 15.2x more expensive than Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking ($0.99/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Grok-4.1 Thinking is more expensive than Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Grok-4.1 Thinking accepts 256,000 input tokens compared to Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking's 131,072 tokens. Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking can generate longer responses up to 32,768 tokens, while Grok-4.1 Thinking is limited to 8,000 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Both Grok-4.1 Thinking and Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Grok-4.1 Thinking
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking
License
Usage and distribution terms
Grok-4.1 Thinking 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-4.1 Thinking was released on 2025-11-17, while Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking was released on 2025-09-22.
Grok-4.1 Thinking is 2 months newer than Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking.
Nov 17, 2025
9 months ago
1mo newerSep 22, 2025
11 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 Thinking is available from xAI. Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking is available from Novita, DeepInfra.
Grok-4.1 Thinking
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Grok-4.1 Thinking and Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Grok-4.1 Thinking vs Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking.