Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct vs Qwen3 Coder Next
Updated October 21, 2026. 7 benchmarks have a result for both. Coding is ranked on the Vibe Coding Index; every other board is shown as published.
Decision reading
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.
Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct has the edge where output tokens cost 1.8x less, and where what matters is Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run) or τ²-Bench Telecom, where it leads.
- Shared results
- 7
- Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct only
- 9
- Qwen3 Coder Next only
- 4
- Like-for-like categories
- 5 of 9
Shared results can support a head-to-head reading. Results only one model has describe coverage, not superiority.
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
Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct
Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct leads, 9.6 against 9.2.
Same board, both measured
Agentic work
AA Agentic Index
No call
Only Qwen3 Coder Next has a AA Agentic Index result, 0.9.
Directional only
Web design
Design Arena: websites
No call
Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct has a Design Arena: websites result, 1087.
Directional only
Long documents
Listed context window
No call
Both take 262K tokens.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct
Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct $0.0003, Qwen3 Coder Next $0.0005 per turn.
List prices
At a glance
- Coding index
- Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct not benchmarked, Qwen3 Coder Next not benchmarked.
- Widest category
- Agentic work, 45.0 points apart on average over 1 shared benchmark.
- Widest single gap
- τ²-Bench Telecom: Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct 34.5% against Qwen3 Coder Next 79.5%, 45.0 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
- Output price
- Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct $0.44 against Qwen3 Coder Next $0.80 per million output tokens, 1.8x 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 | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | Bars | Qwen3 Coder Next | Ties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coding | 0 | 1 | ||
| Intelligence | 1 | 0 | ||
| Agentic work | 0 | 1 | ||
| Reasoning | 0 | 2 | ||
| General | 0 | 2 | ||
| All shared boards | 1 | 6 |
CodingLike-for-likeSix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index01
| Benchmark | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | Qwen3 Coder Next | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| SWE-bench Verified | 60.4% | Not measured | Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct measured |
| SWE-bench Lite | 49.7% | Not measured | Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct measured |
| AA Coding Index | Not measured | 36.2 | Only Qwen3 Coder Next measured |
| LiveCodeBench (Artificial Analysis run) | 40.3% | Not measured | Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct measured |
| SciCode | Not measured | 36.2% | Only Qwen3 Coder Next measured |
| Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run) | 15.2% | 18.2% | Qwen3 Coder Next |
| WeirdML | Not measured | 34.4% | Only Qwen3 Coder Next measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 31 boards here | |||
IntelligenceLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index10
| Benchmark | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | Qwen3 Coder Next | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | 9.6 | 9.2 | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct |
| Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here | |||
Agentic workLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index01
| Benchmark | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | Qwen3 Coder Next | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Agentic Index | Not measured | 0.9 | Only Qwen3 Coder Next measured |
| τ²-Bench Telecom | 34.5% | 79.5% | Qwen3 Coder Next |
| Neither model has a result on the other 37 boards here | |||
ReasoningLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index02
| Benchmark | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | Qwen3 Coder Next | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run) | 51.6% | 73.7% | Qwen3 Coder Next |
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | 3.8% | 10.1% | Qwen3 Coder Next |
| 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 | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | Qwen3 Coder Next | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Math Index | 29.0 | Not measured | Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct measured |
| AIME 2025 (Artificial Analysis run) | 29.0% | Not measured | Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 11 boards here | |||
KnowledgeDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index1 board, none shared
| Benchmark | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | Qwen3 Coder Next | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| MMLU Pro (Artificial Analysis run) | 70.6% | Not measured | Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 16 boards here | |||
Web designDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index3 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | Qwen3 Coder Next | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena: websites | 1087 | Not measured | Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct measured |
| Design Arena: UI components | 1046 | Not measured | Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct measured |
| Design Arena: data viz | 1085 | Not measured | Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 6 boards here | |||
GeneralLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index02
| Benchmark | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | Qwen3 Coder Next | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| IFBench | 32.7% | 35.2% | Qwen3 Coder Next |
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | 32.7% | 47.0% | Qwen3 Coder Next |
| Neither model has a result on the other 44 boards here | |||
Image generationNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | Qwen3 Coder Next | 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
Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct costs less
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct costs less
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct 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 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | Qwen3 Coder Next |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Qwen | Qwen |
| Weights | Open weights | Open weights |
| Released | July 31, 2025 | February 4, 2026 |
| Context window | 262K | 262K |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.11 | $0.12 |
| Output $/Mtok | $0.44 | $0.80 |
| 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 Coder 30B A3B Instruct better than Qwen3 Coder Next for coding?
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct has the edge where output tokens cost 1.8x less, and where what matters is Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run) or τ²-Bench Telecom, where it leads.
Which is cheaper, Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct or Qwen3 Coder Next?
Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct costs $0.11 per million input tokens and $0.44 per million output tokens; Qwen3 Coder Next costs $0.12 and $0.80. Cost per solved task is known for neither of them.
Which has the bigger context window, Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct or Qwen3 Coder Next?
Neither: both take 262K tokens.
How many benchmarks is the Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct vs Qwen3 Coder Next comparison based on?
7 benchmarks have a result for both models as of October 21, 2026. Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct's coding index rests on 0 independent benchmarks and Qwen3 Coder Next's on 0. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.