Model Comparison
Grok Code Fast 1 vs Qwen3 VL 4B ThinkingWhich is better in 2026?
Comparing Grok Code Fast 1 and Qwen3 VL 4B Thinking across benchmarks, pricing, and capabilities.
Verdict: Grok Code Fast 1 vs Qwen3 VL 4B Thinking — which is better?
Grok Code Fast 1 (by xAI) and Qwen3 VL 4B 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.
On price, Qwen3 VL 4B Thinking is roughly 1.6x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Qwen3 VL 4B Thinking also accepts a larger context window (262,144 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Choose Grok Code Fast 1 if…
- you want predictable pricing at $0.20/M input and $1.50/M output
Choose Qwen3 VL 4B Thinking if…
- cost matters — it's about 1.6x cheaper per token
- you process long inputs — it offers a 262,144 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 Code Fast 1 and Qwen3 VL 4B Thinkingdon't have any common benchmark datasets to compare. They may have been evaluated on different testing suites.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Grok Code Fast 1 ($0.20/1M tokens) is 2.0x more expensive than Qwen3 VL 4B Thinking ($0.10/1M tokens).
For output processing, Grok Code Fast 1 ($1.50/1M tokens) is 1.5x more expensive than Qwen3 VL 4B Thinking ($1.00/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Grok Code Fast 1 is more expensive than Qwen3 VL 4B Thinking.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Qwen3 VL 4B Thinking accepts 262,144 input tokens compared to Grok Code Fast 1's 256,000 tokens. Qwen3 VL 4B Thinking can generate longer responses up to 262,144 tokens, while Grok Code Fast 1 is limited to 10,000 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Qwen3 VL 4B Thinking supports multimodal inputs, whereas Grok Code Fast 1 does not.
Qwen3 VL 4B Thinking can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
Grok Code Fast 1
Qwen3 VL 4B Thinking
License
Usage and distribution terms
Grok Code Fast 1 is licensed under a proprietary license, while Qwen3 VL 4B 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 Code Fast 1 was released on 2025-08-28, while Qwen3 VL 4B Thinking was released on 2025-09-22.
Qwen3 VL 4B Thinking is 1 month newer than Grok Code Fast 1.
Aug 28, 2025
10 months ago
Sep 22, 2025
9 months ago
3w newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Provider Availability
Grok Code Fast 1 is available from xAI. Qwen3 VL 4B Thinking is available from DeepInfra.
Grok Code Fast 1
Qwen3 VL 4B Thinking
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
No standout differentiators in the data we have for this pair.
Qwen3 VL 4B Thinking
View detailsAlibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Detailed Comparison
Interactive Arena
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Grok Code Fast 1 and Qwen3 VL 4B Thinking side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
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FAQ
Common questions about Grok Code Fast 1 vs Qwen3 VL 4B Thinking.