Model Comparison

LongCat-Flash-Lite vs Qwen3 30B A3B

Qwen3 30B A3B shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. Qwen3 30B A3B is 1.2x cheaper per token.

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Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

3 benchmarks

LongCat-Flash-Lite outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Qwen3 30B A3B is better at 2 benchmarks (AIME 2024, AIME 2025).

Qwen3 30B A3B shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.

Sat Apr 18 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Qwen3 30B A3B costs less

For input processing, LongCat-Flash-Lite ($0.10/1M tokens) costs the same as Qwen3 30B A3B ($0.10/1M tokens).

For output processing, LongCat-Flash-Lite ($0.40/1M tokens) is 1.3x more expensive than Qwen3 30B A3B ($0.30/1M tokens).

In conclusion, LongCat-Flash-Lite is more expensive than Qwen3 30B A3B.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Sat Apr 18 2026 • llm-stats.com
Meituan
LongCat-Flash-Lite
Input tokens$0.10
Output tokens$0.40
Best providerMeituan
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 30B A3B
Input tokens$0.10
Output tokens$0.30
Best providerDeepinfra
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

38.0B diff

LongCat-Flash-Lite has 38.0B more parameters than Qwen3 30B A3B, making it 124.6% larger.

Meituan
LongCat-Flash-Lite
68.5Bparameters
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 30B A3B
30.5Bparameters
68.5B
LongCat-Flash-Lite
30.5B
Qwen3 30B A3B

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

LongCat-Flash-Lite accepts 256,000 input tokens compared to Qwen3 30B A3B's 128,000 tokens. Both models can generate responses up to 128,000 tokens.

Meituan
LongCat-Flash-Lite
Input256,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 30B A3B
Input128,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Sat Apr 18 2026 • llm-stats.com

License

Usage and distribution terms

LongCat-Flash-Lite is licensed under MIT, while Qwen3 30B A3B uses Apache 2.0.

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

LongCat-Flash-Lite

MIT

Open weights

Qwen3 30B A3B

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

LongCat-Flash-Lite was released on 2026-02-05, while Qwen3 30B A3B was released on 2025-04-29.

LongCat-Flash-Lite is 9 months newer than Qwen3 30B A3B.

LongCat-Flash-Lite

Feb 5, 2026

2 months ago

9mo newer
Qwen3 30B A3B

Apr 29, 2025

11 months ago

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

LongCat-Flash-Lite is available from Meituan. Qwen3 30B A3B is available from DeepInfra, Novita, Fireworks.

LongCat-Flash-Lite

meituan logo
Meituan
Input Price:Input: $0.10/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.40/1M

Qwen3 30B A3B

deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.10/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.30/1M
novita logo
Novita
Input Price:Input: $0.10/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.44/1M
fireworks logo
Fireworks
Input Price:Input: $0.89/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.89/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Meituan
Larger context window (256,000 tokens)
Higher GPQA score (66.8% vs 65.8%)
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team

Qwen3 30B A3B

View details

Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team

Less expensive output tokens
Higher AIME 2024 score (80.4% vs 72.2%)
Higher AIME 2025 score (70.9% vs 63.2%)

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Meituan
LongCat-Flash-Lite
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 30B A3B

FAQ

Common questions about LongCat-Flash-Lite vs Qwen3 30B A3B

Qwen3 30B A3B shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. LongCat-Flash-Lite is made by Meituan and Qwen3 30B A3B is made by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.
LongCat-Flash-Lite scores MATH-500: 96.8%, MMLU: 85.5%, CMMLU: 82.5%, MMLU-Pro: 78.3%, Tau2 Retail: 73.1%. Qwen3 30B A3B scores Arena Hard: 91.0%, AIME 2024: 80.4%, LiveBench: 74.3%, Multi-IF: 72.2%, AIME 2025: 70.9%.
Both models cost $0.10 per million input tokens.
LongCat-Flash-Lite supports 256K tokens and Qwen3 30B A3B supports 128K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.
Key differences include context window (256K vs 128K), licensing (MIT vs Apache 2.0). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.
LongCat-Flash-Lite is developed by Meituan and Qwen3 30B A3B is developed by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team.