Model Comparison

Llama 3.1 70B Instruct vs Qwen3 235B A22B

Qwen3 235B A22B shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. Qwen3 235B A22B is 2.0x cheaper per token.

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

4 benchmarks

Llama 3.1 70B Instruct outperforms in 1 benchmarks (BFCL), while Qwen3 235B A22B is better at 3 benchmarks (GPQA, MMLU, MMLU-Pro).

Qwen3 235B A22B shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.

Mon Apr 20 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Qwen3 235B A22B costs less

For input processing, Llama 3.1 70B Instruct ($0.20/1M tokens) is 2.0x more expensive than Qwen3 235B A22B ($0.10/1M tokens).

For output processing, Llama 3.1 70B Instruct ($0.20/1M tokens) is 2.0x more expensive than Qwen3 235B A22B ($0.10/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Llama 3.1 70B Instruct is more expensive than Qwen3 235B A22B.*

* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens

Lowest available price from all providers
Mon Apr 20 2026 • llm-stats.com
Meta
Llama 3.1 70B Instruct
Input tokens$0.20
Output tokens$0.20
Best providerLambda
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 235B A22B
Input tokens$0.10
Output tokens$0.10
Best providerFireworks
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Model Size

Parameter count comparison

165.0B diff

Qwen3 235B A22B has 165.0B more parameters than Llama 3.1 70B Instruct, making it 235.7% larger.

Meta
Llama 3.1 70B Instruct
70.0Bparameters
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 235B A22B
235.0Bparameters
70.0B
Llama 3.1 70B Instruct
235.0B
Qwen3 235B A22B

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Both models have the same input context window of 128,000 tokens. Both models can generate responses up to 128,000 tokens.

Meta
Llama 3.1 70B Instruct
Input128,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 235B A22B
Input128,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Mon Apr 20 2026 • llm-stats.com

License

Usage and distribution terms

Llama 3.1 70B Instruct is licensed under Llama 3.1 Community License, while Qwen3 235B A22B uses Apache 2.0.

License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.

Llama 3.1 70B Instruct

Llama 3.1 Community License

Open weights

Qwen3 235B A22B

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Llama 3.1 70B Instruct was released on 2024-07-23, while Qwen3 235B A22B was released on 2025-04-29.

Qwen3 235B A22B is 9 months newer than Llama 3.1 70B Instruct.

Llama 3.1 70B Instruct

Jul 23, 2024

1.7 years ago

Qwen3 235B A22B

Apr 29, 2025

11 months ago

9mo newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.

Unable to compare the recency of their training data.

No cutoff dates available

Provider Availability

Llama 3.1 70B Instruct is available from Lambda, DeepInfra, Hyperbolic, Groq, Cerebras, Together, Fireworks, Bedrock, Sambanova. Qwen3 235B A22B is available from Fireworks, DeepInfra, Novita, Together.

Llama 3.1 70B Instruct

lambda logo
Lambda
Input Price:Input: $0.20/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.20/1M
deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.35/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.40/1M
hyperbolic logo
Hyperbolic
Input Price:Input: $0.40/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.40/1M
groq logo
Groq
Input Price:Input: $0.59/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.78/1M
cerebras logo
Cerebras
Input Price:Input: $0.60/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.60/1M
together logo
Together
Input Price:Input: $0.89/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.89/1M
fireworks logo
Fireworks
Input Price:Input: $0.89/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.89/1M
bedrock logo
AWS Bedrock
Input Price:Input: $0.89/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.89/1M
sambanova logo
Sambanova
Input Price:Input: $5.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $10.00/1M

Qwen3 235B A22B

fireworks logo
Fireworks
Input Price:Input: $0.10/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.10/1M
deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.20/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.60/1M
novita logo
Novita
Input Price:Input: $0.20/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.80/1M
together logo
Together
Input Price:Input: $0.20/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.60/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

Higher BFCL score (84.8% vs 70.8%)
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team

Qwen3 235B A22B

View details

Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team

Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Higher GPQA score (47.5% vs 41.7%)
Higher MMLU score (87.8% vs 83.6%)
Higher MMLU-Pro score (68.2% vs 66.4%)

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Meta
Llama 3.1 70B Instruct
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 235B A22B

FAQ

Common questions about Llama 3.1 70B Instruct vs Qwen3 235B A22B

Qwen3 235B A22B shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. Llama 3.1 70B Instruct is made by Meta and Qwen3 235B A22B is made by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.
Llama 3.1 70B Instruct scores GSM-8K (CoT): 95.1%, ARC-C: 94.8%, API-Bank: 90.0%, IFEval: 87.5%, Multilingual MGSM (CoT): 86.9%. Qwen3 235B A22B scores Arena Hard: 95.6%, GSM8k: 94.4%, BBH: 88.9%, MMLU: 87.8%, MMLU-Redux: 87.4%.
Qwen3 235B A22B is 2.0x cheaper for input tokens. Llama 3.1 70B Instruct costs $0.20/M input and $0.20/M output via lambda. Qwen3 235B A22B costs $0.10/M input and $0.10/M output via fireworks.
Llama 3.1 70B Instruct supports 128K tokens and Qwen3 235B A22B supports 128K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.
Key differences include input pricing ($0.20 vs $0.10/M), licensing (Llama 3.1 Community License vs Apache 2.0). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.
Llama 3.1 70B Instruct is developed by Meta and Qwen3 235B A22B is developed by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team.