Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct vs Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking
Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct leads Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, 9.6 to 9.5, and Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct costs 2.3x less per output token ($0.44 vs $1.00 per million). Updated October 22, 2026; 1 benchmarks have a result for both.
Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct 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 Coder 30B A3B Instruct for output tokens 2.3x cheaper ($0.44 vs $1.00 per million).
- Shared results
- 1
- Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct only
- 15
- Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking only
- 0
- 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
Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct
Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct leads, 9.6 against 9.5.
Same board, both measured
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 VL 30B A3B Thinking $0.0008 per turn.
List prices
At a glance
- Coding index
- Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct not benchmarked, Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking not benchmarked.
- Widest category
- Intelligence, 0.1 points apart on average over 1 shared benchmark.
- Widest single gap
- AA Intelligence Index: Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct 9.6 against Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking 9.5, 0.1 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
- Output price
- Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct $0.44 against Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking $1.00 per million output tokens, 2.3x 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 | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | Bars | Qwen3 VL 30B 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 | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking | 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 |
| LiveCodeBench (Artificial Analysis run) | 40.3% | Not measured | Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct measured |
| Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run) | 15.2% | Not measured | Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 35 boards here | |||
IntelligenceLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index10
| Benchmark | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | 9.6 | 9.5 | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct |
| Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here | |||
Agentic workDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index1 board, none shared
| Benchmark | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| τ²-Bench Telecom | 34.5% | Not measured | Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 40 boards here | |||
ReasoningDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run) | 51.6% | Not measured | Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct measured |
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | 3.8% | Not measured | Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 20 boards here | |||
MathDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking | 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 VL 30B A3B Thinking | 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 17 boards here | |||
Web designDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index3 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena: websites | 1087 | Not measured | Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct measured |
| Design Arena: UI components | 1043 | 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 | |||
GeneralDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| IFBench | 32.7% | Not measured | Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct measured |
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | 32.7% | Not measured | Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct measured |
| 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 VL 30B 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
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 VL 30B A3B Thinking |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Qwen | Qwen |
| Weights | Open weights | Open weights |
| Released | July 31, 2025 | October 6, 2025 |
| Context window | 262K | 262K |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.11 | $0.29 |
| Output $/Mtok | $0.44 | $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 Coder 30B A3B Instruct 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 Coder 30B A3B Instruct for output tokens 2.3x cheaper ($0.44 vs $1.00 per million).
Which is cheaper, Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct or Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking?
Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct costs $0.11 per million input tokens and $0.44 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 Coder 30B A3B Instruct or Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking?
Neither: both take 262K tokens.
How many benchmarks is the Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct vs Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking comparison based on?
1 benchmarks have a result for both models as of October 22, 2026. Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct's coding index rests on 0 independent benchmarks and Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking's on 0. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.