Model Comparison

Llama 4 Scout vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-InstructWhich is better in 2026?

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Llama 4 Scout is 3.6x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Llama 4 Scout vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct — which is better?

Llama 4 Scout (by Meta) and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-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 4 Scout outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is better at 2 benchmarks (GPQA, MMLU-Pro). Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

On price, Llama 4 Scout is roughly 3.6x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Llama 4 Scout also accepts a larger context window (10,000,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose Llama 4 Scout if…

  • cost matters — it's about 3.6x cheaper per token
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 10,000,000 token context window

Choose Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 2 shared benchmarks
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Sep 2025
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Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

2 benchmarks

Llama 4 Scout outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is better at 2 benchmarks (GPQA, MMLU-Pro).

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Sun Jun 14 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Llama 4 Scout costs less

For input processing, Llama 4 Scout ($0.08/1M tokens) is 1.9x cheaper than Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct ($0.15/1M tokens).

For output processing, Llama 4 Scout ($0.30/1M tokens) is 5.0x cheaper than Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct ($1.50/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is more expensive than Llama 4 Scout.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Sun Jun 14 2026 • llm-stats.com
Meta
Llama 4 Scout
Input tokens$0.08
Output tokens$0.30
Best providerDeepinfra
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct
Input tokens$0.15
Output tokens$1.50
Best providerNovita
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

29.0B diff

Llama 4 Scout has 29.0B more parameters than Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct, making it 36.3% larger.

Meta
Llama 4 Scout
109.0Bparameters
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct
80.0Bparameters
109.0B
Llama 4 Scout
80.0B
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Llama 4 Scout accepts 10,000,000 input tokens compared to Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct's 65,536 tokens. Llama 4 Scout can generate longer responses up to 10,000,000 tokens, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is limited to 65,536 tokens.

Meta
Llama 4 Scout
Input10,000,000 tokens
Output10,000,000 tokens
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct
Input65,536 tokens
Output65,536 tokens
Sun Jun 14 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Llama 4 Scout supports multimodal inputs, whereas Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct does not.

Llama 4 Scout can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

Llama 4 Scout

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Llama 4 Scout is licensed under Llama 4 Community License Agreement, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct uses Apache 2.0.

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

Llama 4 Scout

Llama 4 Community License Agreement

Open weights

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Llama 4 Scout was released on 2025-04-05, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct was released on 2025-09-10.

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is 5 months newer than Llama 4 Scout.

Llama 4 Scout

Apr 5, 2025

1.2 years ago

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct

Sep 10, 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 Scout is available from DeepInfra, Lambda, Novita, Groq, Fireworks, Together. Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is available from Novita.

Llama 4 Scout

deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.08/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.30/1M
lambda logo
Lambda
Input Price:Input: $0.08/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.30/1M
novita logo
Novita
Input Price:Input: $0.10/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.50/1M
groq logo
Groq
Input Price:Input: $0.11/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.34/1M
fireworks logo
Fireworks
Input Price:Input: $0.15/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.60/1M
together logo
Together
Input Price:Input: $0.18/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.59/1M

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct

novita logo
Novita
Input Price:Input: $0.15/1MOutput 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
Larger context window (10,000,000 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Higher GPQA score (72.9% vs 57.2%)
Higher MMLU-Pro score (80.6% vs 74.3%)

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Meta
Llama 4 Scout
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct

FAQ

Common questions about Llama 4 Scout vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct.

Which is better, Llama 4 Scout or Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct?

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Llama 4 Scout is made by Meta and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-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 4 Scout compare to Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct in benchmarks?

Llama 4 Scout scores DocVQA: 94.4%, MGSM: 90.6%, ChartQA: 88.8%, MMLU: 79.6%, MMLU-Pro: 74.3%. Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct scores MMLU-Redux: 90.9%, MultiPL-E: 87.8%, IFEval: 87.6%, WritingBench: 87.3%, Creative Writing v3: 85.3%.

Is Llama 4 Scout cheaper than Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct?

Llama 4 Scout is 1.9x cheaper for input tokens. Llama 4 Scout costs $0.08/M input and $0.30/M output via deepinfra. Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct costs $0.15/M input and $1.50/M output via novita.

What are the context window sizes for Llama 4 Scout and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct?

Llama 4 Scout supports 10.0M tokens and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct supports 66K 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 Scout and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct?

Key differences include context window (10.0M vs 66K), input pricing ($0.08 vs $0.15/M), multimodal support (yes vs no), licensing (Llama 4 Community License Agreement vs Apache 2.0). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Llama 4 Scout and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct?

Llama 4 Scout is developed by Meta and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is developed by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team.

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