Model Comparison

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct vs Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is 2.5x cheaper per token.

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Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

14 benchmarks

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct outperforms in 1 benchmarks (WritingBench), while Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking is better at 13 benchmarks (AIME 2025, BFCL-v3, Creative Writing v3, HMMT25, IFEval, Include, LiveBench 20241125, LiveCodeBench v6, MMLU-Pro, MMLU-ProX, MMLU-Redux, Multi-IF, SuperGPQA).

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Fri May 15 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct costs less

For input processing, Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct ($0.15/1M tokens) is 3.0x cheaper than Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking ($0.45/1M tokens).

For output processing, Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct ($1.50/1M tokens) is 2.3x cheaper than Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking ($3.49/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking is more expensive than Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers

Fri May 15 2026 • llm-stats.com

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct

Input tokens$0.15

Output tokens$1.50

Best providerNovita

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking

Input tokens$0.45

Output tokens$3.49

Best providerDeepinfra

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Model Size

Parameter count comparison

156.0B diff

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking has 156.0B more parameters than Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct, making it 195.0% larger.

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct

80.0Bparameters

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking

236.0Bparameters

80.0B

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct

236.0B

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking accepts 262,144 input tokens compared to Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct's 65,536 tokens. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking can generate longer responses up to 262,144 tokens, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is limited to 65,536 tokens.

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct

Input65,536 tokens

Output65,536 tokens

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking

Input262,144 tokens

Output262,144 tokens

Fri May 15 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking supports multimodal inputs, whereas Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct does not.

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct

Text

Images

Audio

Video

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking

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-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct was released on 2025-09-10, while Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking was released on 2025-09-22.

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking is 0 month newer than Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct.

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct

Sep 10, 2025

8 months ago

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking

Sep 22, 2025

7 months ago

1w 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-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is available from Novita. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking is available from DeepInfra, Novita.

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct

Novita

Input Price:Input: $0.15/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.50/1M

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking

Deepinfra

Input Price:Input: $0.45/1MOutput Price:Output: $3.49/1M

Novita

Input Price:Input: $0.98/1MOutput Price:Output: $3.95/1M

* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct

View details

Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team

Less expensive input tokens

Less expensive output tokens

Higher WritingBench score (87.3% vs 86.7%)

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking

View details

Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team

Larger context window (262,144 tokens)

Supports multimodal inputs

Higher AIME 2025 score (89.7% vs 69.5%)

Higher BFCL-v3 score (71.9% vs 70.3%)

Higher Creative Writing v3 score (85.7% vs 85.3%)

Higher HMMT25 score (77.4% vs 54.1%)

Higher IFEval score (88.2% vs 87.6%)

Higher Include score (80.0% vs 78.9%)

Higher LiveBench 20241125 score (79.6% vs 75.8%)

Higher LiveCodeBench v6 score (70.1% vs 56.6%)

Higher MMLU-Pro score (83.8% vs 80.6%)

Higher MMLU-ProX score (80.6% vs 76.7%)

Higher MMLU-Redux score (93.7% vs 90.9%)

Higher Multi-IF score (79.1% vs 75.8%)

Higher SuperGPQA score (64.3% vs 58.8%)

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature	Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct	Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking

FAQ

Common questions about Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct vs Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking.

Which is better, Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct or Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking?

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is made by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking 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-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct compare to Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking in benchmarks?

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct scores MMLU-Redux: 90.9%, MultiPL-E: 87.8%, IFEval: 87.6%, WritingBench: 87.3%, Creative Writing v3: 85.3%. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking scores ZebraLogic: 97.3%, DocVQAtest: 96.5%, ScreenSpot: 95.4%, CountBench: 93.7%, MMLU-Redux: 93.7%.

Is Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct cheaper than Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking?

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is 3.0x cheaper for input tokens. Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct costs $0.15/M input and $1.50/M output via novita. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking costs $0.45/M input and $3.49/M output via deepinfra.

What are the context window sizes for Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking?

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct supports 66K tokens and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking 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-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking?

Key differences include context window (66K vs 262K), input pricing ($0.15 vs $0.45/M), multimodal support (no vs yes). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.