Model Comparison
Nova Micro vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-InstructWhich is better in 2026?
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Nova Micro is 8.5x cheaper per token.
Verdict: Nova Micro vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct — which is better?
Nova Micro (by Amazon) 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.
Nova Micro outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is better at 2 benchmarks (GPQA, IFEval). Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
On price, Nova Micro is roughly 8.5x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Nova Micro also accepts a larger context window (128,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Choose Nova Micro if…
- cost matters — it's about 8.5x cheaper per token
- you process long inputs — it offers a 128,000 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
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Nova Micro outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is better at 2 benchmarks (GPQA, IFEval).
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Nova Micro ($0.03/1M tokens) is 5.0x cheaper than Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct ($0.15/1M tokens).
For output processing, Nova Micro ($0.14/1M tokens) is 10.7x cheaper than Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct ($1.50/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is more expensive than Nova Micro.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Nova Micro accepts 128,000 input tokens compared to Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct's 65,536 tokens. Nova Micro can generate longer responses up to 128,000 tokens, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is limited to 65,536 tokens.
License
Usage and distribution terms
Nova Micro is licensed under a proprietary license, 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.
Proprietary
Closed source
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Nova Micro was released on 2024-11-20, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct was released on 2025-09-10.
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is 10 months newer than Nova Micro.
Nov 20, 2024
1.6 years ago
Sep 10, 2025
9 months ago
9mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Provider Availability
Nova Micro is available from Bedrock. Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is available from Novita.
Nova Micro
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Nova Micro
View detailsAmazon
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct
View detailsAlibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Detailed Comparison
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FAQ
Common questions about Nova Micro vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct.