Model Comparison

Llama 4 Maverick vs Qwen3 VL 235B A22B ThinkingWhich is better in 2026?

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Llama 4 Maverick is 4.4x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Llama 4 Maverick vs Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking — which is better?

Llama 4 Maverick (by Meta) and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B 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.

Llama 4 Maverick outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking is better at 3 benchmarks (MMLU, MMLU-Pro, MMMU-Pro). Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

On price, Llama 4 Maverick is roughly 4.4x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Llama 4 Maverick also accepts a larger context window (1,000,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose Llama 4 Maverick if…

  • cost matters — it's about 4.4x cheaper per token
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 1,000,000 token context window

Choose Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 3 of 3 shared benchmarks
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Sep 2025

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

3 benchmarks

Llama 4 Maverick outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking is better at 3 benchmarks (MMLU, MMLU-Pro, MMMU-Pro).

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

Sat Jun 27 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Llama 4 Maverick costs less

For input processing, Llama 4 Maverick ($0.17/1M tokens) is 2.6x cheaper than Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking ($0.45/1M tokens).

For output processing, Llama 4 Maverick ($0.60/1M tokens) is 5.8x cheaper than Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking ($3.49/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking is more expensive than Llama 4 Maverick.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Sat Jun 27 2026 • llm-stats.com
Meta
Llama 4 Maverick
Input tokens$0.17
Output tokens$0.60
Best providerDeepinfra
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking
Input tokens$0.45
Output tokens$3.49
Best providerDeepinfra
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

164.0B diff

Llama 4 Maverick has 164.0B more parameters than Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking, making it 69.5% larger.

Meta
Llama 4 Maverick
400.0Bparameters
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking
236.0Bparameters
400.0B
Llama 4 Maverick
236.0B
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Llama 4 Maverick accepts 1,000,000 input tokens compared to Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking's 262,144 tokens. Llama 4 Maverick can generate longer responses up to 1,000,000 tokens, while Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking is limited to 262,144 tokens.

Meta
Llama 4 Maverick
Input1,000,000 tokens
Output1,000,000 tokens
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking
Input262,144 tokens
Output262,144 tokens
Sat Jun 27 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Llama 4 Maverick and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking support multimodal inputs.

They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.

Llama 4 Maverick

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Llama 4 Maverick is licensed under Llama 4 Community License Agreement, while Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking uses Apache 2.0.

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

Llama 4 Maverick

Llama 4 Community License Agreement

Open weights

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Llama 4 Maverick was released on 2025-04-05, while Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking was released on 2025-09-22.

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking is 6 months newer than Llama 4 Maverick.

Llama 4 Maverick

Apr 5, 2025

1.2 years ago

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking

Sep 22, 2025

9 months ago

5mo 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 4 Maverick is available from DeepInfra, Novita, Lambda, Groq, Fireworks, Together, Sambanova. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking is available from DeepInfra, Novita.

Llama 4 Maverick

deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.17/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.60/1M
novita logo
Novita
Input Price:Input: $0.17/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.85/1M
lambda logo
Lambda
Input Price:Input: $0.18/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.60/1M
groq logo
Groq
Input Price:Input: $0.20/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.60/1M
fireworks logo
Fireworks
Input Price:Input: $0.22/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.88/1M
together logo
Together
Input Price:Input: $0.27/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.85/1M
sambanova logo
Sambanova
Input Price:Input: $0.63/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.79/1M

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking

deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.45/1MOutput Price:Output: $3.49/1M
novita logo
Novita
Input Price:Input: $0.98/1MOutput Price:Output: $3.95/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Meta
Larger context window (1,000,000 tokens)
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Higher MMLU score (90.6% vs 85.5%)
Higher MMLU-Pro score (83.8% vs 80.5%)
Higher MMMU-Pro score (69.3% vs 59.6%)

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Llama 4 Maverick and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Llama 4 Maverick
✓ Preferred
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Meta
Llama 4 Maverick
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking

FAQ

Common questions about Llama 4 Maverick vs Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking.

Which is better, Llama 4 Maverick or Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking?

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Llama 4 Maverick is made by Meta and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking 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 4 Maverick compare to Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking in benchmarks?

Llama 4 Maverick scores DocVQA: 94.4%, MGSM: 92.3%, ChartQA: 90.0%, MMLU: 85.5%, MMLU-Pro: 80.5%. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking scores ZebraLogic: 97.3%, DocVQAtest: 96.5%, ScreenSpot: 95.4%, CountBench: 93.7%, MMLU-Redux: 93.7%.

Is Llama 4 Maverick cheaper than Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking?

Llama 4 Maverick is 2.6x cheaper for input tokens. Llama 4 Maverick costs $0.17/M input and $0.60/M output via deepinfra. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking costs $0.45/M input and $3.49/M output via deepinfra.

What are the context window sizes for Llama 4 Maverick and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking?

Llama 4 Maverick supports 1.0M tokens and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking 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 4 Maverick and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking?

Key differences include context window (1.0M vs 262K), input pricing ($0.17 vs $0.45/M), licensing (Llama 4 Community License Agreement vs Apache 2.0). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Llama 4 Maverick and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking?

Llama 4 Maverick is developed by Meta and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking is developed by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team.

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