Model Comparison

Nova Lite vs Qwen2.5 VL 7B InstructWhich is better in 2026?

Qwen2.5 VL 7B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Verdict: Nova Lite vs Qwen2.5 VL 7B Instruct — which is better?

Nova Lite (by Amazon) and Qwen2.5 VL 7B 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.

Nova Lite outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen2.5 VL 7B Instruct is better at 5 benchmarks (ChartQA, DocVQA, LVBench, MMMU, TextVQA). Qwen2.5 VL 7B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Choose Nova Lite if…

  • you want predictable pricing at $0.06/M input and $0.24/M output

Choose Qwen2.5 VL 7B Instruct if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 5 of 5 shared benchmarks
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jan 2025
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

5 benchmarks

Nova Lite outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen2.5 VL 7B Instruct is better at 5 benchmarks (ChartQA, DocVQA, LVBench, MMMU, TextVQA).

Qwen2.5 VL 7B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Wed Jul 22 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only Nova Lite specifies input context (300,000 tokens). Only Nova Lite specifies output context (2,048 tokens).

Amazon
Nova Lite
Input300,000 tokens
Output2,048 tokens
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen2.5 VL 7B Instruct
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
Wed Jul 22 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Nova Lite and Qwen2.5 VL 7B Instruct support multimodal inputs.

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

Nova Lite

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Qwen2.5 VL 7B Instruct

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Nova Lite is licensed under a proprietary license, while Qwen2.5 VL 7B Instruct uses Apache 2.0.

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

Nova Lite

Proprietary

Closed source

Qwen2.5 VL 7B Instruct

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Nova Lite was released on 2024-11-20, while Qwen2.5 VL 7B Instruct was released on 2025-01-26.

Qwen2.5 VL 7B Instruct is 2 months newer than Nova Lite.

Nova Lite

Nov 20, 2024

1.7 years ago

Qwen2.5 VL 7B Instruct

Jan 26, 2025

1.5 years ago

2mo 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

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Amazon
Larger context window (300,000 tokens)
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team

Qwen2.5 VL 7B Instruct

View details

Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team

Has open weights
Higher ChartQA score (87.3% vs 86.8%)
Higher DocVQA score (95.7% vs 92.4%)
Higher LVBench score (45.3% vs 40.4%)
Higher MMMU score (58.6% vs 56.2%)
Higher TextVQA score (84.9% vs 80.2%)

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Nova Lite and Qwen2.5 VL 7B Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Nova Lite
✓ Preferred
Qwen2.5 VL 7B Instruct
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Amazon
Nova Lite
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen2.5 VL 7B Instruct

FAQ

Common questions about Nova Lite vs Qwen2.5 VL 7B Instruct.

Which is better, Nova Lite or Qwen2.5 VL 7B Instruct?

Qwen2.5 VL 7B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Nova Lite is made by Amazon and Qwen2.5 VL 7B 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 Nova Lite compare to Qwen2.5 VL 7B Instruct in benchmarks?

Nova Lite scores GSM8k: 94.5%, ARC-C: 92.4%, DocVQA: 92.4%, IFEval: 89.7%, Translation en→Set1 COMET22: 88.8%. Qwen2.5 VL 7B Instruct scores DocVQA: 95.7%, Android Control Low_EM: 91.4%, MobileMiniWob++_SR: 91.4%, ChartQA: 87.3%, OCRBench: 86.4%.

What are the context window sizes for Nova Lite and Qwen2.5 VL 7B Instruct?

Nova Lite supports 300K tokens and Qwen2.5 VL 7B Instruct supports an unknown number of tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Nova Lite and Qwen2.5 VL 7B Instruct?

Key differences include licensing (Proprietary vs Apache 2.0). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Nova Lite and Qwen2.5 VL 7B Instruct?

Nova Lite is developed by Amazon and Qwen2.5 VL 7B Instruct is developed by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team.

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