Model Comparison

Pixtral Large vs Qwen3 VL 235B A22B InstructWhich is better in 2026?

Pixtral Large significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is 5.0x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Pixtral Large vs Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct — which is better?

Pixtral Large (by Mistral AI) and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B 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.

Pixtral Large outperforms in 2 benchmarks (AI2D, MM-MT-Bench), while Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is better at 0 benchmarks. Pixtral Large significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

On price, Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is roughly 5.0x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct also accepts a larger context window (262,144 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose Pixtral Large if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 2 shared benchmarks

Choose Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct if…

  • cost matters — it's about 5.0x cheaper per token
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 262,144 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Sep 2025

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

2 benchmarks

Pixtral Large outperforms in 2 benchmarks (AI2D, MM-MT-Bench), while Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is better at 0 benchmarks.

Pixtral Large significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Thu Jul 09 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct costs less

For input processing, Pixtral Large ($2.00/1M tokens) is 6.7x more expensive than Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct ($0.30/1M tokens).

For output processing, Pixtral Large ($6.00/1M tokens) is 4.0x more expensive than Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct ($1.49/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Pixtral Large is more expensive than Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Thu Jul 09 2026 • llm-stats.com
Mistral AI
Pixtral Large
Input tokens$2.00
Output tokens$6.00
Best providerMistral
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct
Input tokens$0.30
Output tokens$1.49
Best providerDeepinfra
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

112.0B diff

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct has 112.0B more parameters than Pixtral Large, making it 90.3% larger.

Mistral AI
Pixtral Large
124.0Bparameters
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct
236.0Bparameters
124.0B
Pixtral Large
236.0B
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct accepts 262,144 input tokens compared to Pixtral Large's 128,000 tokens. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct can generate longer responses up to 262,144 tokens, while Pixtral Large is limited to 128,000 tokens.

Mistral AI
Pixtral Large
Input128,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct
Input262,144 tokens
Output262,144 tokens
Thu Jul 09 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Pixtral Large and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct support multimodal inputs.

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

Pixtral Large

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Pixtral Large is licensed under Mistral Research License (MRL) for research; Mistral Commercial License for commercial use, while Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct uses Apache 2.0.

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

Pixtral Large

Mistral Research License (MRL) for research; Mistral Commercial License for commercial use

Open weights

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Pixtral Large was released on 2024-11-18, while Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct was released on 2025-09-22.

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is 10 months newer than Pixtral Large.

Pixtral Large

Nov 18, 2024

1.6 years ago

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct

Sep 22, 2025

9 months ago

10mo 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

Provider Availability

Pixtral Large is available from Mistral AI. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is available from DeepInfra, Novita.

Pixtral Large

mistral logo
Mistral
Input Price:Input: $2.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $6.00/1M

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct

deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.30/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.49/1M
novita logo
Novita
Input Price:Input: $0.30/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.50/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Mistral AI
Higher AI2D score (93.8% vs 89.7%)
Higher MM-MT-Bench score (74.0% vs 8.5%)
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Larger context window (262,144 tokens)
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Pixtral Large and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Pixtral Large
✓ Preferred
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Mistral AI
Pixtral Large
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct

FAQ

Common questions about Pixtral Large vs Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct.

Which is better, Pixtral Large or Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct?

Pixtral Large significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Pixtral Large is made by Mistral AI and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B 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 Pixtral Large compare to Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct in benchmarks?

Pixtral Large scores AI2D: 93.8%, DocVQA: 93.3%, ChartQA: 88.1%, VQAv2: 80.9%, MM-MT-Bench: 74.0%. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct scores DocVQAtest: 97.1%, ScreenSpot: 95.4%, MMLU-Redux: 92.2%, OCRBench: 92.0%, MMBench-V1.1: 89.9%.

Is Pixtral Large cheaper than Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct?

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is 6.7x cheaper for input tokens. Pixtral Large costs $2.00/M input and $6.00/M output via mistral. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct costs $0.30/M input and $1.49/M output via deepinfra.

What are the context window sizes for Pixtral Large and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct?

Pixtral Large supports 128K tokens and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct supports 262K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Pixtral Large and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct?

Key differences include context window (128K vs 262K), input pricing ($2.00 vs $0.30/M), licensing (Mistral Research License (MRL) for research; Mistral Commercial License for commercial use vs Apache 2.0). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Pixtral Large and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct?

Pixtral Large is developed by Mistral AI and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is developed by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team.

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