Model Comparison

Qwen3 30B A3B vs Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct

Qwen3 30B A3B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Qwen3 30B A3B is 1.5x cheaper per token.

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

1 benchmarks

Qwen3 30B A3B outperforms in 1 benchmarks (AIME 2025), while Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct is better at 0 benchmarks.

Qwen3 30B A3B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Tue May 26 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Qwen3 30B A3B costs less

For input processing, Qwen3 30B A3B ($0.10/1M tokens) costs the same as Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct ($0.10/1M tokens).

For output processing, Qwen3 30B A3B ($0.30/1M tokens) is 2.0x cheaper than Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct ($0.60/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct is more expensive than Qwen3 30B A3B.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Tue May 26 2026 • llm-stats.com
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 30B A3B
Input tokens$0.10
Output tokens$0.30
Best providerDeepinfra
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct
Input tokens$0.10
Output tokens$0.60
Best providerDeepinfra
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

26.5B diff

Qwen3 30B A3B has 26.5B more parameters than Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct, making it 662.5% larger.

Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 30B A3B
30.5Bparameters
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct
4.0Bparameters
30.5B
Qwen3 30B A3B
4.0B
Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct accepts 262,144 input tokens compared to Qwen3 30B A3B's 128,000 tokens. Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct can generate longer responses up to 262,144 tokens, while Qwen3 30B A3B is limited to 128,000 tokens.

Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 30B A3B
Input128,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct
Input262,144 tokens
Output262,144 tokens
Tue May 26 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct supports multimodal inputs, whereas Qwen3 30B A3B does not.

Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

Qwen3 30B A3B

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Both models are licensed under Apache 2.0.

Both models share the same licensing terms, providing consistent usage rights.

Qwen3 30B A3B

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Qwen3 30B A3B was released on 2025-04-29, while Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct was released on 2025-09-22.

Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct is 5 months newer than Qwen3 30B A3B.

Qwen3 30B A3B

Apr 29, 2025

1.1 years ago

Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct

Sep 22, 2025

8 months ago

4mo 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

Qwen3 30B A3B is available from DeepInfra, Novita, Fireworks. Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct is available from DeepInfra.

Qwen3 30B A3B

deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.10/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.30/1M
novita logo
Novita
Input Price:Input: $0.10/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.44/1M
fireworks logo
Fireworks
Input Price:Input: $0.89/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.89/1M

Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct

deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.10/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.60/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team

Qwen3 30B A3B

View details

Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team

Less expensive output tokens
Higher AIME 2025 score (70.9% vs 46.6%)
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team

Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct

View details

Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team

Larger context window (262,144 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 30B A3B
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct

FAQ

Common questions about Qwen3 30B A3B vs Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct.

Which is better, Qwen3 30B A3B or Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct?

Qwen3 30B A3B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Qwen3 30B A3B is made by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team and Qwen3 VL 4B 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 Qwen3 30B A3B compare to Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct in benchmarks?

Qwen3 30B A3B scores Arena Hard: 91.0%, AIME 2024: 80.4%, LiveBench: 74.3%, Multi-IF: 72.2%, AIME 2025: 70.9%. Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct scores DocVQAtest: 95.3%, ScreenSpot: 94.0%, OCRBench: 88.1%, MMBench-V1.1: 85.1%, AI2D: 84.1%.

Is Qwen3 30B A3B cheaper than Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct?

Both models cost $0.10 per million input tokens.

What are the context window sizes for Qwen3 30B A3B and Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct?

Qwen3 30B A3B supports 128K tokens and Qwen3 VL 4B 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 Qwen3 30B A3B and Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct?

Key differences include context window (128K vs 262K), multimodal support (no vs yes). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.