Model Comparison
Nova Pro vs Qwen3 VL 4B InstructWhich is better in 2026?
Nova Pro shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct is 6.2x cheaper per token.
Verdict: Nova Pro vs Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct — which is better?
Nova Pro (by Amazon) and Qwen3 VL 4B 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 Pro outperforms in 2 benchmarks (IFEval, MMLU), while Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct is better at 1 benchmark (LVBench). Nova Pro shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.
On price, Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct is roughly 6.2x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Nova Pro also accepts a larger context window (300,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Choose Nova Pro if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 3 shared benchmarks
- you process long inputs — it offers a 300,000 token context window
Choose Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct if…
- cost matters — it's about 6.2x cheaper per token
- 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 Pro outperforms in 2 benchmarks (IFEval, MMLU), while Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct is better at 1 benchmark (LVBench).
Nova Pro shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Nova Pro ($0.80/1M tokens) is 8.0x more expensive than Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct ($0.10/1M tokens).
For output processing, Nova Pro ($3.20/1M tokens) is 5.3x more expensive than Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct ($0.60/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Nova Pro is more expensive than Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Nova Pro accepts 300,000 input tokens compared to Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct's 262,144 tokens. Nova Pro can generate longer responses up to 300,000 tokens, while Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct is limited to 262,144 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Both Nova Pro and Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Nova Pro
Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct
License
Usage and distribution terms
Nova Pro is licensed under a proprietary license, while Qwen3 VL 4B 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 Pro was released on 2024-11-20, while Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct was released on 2025-09-22.
Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct is 10 months newer than Nova Pro.
Nov 20, 2024
1.6 years ago
Sep 22, 2025
8 months ago
10mo 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 Pro is available from Bedrock. Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct is available from DeepInfra.
Nova Pro
Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Nova Pro
View detailsAmazon
Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct
View detailsAlibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Detailed Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|
FAQ
Common questions about Nova Pro vs Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct.