Qwen3.6 Flash vs Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking
Qwen3.6 Flash and Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking cost about the same per output token ($1.125 vs $1.00 per million). Updated October 22, 2026; no benchmark has tested both models yet.
- Coding
- No data
- Overall
- No data
- Output $/M
- $1.125
- Coding
- No data
- Overall
- No data
- Output $/M
- $1.00
Qwen3.6 Flash or Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking: which to pick
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.
Pick Qwen3.6 Flash for a larger context window (1M against 262K tokens).
No benchmark has tested both yet. Qwen3.6 Flash has results on ALE-Bench, Epoch Capabilities Index and GPQA Diamond (Epoch AI run); Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking on AA Intelligence Index. Compare them on price and context instead.
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
No call
Only Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking has a AA Intelligence Index result, 9.5.
Directional only
Long documents
Listed context window
Qwen3.6 Flash
Qwen3.6 Flash takes 1M tokens against 262K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Qwen3.6 Flash
Qwen3.6 Flash $0.0008, Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking $0.0008 per turn.
List prices
At a glance
- Coding index
- Qwen3.6 Flash not benchmarked, Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking not benchmarked.
- Widest category
- None yet: no category has been tested on both models.
- Widest single gap
- None yet: no benchmark has tested both models.
- Output price
- Qwen3.6 Flash $1.125 against Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking $1.00 per million output tokens, 1.1x apart.
- Context window
- Qwen3.6 Flash takes 1M tokens, Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking 262K.
Benchmark by benchmark
Every board either model has a result on, a category to a fold; bars are each result on a 0 to 100 scale. Only one model is measured on each, so no row names a leader.
CodingDirectional onlySix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index1 board measured
| Benchmark | Qwen3.6 Flash | Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| ALE-Bench | 326.4 | Not measured | Only Qwen3.6 Flash measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 42 boards here | |||
IntelligenceDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards measured
| Benchmark | Qwen3.6 Flash | Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | Not measured | 9.5 | Only Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking measured |
| Epoch Capabilities Index | 142.9 | Not measured | Only Qwen3.6 Flash measured |
ReasoningDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index4 boards measured
| Benchmark | Qwen3.6 Flash | Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQA Diamond (Epoch AI run) | 83.3% | Not measured | Only Qwen3.6 Flash measured |
| SimpleBench | 35.2% | Not measured | Only Qwen3.6 Flash measured |
| Chess puzzles | 12.0% | Not measured | Only Qwen3.6 Flash measured |
| Mystery game puzzles | 18.0% | Not measured | Only Qwen3.6 Flash measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 19 boards here | |||
MathDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards measured
| Benchmark | Qwen3.6 Flash | Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| OTIS Mock AIME | 84.4% | Not measured | Only Qwen3.6 Flash measured |
| FrontierMath, tiers 1 to 3 | 22.5% | Not measured | Only Qwen3.6 Flash measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 12 boards here | |||
KnowledgeDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index1 board measured
| Benchmark | Qwen3.6 Flash | Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| SimpleQA Verified | 15.9% | Not measured | Only Qwen3.6 Flash measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 19 boards here | |||
GeneralDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards measured
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
Qwen3.6 Flash costs less
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
Qwen3.6 Flash costs less
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
Qwen3.6 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 | Qwen3.6 Flash | Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Qwen | Qwen |
| Weights | No public weights listed | Open weights |
| Released | April 27, 2026 | October 6, 2025 |
| Context window | 1M | 262K |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.1875 | $0.29 |
| Output $/Mtok | $1.125 | $1.00 |
| 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 Qwen3.6 Flash better than Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking for coding?
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Pick Qwen3.6 Flash for a larger context window (1M against 262K tokens).
Which is cheaper, Qwen3.6 Flash or Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking?
Qwen3.6 Flash costs $0.1875 per million input tokens and $1.125 per million output tokens; Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking costs $0.29 and $1.00. Cost per solved task is known for neither of them.
Which has the bigger context window, Qwen3.6 Flash or Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking?
Qwen3.6 Flash, with 1M tokens against 262K.
Has any benchmark tested both Qwen3.6 Flash and Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking?
No benchmark has tested both yet. Qwen3.6 Flash has results on ALE-Bench, Epoch Capabilities Index and GPQA Diamond (Epoch AI run); Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking on AA Intelligence Index. Compare them on price and context instead. Data as of October 22, 2026.