API cost decision in 10 seconds
Gemma 4 31B (free) vs Qwen3 VL 32B Instruct
Pick Gemma 4 31B (free) when budget is the priority.
Pricing data updated:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick Gemma 4 31B (free) when budget is the priority.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Gemma 4 31B (free) is estimated at $0 vs $0.31 for Qwen3 VL 32B Instruct, saving $0.31 (100% lower).
Cost-first pickGemma 4 31B (free)
Context-first pickTie
Sample savings$0.31100%
10x traffic gap$3.12
The reported context window is tied, so cost and provider fit carry more weight. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $3.12. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Gemma 4 31B (free) stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Gemma 4 31B (free) | Qwen3 VL 32B Instruct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Gemma 4 31B (free) | $0 | $0.73 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Gemma 4 31B (free) | $0 | $0.52 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Gemma 4 31B (free) | $0 | $2.18 |
Estimate your workload cost
Your Workload Cost
This estimate uses normalized public API pricing per 1M tokens. It is a planning aid, not a billing quote. Verify provider pricing, limits, and terms before production use.
Quick Decision
Gemma 4 31B (free) has the lower input price, Gemma 4 31B (free) has the lower output price, and Tie offers the larger context window.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0 for Gemma 4 31B (free) and $0.31 for Qwen3 VL 32B Instruct.
Choose Gemma 4 31B (free) when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.
Choose Qwen3 VL 32B Instruct when its provider, model quality, latency, or availability is more important than the numeric price/context winner.
| Feature | Gemma 4 31B (free) (Google) | Qwen3 VL 32B Instruct (Qwen) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0 | $0.1 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $0 | $0.42 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $0 | $0.31 |
| Context Window | 262.14K | 262.14K |
| Release Date | 2026-04-02 | 2025-10-23 |
Gemma 4 31B Instruct is Google DeepMind's 30.7B dense multimodal model supporting text and image input with text output. Features a 256K token context window, configurable thinking/reasoning mode, native function...
Qwen3-VL-32B-Instruct is a large-scale multimodal vision-language model designed for high-precision understanding and reasoning across text, images, and video. With 32 billion parameters, it combines deep visual perception with advanced text...
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Gemma 4 31B (free) | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Gemma 4 31B (free) is estimated at $0 vs $0.31 for Qwen3 VL 32B Instruct, saving $0.31 (100% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Gemma 4 31B (free) | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts or retrieved passages dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Gemma 4 31B (free) | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | Tie | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages and source files. |