Ling 3.1 Flash vs Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking
Ling 3.1 Flash leads Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, 41.1 to 11.2, and Ling 3.1 Flash costs 5.3x less per output token ($0.225 vs $1.20 per million). Updated October 23, 2026; 1 benchmarks have a result for both.
Ling 3.1 Flash or Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking: which to pick
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.
Pick Ling 3.1 Flash for output tokens 5.3x cheaper ($0.225 vs $1.20 per million).
- Shared results
- 1
- Ling 3.1 Flash only
- 3
- Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking only
- 29
- Like-for-like categories
- 1 of 9
Only benchmarks that tested both models count toward a pick; a result only one model has is shown but not compared.
Which one for your work
Each card is decided by one number both models carry. Where only one has it, the card says so and makes no call.
Coding
Vibe Coding Index, six public coding benchmarks
No call
Neither has a coding score yet.
One side not measured
Intelligence
AA Intelligence Index
Ling 3.1 Flash
Ling 3.1 Flash leads, 41.1 against 11.2.
Same board, both measured
Long documents
Listed context window
No call
Both take 262K tokens.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Ling 3.1 Flash
Ling 3.1 Flash $0.0002, Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking $0.0008 per turn.
List prices
At a glance
- Coding index
- Ling 3.1 Flash not benchmarked, Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking not benchmarked.
- Widest category
- Intelligence, 29.9 points apart on average over 1 shared benchmark.
- Widest single gap
- AA Intelligence Index: Ling 3.1 Flash 41.1 against Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking 11.2, 29.9 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
- Output price
- Ling 3.1 Flash $0.225 against Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking $1.20 per million output tokens, 5.3x apart.
- Context window
- Both take 262K tokens.
Benchmark by benchmark
First the score: boards each model leads, per category, where both have a result. Then every board, a category to a fold; bars are each result on a 0 to 100 scale, so compare the two in a row, not one row with another.
| Category | Ling 3.1 Flash | Bars | Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking | Ties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence | 1 | 0 | ||
| All shared boards | 1 | 0 |
CodingDirectional onlySix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index4 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Ling 3.1 Flash | Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Coding Index | Not measured | 17.4 | Only Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking measured |
| SciCode | 54.1% | Not measured | Only Ling 3.1 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: coding | Not measured | 1391 | Only Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking measured |
| LMArena Text: software and IT | Not measured | 1393 | Only Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 39 boards here | |||
IntelligenceLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index10
| Benchmark | Ling 3.1 Flash | Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | 41.1 | 11.2 | Ling 3.1 Flash |
| Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here | |||
Agentic workNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Ling 3.1 Flash | Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither model has a result on 42 boards here | |||
ReasoningDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index4 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Ling 3.1 Flash | Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | 39.4% | Not measured | Only Ling 3.1 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts | Not measured | 1371 | Only Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking measured |
| LMArena Text: expert | Not measured | 1376 | Only Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking measured |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts in English | Not measured | 1384 | Only Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 19 boards here | |||
MathDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Ling 3.1 Flash | Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text: math | Not measured | 1398 | Only Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking measured |
| LMArena Text: mathematical work | Not measured | 1390 | Only Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 12 boards here | |||
KnowledgeDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index4 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Ling 3.1 Flash | Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text: science | Not measured | 1385 | Only Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking measured |
| LMArena Text: medicine and healthcare | Not measured | 1392 | Only Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking measured |
| LMArena Text: legal and government | Not measured | 1364 | Only Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking measured |
| LMArena Text: business and finance | Not measured | 1360 | Only Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 16 boards here | |||
Web designNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Ling 3.1 Flash | Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither model has a result on 9 boards here | |||
GeneralDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index18 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Ling 3.1 Flash | Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | 83.0% | Not measured | Only Ling 3.1 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text | Not measured | 1368 | Only Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking measured |
| LMArena Text: instruction following | Not measured | 1343 | Only Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking measured |
| LMArena Text: creative writing | Not measured | 1314 | Only Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking measured |
| LMArena Text: English | Not measured | 1392 | Only Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking measured |
| LMArena Text: non-English | Not measured | 1342 | Only Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking measured |
| LMArena Text: Chinese | Not measured | 1407 | Only Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking measured |
| LMArena Text: German | Not measured | 1356 | Only Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking measured |
| LMArena Text: Japanese | Not measured | 1280 | Only Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking measured |
| LMArena Text: Korean | Not measured | 1309 | Only Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking measured |
| LMArena Text: French | Not measured | 1353 | Only Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking measured |
| LMArena Text: Spanish | Not measured | 1358 | Only Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking measured |
| LMArena Text: Russian | Not measured | 1337 | Only Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking measured |
| LMArena Text: Polish | Not measured | 1344 | Only Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking measured |
| LMArena Text: multi-turn | Not measured | 1346 | Only Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking measured |
| LMArena Text: longer queries | Not measured | 1353 | Only Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking measured |
| LMArena Text: writing and language | Not measured | 1330 | Only Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking measured |
| LMArena Text: entertainment and media | Not measured | 1313 | Only Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 30 boards here | |||
Image generationNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Ling 3.1 Flash | Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither model has a result on 5 boards here | |||
What each workload costs
Three fixed token mixes at each model's listed price, so per-token rates become a bill.
Chat turn
1K input + 500 output tokens
Ling 3.1 Flash costs less
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
Ling 3.1 Flash costs less
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
Ling 3.1 Flash costs less
Listed OpenRouter rates, without cache or batch discounts. A workload that does not fit a model's context window would need splitting.
Specification differences
The leading value in a row is marked; a row with a missing value names no leader. Our two rows are marked in red.
| Specification | inclusionAI Ling 3.1 Flash | Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | inclusionAI | Qwen |
| Weights | No public weights listed | Open weights |
| Released | October 2, 2026 | September 11, 2025 |
| Context window | 262K | 262K |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.075 | $0.15 |
| Output $/Mtok | $0.225 | $1.20 |
| Coding index | Not benchmarked | Not benchmarked |
| Independent measurements behind it | 0 | 0 |
| Cost per solved task | Not computable | Not computable |
| Source | OpenRouter listing | OpenRouter listing |
Questions
Is Ling 3.1 Flash better than Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking for coding?
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Pick Ling 3.1 Flash for output tokens 5.3x cheaper ($0.225 vs $1.20 per million).
Which is cheaper, Ling 3.1 Flash or Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking?
Ling 3.1 Flash costs $0.075 per million input tokens and $0.225 per million output tokens; Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking costs $0.15 and $1.20. Cost per solved task is known for neither of them.
Which has the bigger context window, Ling 3.1 Flash or Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking?
Neither: both take 262K tokens.
How many benchmarks is the Ling 3.1 Flash vs Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking comparison based on?
1 benchmarks have a result for both models as of October 23, 2026. Ling 3.1 Flash's coding index rests on 0 independent benchmarks and Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking's on 0. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.