Model Comparison
Nova 2 Sonic vs Qwen3 235B A22BWhich is better in 2026?
Nova 2 Sonic significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Qwen3 235B A22B is 9.3x cheaper per token.
Verdict: Nova 2 Sonic vs Qwen3 235B A22B — which is better?
Nova 2 Sonic (by Amazon) and Qwen3 235B A22B (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.
Nova 2 Sonic outperforms in 1 benchmarks (BFCL), while Qwen3 235B A22B is better at 0 benchmarks. Nova 2 Sonic significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
On price, Qwen3 235B A22B is roughly 9.3x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Nova 2 Sonic also accepts a larger context window (1,000,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Choose Nova 2 Sonic if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 1 of 1 shared benchmarks
- you process long inputs — it offers a 1,000,000 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Dec 2025
Choose Qwen3 235B A22B if…
- cost matters — it's about 9.3x cheaper per token
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Nova 2 Sonic outperforms in 1 benchmarks (BFCL), while Qwen3 235B A22B is better at 0 benchmarks.
Nova 2 Sonic significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Nova 2 Sonic ($0.33/1M tokens) is 3.3x more expensive than Qwen3 235B A22B ($0.10/1M tokens).
For output processing, Nova 2 Sonic ($2.75/1M tokens) is 27.5x more expensive than Qwen3 235B A22B ($0.10/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Nova 2 Sonic is more expensive than Qwen3 235B A22B.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Nova 2 Sonic accepts 1,000,000 input tokens compared to Qwen3 235B A22B's 128,000 tokens. Qwen3 235B A22B can generate longer responses up to 128,000 tokens, while Nova 2 Sonic is limited to 65,536 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Nova 2 Sonic supports multimodal inputs, whereas Qwen3 235B A22B does not.
Nova 2 Sonic can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
Nova 2 Sonic
Qwen3 235B A22B
License
Usage and distribution terms
Nova 2 Sonic is licensed under a proprietary license, while Qwen3 235B A22B uses Apache 2.0.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Proprietary
Closed source
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Nova 2 Sonic was released on 2025-12-02, while Qwen3 235B A22B was released on 2025-04-29.
Nova 2 Sonic is 7 months newer than Qwen3 235B A22B.
Dec 2, 2025
7 months ago
7mo newerApr 29, 2025
1.2 years ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Provider Availability
Nova 2 Sonic is available from Bedrock. Qwen3 235B A22B is available from Fireworks, DeepInfra, Novita, Together.
Nova 2 Sonic
Qwen3 235B A22B
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Nova 2 Sonic
View detailsAmazon
Qwen3 235B A22B
View detailsAlibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Detailed Comparison
Interactive Arena
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Nova 2 Sonic and Qwen3 235B A22B side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
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FAQ
Common questions about Nova 2 Sonic vs Qwen3 235B A22B.