Model Comparison

Llama 3.2 3B Instruct vs Qwen3 VL 235B A22B InstructWhich is better in 2026?

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Llama 3.2 3B Instruct is 47.8x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Llama 3.2 3B Instruct vs Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct — which is better?

Llama 3.2 3B Instruct (by Meta) and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct (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.

Llama 3.2 3B Instruct outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is better at 2 benchmarks (IFEval, MMLU). Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

On price, Llama 3.2 3B Instruct is roughly 47.8x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct also accepts a larger context window (262,144 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose Llama 3.2 3B Instruct if…

  • cost matters — it's about 47.8x cheaper per token

Choose Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 2 shared benchmarks
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 262,144 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Sep 2025

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

2 benchmarks

Llama 3.2 3B Instruct outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is better at 2 benchmarks (IFEval, MMLU).

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Wed Jul 22 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Llama 3.2 3B Instruct costs less

For input processing, Llama 3.2 3B Instruct ($0.01/1M tokens) is 30.0x cheaper than Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct ($0.30/1M tokens).

For output processing, Llama 3.2 3B Instruct ($0.02/1M tokens) is 74.5x cheaper than Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct ($1.49/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is more expensive than Llama 3.2 3B Instruct.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Wed Jul 22 2026 • llm-stats.com
Meta
Llama 3.2 3B Instruct
Input tokens$0.01
Output tokens$0.02
Best providerDeepinfra
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct
Input tokens$0.30
Output tokens$1.49
Best providerDeepinfra
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

232.8B diff

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct has 232.8B more parameters than Llama 3.2 3B Instruct, making it 7252.0% larger.

Meta
Llama 3.2 3B Instruct
3.2Bparameters
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct
236.0Bparameters
3.2B
Llama 3.2 3B Instruct
236.0B
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct accepts 262,144 input tokens compared to Llama 3.2 3B Instruct's 128,000 tokens. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct can generate longer responses up to 262,144 tokens, while Llama 3.2 3B Instruct is limited to 128,000 tokens.

Meta
Llama 3.2 3B Instruct
Input128,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct
Input262,144 tokens
Output262,144 tokens
Wed Jul 22 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct supports multimodal inputs, whereas Llama 3.2 3B Instruct does not.

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

Llama 3.2 3B Instruct

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Llama 3.2 3B Instruct is licensed under Llama 3.2 Community License, while Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct uses Apache 2.0.

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

Llama 3.2 3B Instruct

Llama 3.2 Community License

Open weights

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Llama 3.2 3B Instruct was released on 2024-09-25, while Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct was released on 2025-09-22.

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is 12 months newer than Llama 3.2 3B Instruct.

Llama 3.2 3B Instruct

Sep 25, 2024

1.8 years ago

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct

Sep 22, 2025

10 months ago

12mo 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 3.2 3B Instruct is available from DeepInfra. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is available from DeepInfra, Novita.

Llama 3.2 3B Instruct

deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.01/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.02/1M

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct

deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.30/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.49/1M
novita logo
Novita
Input Price:Input: $0.30/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.50/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Meta
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Larger context window (262,144 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Higher IFEval score (87.8% vs 77.4%)
Higher MMLU score (88.8% vs 63.4%)

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Llama 3.2 3B Instruct and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Llama 3.2 3B Instruct
✓ Preferred
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Meta
Llama 3.2 3B Instruct
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct

FAQ

Common questions about Llama 3.2 3B Instruct vs Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct.

Which is better, Llama 3.2 3B Instruct or Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct?

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Llama 3.2 3B Instruct is made by Meta and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is made by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Llama 3.2 3B Instruct compare to Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct in benchmarks?

Llama 3.2 3B Instruct scores NIH/Multi-needle: 84.7%, ARC-C: 78.6%, GSM8k: 77.7%, IFEval: 77.4%, HellaSwag: 69.8%. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct scores DocVQAtest: 97.1%, ScreenSpot: 95.4%, MMLU-Redux: 92.2%, OCRBench: 92.0%, MMBench-V1.1: 89.9%.

Is Llama 3.2 3B Instruct cheaper than Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct?

Llama 3.2 3B Instruct is 30.0x cheaper for input tokens. Llama 3.2 3B Instruct costs $0.01/M input and $0.02/M output via deepinfra. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct costs $0.30/M input and $1.49/M output via deepinfra.

What are the context window sizes for Llama 3.2 3B Instruct and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct?

Llama 3.2 3B Instruct supports 128K tokens and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct supports 262K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Llama 3.2 3B Instruct and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct?

Key differences include context window (128K vs 262K), input pricing ($0.01 vs $0.30/M), multimodal support (no vs yes), licensing (Llama 3.2 Community License vs Apache 2.0). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Llama 3.2 3B Instruct and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct?

Llama 3.2 3B Instruct is developed by Meta and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is developed by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team.

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