Llama 3.3 70B Instruct vs Qwen3 Max
Qwen3 Max leads the LLM Stats Score 21.7 to 13.9. Llama 3.3 70B Instruct is 8.1x cheaper per token.
Meta · Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Qwen3 Max leads the overall LLM Stats Score 21.7 to 13.9, ranking #177 overall.
In the 1 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Qwen3 Max wins 1; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
On price, Llama 3.3 70B Instruct is roughly 8.1x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Qwen3 Max also accepts a larger context window (256,000 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 Llama 3.3 70B Instruct
- cost matters — it's about 8.1x cheaper per token
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
Choose Qwen3 Max
- overall performance matters — it scores 21.7 and ranks #177 on LLM Stats
- your work emphasizes reasoning — it leads those capability indexes
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 1 of 1 exact shared results
- you process long inputs — it offers a 256,000 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Dec 2025
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
9 reported for Llama 3.3 70B Instruct · 6 for Qwen3 Max
Llama 3.3 70B Instruct outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3 Max is better at 1 benchmark (GPQA).
Qwen3 Max significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Llama 3.3 70B Instruct ($0.20/1M tokens) is 2.5x cheaper than Qwen3 Max ($0.50/1M tokens).
For output processing, Llama 3.3 70B Instruct ($0.20/1M tokens) is 25.0x cheaper than Qwen3 Max ($5.00/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Qwen3 Max is more expensive than Llama 3.3 70B Instruct.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Qwen3 Max has 930.0B more parameters than Llama 3.3 70B Instruct, making it 1328.6% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Qwen3 Max accepts 256,000 input tokens compared to Llama 3.3 70B Instruct's 128,000 tokens. Qwen3 Max can generate longer responses up to 131,072 tokens, while Llama 3.3 70B Instruct is limited to 128,000 tokens.
License
Usage and distribution terms
Llama 3.3 70B Instruct is licensed under Llama 3.3 Community License Agreement, while Qwen3 Max uses a proprietary license.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Llama 3.3 Community License Agreement
Open weights
Proprietary
Closed source
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Llama 3.3 70B Instruct was released on 2024-12-06, while Qwen3 Max was released on 2025-12-15.
Qwen3 Max is 12 months newer than Llama 3.3 70B Instruct.
Dec 6, 2024
1.8 years ago
Dec 15, 2025
8 months ago
1.0yr newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Provider Availability
Llama 3.3 70B Instruct is available from Lambda, DeepInfra, Hyperbolic, Groq, Sambanova, Cerebras, Bedrock, Together, Fireworks. Qwen3 Max is available from Novita.
Llama 3.3 70B Instruct
Qwen3 Max
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Llama 3.3 70B Instruct and Qwen3 Max side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Llama 3.3 70B Instruct vs Qwen3 Max.