Alibaba has launched a newer model, Qwen3.5 397B A17B, we suggest considering this model instead.
For more information, see Comparison of Qwen3.5 397B A17B to other models and API provider benchmarks for Qwen3.5 397B A17B.
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct Intelligence, Performance & Price Analysis
Model summary
Intelligence
Speed
Input Price
USD per 1M tokens
Cache: $0.30 (0%)
Output Price
Verbosity
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is below average in intelligence, but reasonably priced when comparing to other open weight non-reasoning models of similar size. It's also slower than average, however fairly concise. The model supports text and image input, outputs text, and has a 262k tokens context window.
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct scores 21 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, placing it below average among comparable models (averaging 23). When evaluating the Intelligence Index, it generated 11M tokens, which is fairly concise in comparison to the average of 11M.
Pricing for Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is $0.30 per 1M input tokens (moderately priced, average: $0.40) and $1.90 per 1M output tokens (somewhat expensive, average: $1.60). In total, it cost $120.74 to evaluate Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct on the Intelligence Index.
At 49 tokens per second, Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is slower than average (53).
| Reasoning | No This page shows the non-reasoning version of this model. A reasoning variant may also exist. |
|---|---|
| Input modality | Supports: text, image |
| Output modality | Supports: text |
| Context window | 262k ~393 A4 pages of size 12 Arial font |
| Total parameters | 235B |
| Active parameters | 22B Number of parameters active per token during inference |
| License | Apache 2.0 |
| Model weights | Hugging Face |
Metrics are compared against models of the same class:
- Non-reasoning models → compared only with other non-reasoning models
- Reasoning models → compared across both reasoning and non-reasoning
- Open weights models → compared only with other open weights models of the same size class:
- Tiny: ≤4B parameters
- Small: 4B–40B parameters
- Medium: 40B–150B parameters
- Large: >150B parameters
- Proprietary models → compared across proprietary and open weights models of the same price range, using a blended 3:1 input/output price ratio:
- <$0.15 per 1M tokens
- $0.15–$1 per 1M tokens
- >$1 per 1M tokens
Highlights
Intelligence
Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index
Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index by Open Weights / Proprietary
Intelligence Evaluations
Openness
Artificial Analysis Openness Index: Results
Intelligence Index Comparisons
Intelligence vs. Price
Intelligence Index Token Use & Cost
Output Tokens Used to Run Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index
Cost to Run Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index
Context Window
Context Window
Pricing
Pricing now includes a “Cache Hit Price” alongside Input and Output pricing, with new blend ratios.
Pricing: Cache Hit, Input, and Output
Speed
Measured by Output Speed (tokens per second)
Output Speed
Output Speed vs. Price
Latency
Measured by Time (seconds) to First Token
Latency: Time To First Answer Token
End-to-End Response Time
Seconds to output 500 tokens, calculated based on time to first token, 'thinking' time for reasoning models, and output speed
End-to-End Response Time
Model Size (Open Weights Models Only)
Model Size: Total and Active Parameters
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct was released on September 23, 2025.
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct was created by Alibaba.
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct scores 21 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, placing it below average among other open weight non-reasoning models of similar size (median: 23).
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct generates output at 49.3 tokens per second (based on Alibaba's API), which is below average compared to other open weight non-reasoning models of similar size (median: 53.4 t/s).
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct has a time to first token (TTFT) of 2.78s (based on Alibaba's API), which is somewhat higher than average compared to other open weight non-reasoning models of similar size (median: 2.38s).
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct costs $0.30 per 1M input tokens (very competitive, median: $0.59) and $1.90 per 1M output tokens (better than average, median: $2.20), based on Alibaba's API.
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct costs $0.30 per 1M input tokens and $1.90 per 1M output tokens (based on Alibaba's API). For a blended rate (3:1 input to output ratio), this is $0.70 per 1M tokens. Pricing may vary by provider. Compare provider pricing
When evaluated on the Intelligence Index, Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct generated 11M output tokens, which is better than average compared to other open weight non-reasoning models of similar size (median: 11M).
No, Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is not a reasoning model. It provides direct responses without extended chain-of-thought reasoning.
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct supports text and image input.
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct supports text output.
Yes, Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct supports image input and can analyze, describe, and answer questions about images.
Yes, Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is multimodal. It can process text and image input and generate text output.
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct has a context window of 260k tokens. This determines how much text and conversation history the model can process in a single request.
Yes, Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is open weights. The model weights are publicly available and can be downloaded for self-hosting.
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct has 235 billion parameters (22 billion active).
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is a Mixture of Experts (MoE) model with 235 billion total parameters, but only 22 billion active parameters are used during inference.
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is released under the Apache 2.0 license. This license allows commercial use. View license
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct achieves a score of 21 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index. This composite benchmark evaluates models across reasoning, knowledge, mathematics, and coding.
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is an open weights model that can be self-hosted. View providers
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is an open weights model that can be downloaded and self-hosted. Compare providers