Llama 4 Maverick vs Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking
Llama 4 Maverick and Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking are closely matched at 14.9 and 16.4 on the LLM Stats Score. Llama 4 Maverick is 2.4x cheaper per token.
Meta · Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Llama 4 Maverick and Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking are closely matched on the overall LLM Stats Score at 14.9 and 16.4.
The models split the 4 individual benchmarks reported for both models evenly.
On price, Llama 4 Maverick is roughly 2.4x 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.
Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose Llama 4 Maverick
- cost matters — it's about 2.4x cheaper per token
- you process long inputs — it offers a 1,000,000 token context window
Choose Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking
- 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 Llama 4 Maverick · 50 for Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking
Llama 4 Maverick outperforms in 2 benchmarks (MMLU, MMLU-Pro), while Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking is better at 2 benchmarks (GPQA, MMMU-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, Llama 4 Maverick ($0.17/1M tokens) is 1.1x cheaper than Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking ($0.18/1M tokens).
For output processing, Llama 4 Maverick ($0.60/1M tokens) is 3.5x cheaper than Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking ($2.09/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking is more expensive than Llama 4 Maverick.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Llama 4 Maverick has 391.0B more parameters than Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking, making it 4344.4% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Llama 4 Maverick accepts 1,000,000 input tokens compared to Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking's 262,144 tokens. Llama 4 Maverick can generate longer responses up to 1,000,000 tokens, while Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking is limited to 262,144 tokens.
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Both Llama 4 Maverick and Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Llama 4 Maverick
Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking
License
Usage and distribution terms
Llama 4 Maverick is licensed under Llama 4 Community License Agreement, while Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking uses Apache 2.0.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Llama 4 Community License Agreement
Open weights
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Llama 4 Maverick was released on 2025-04-05, while Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking was released on 2025-09-22.
Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking is 6 months newer than Llama 4 Maverick.
Apr 5, 2025
1.4 years ago
Sep 22, 2025
11 months ago
5mo 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 4 Maverick is available from DeepInfra, Novita, Lambda, Groq, Fireworks, Together, Sambanova. Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking is available from DeepInfra.
Llama 4 Maverick
Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Llama 4 Maverick and Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Llama 4 Maverick vs Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking.