Hermes 3 405B vs Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct leads the LLM Stats Score 16.4 to 4.3. Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct is 3.8x cheaper per token.
Nous Research · Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct leads the overall LLM Stats Score 16.4 to 4.3, ranking #239 overall.
The models split the 2 individual benchmarks reported for both models evenly.
On price, Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct is roughly 3.8x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Qwen3 VL 30B 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 Hermes 3 405B
- you want predictable pricing at $1.00/M input and $1.00/M output
Choose Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct
- overall performance matters — it scores 16.4 and ranks #239 on LLM Stats
- your work emphasizes reasoning — it leads those capability indexes
- cost matters — it's about 3.8x 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
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
13 reported for Hermes 3 405B · 50 for Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct
Hermes 3 405B outperforms in 1 benchmarks (MMLU), while Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct is better at 1 benchmark (MMLU-Pro).
Both models are evenly matched across the benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Hermes 3 405B ($1.00/1M tokens) is 6.7x more expensive than Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct ($0.15/1M tokens).
For output processing, Hermes 3 405B ($1.00/1M tokens) is 1.7x more expensive than Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct ($0.60/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Hermes 3 405B is more expensive than Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Hermes 3 405B has 374.0B more parameters than Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct, making it 1206.5% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct accepts 262,144 input tokens compared to Hermes 3 405B's 131,072 tokens. Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct can generate longer responses up to 262,144 tokens, while Hermes 3 405B is limited to 131,072 tokens.
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct supports multimodal inputs, whereas Hermes 3 405B does not.
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
Hermes 3 405B
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct
License
Usage and distribution terms
Both models are licensed under Apache 2.0.
Both models share the same licensing terms, providing consistent usage rights.
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Hermes 3 405B was released on 2024-10-09, while Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct was released on 2025-09-22.
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct is 12 months newer than Hermes 3 405B.
Oct 9, 2024
2.0 years ago
Sep 22, 2025
1.0 years ago
11mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Provider Availability
Hermes 3 405B is available from DeepInfra. Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct is available from DeepInfra, Novita.
Hermes 3 405B
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Hermes 3 405B and Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Hermes 3 405B vs Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct.