Qwen3 30B A3B vs Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct leads the LLM Stats Score 24.8 to 17.6. Qwen3 30B A3B is 4.0x cheaper per token.
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team · Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct leads the overall LLM Stats Score 24.8 to 17.6, ranking #151 overall.
In the 2 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct wins 2; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
On price, Qwen3 30B A3B is roughly 4.0x 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.
Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose Qwen3 30B A3B
- cost matters — it's about 4.0x cheaper per token
Choose Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct
- overall performance matters — it scores 24.8 and ranks #151 on LLM Stats
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 2 of 2 exact shared results
- you process long inputs — it offers a 262,144 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Sep 2025
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
8 reported for Qwen3 30B A3B · 50 for Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct
Qwen3 30B A3B outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is better at 2 benchmarks (AIME 2025, Multi-IF).
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Qwen3 30B A3B ($0.10/1M tokens) is 3.0x cheaper than Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct ($0.30/1M tokens).
For output processing, Qwen3 30B A3B ($0.30/1M tokens) is 5.0x cheaper than Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct ($1.49/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is more expensive than Qwen3 30B A3B.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct has 205.5B more parameters than Qwen3 30B A3B, making it 673.8% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct accepts 262,144 input tokens compared to Qwen3 30B A3B's 128,000 tokens. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct can generate longer responses up to 262,144 tokens, while Qwen3 30B A3B is limited to 128,000 tokens.
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct supports multimodal inputs, whereas Qwen3 30B A3B does not.
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
Qwen3 30B A3B
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct
License
Usage and distribution terms
Both models are licensed under Apache 2.0.
Both models share the same licensing terms, providing consistent usage rights.
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Qwen3 30B A3B was released on 2025-04-29, while Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct was released on 2025-09-22.
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is 5 months newer than Qwen3 30B A3B.
Apr 29, 2025
1.4 years ago
Sep 22, 2025
11 months ago
4mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Provider Availability
Qwen3 30B A3B is available from DeepInfra, Novita, Fireworks. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is available from DeepInfra, Novita.
Qwen3 30B A3B
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Qwen3 30B A3B and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Qwen3 30B A3B vs Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct.