API cost decision in 10 seconds

Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct vs LFM2-24B-A2B

Pick LFM2-24B-A2B for lower cost; pick Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated:  Data confirmed:  Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick LFM2-24B-A2B for lower cost; pick Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, LFM2-24B-A2B is estimated at $0.09 vs $0.64 for Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct, saving $0.55 (85.9% lower).

Cost-first pickLFM2-24B-A2B
Context-first pickQwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct
Sample savings$0.5585.9%
10x traffic gap$5.5

Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct has more context, but LFM2-24B-A2B saves $0.55 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $5.5. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

LFM2-24B-A2B stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shapeToken mixBetter pickQwen3 Next 80B A3B InstructLFM2-24B-A2B
Input-heavy / RAG5M input + 500K outputLFM2-24B-A2B$1$0.21
Balanced workload1M input + 1M outputLFM2-24B-A2B$1.19$0.15
Output-heavy chatbot1M input + 5M outputLFM2-24B-A2B$5.59$0.63
Cheaper input LFM2-24B-A2B $0.09 vs $0.03 / 1M

LFM2-24B-A2B is $0.06 cheaper per 1M input tokens (66.7% lower; 3x difference).

Cheaper output LFM2-24B-A2B $1.1 vs $0.12 / 1M

LFM2-24B-A2B is $0.98 cheaper per 1M output tokens (89.1% lower; 9.17x difference).

Larger context Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct 262.14K vs 128K

Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct has 134.14K more context (2.05x larger).

Sample workload LFM2-24B-A2B $0.64 vs $0.09

LFM2-24B-A2B is $0.55 cheaper on the standard workload (85.9% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.
Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct Calculating… Estimated API cost
LFM2-24B-A2B Calculating… Estimated API cost
Cheaper for this workload Calculating… Difference: calculating…

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

Verdict

LFM2-24B-A2B has the lower input price; LFM2-24B-A2B has the lower output price; Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, LFM2-24B-A2B is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.64 for Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct and $0.09 for LFM2-24B-A2B.

Best Fit

Choose Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct when you care most about larger context window.

Choose LFM2-24B-A2B when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

Decision Notes
  • On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, LFM2-24B-A2B is estimated at $0.09 vs $0.64 for Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct, saving $0.55 (85.9% lower).
  • LFM2-24B-A2B is $0.55 cheaper on the standard workload (85.9% lower).
  • LFM2-24B-A2B is $0.06 cheaper per 1M input tokens (66.7% lower; 3x difference).
  • LFM2-24B-A2B is $0.98 cheaper per 1M output tokens (89.1% lower; 9.17x difference).
  • Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct has 134.14K more context (2.05x larger).
Head-to-Head Specs
FeatureQwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct
(Qwen)		LFM2-24B-A2B
(LiquidAI)
Input Price
prompt tokens per 1M		$0.09$0.03
Completion Price
per 1M tokens		$1.1$0.12
Sample Workload Cost
1M input + 500K output		$0.64$0.09
Context Window262.14K128K
Release Date
Popularity#79#125

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use caseBetter pickWhy
Budget-constrained productionLFM2-24B-A2BOn the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, LFM2-24B-A2B is estimated at $0.09 vs $0.64 for Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct, saving $0.55 (85.9% lower).
High-volume input processingLFM2-24B-A2BLower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbotsLFM2-24B-A2BLower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document workQwen3 Next 80B A3B InstructA larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps
  • Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct (free) can replace Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
  • Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B (free) can replace Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
  • Qwen2.5 7B Instruct can replace Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.09.
  • Qwen3.5-9B can replace Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.11.
Larger context near this budget

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Larger context alternatives

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Provider catalogs

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Qwen catalog

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LiquidAI catalog

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Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is an instruction-tuned chat model in the Qwen3-Next series optimized for fast, stable responses without “thinking” traces. It targets complex tasks across reasoning, code generation, knowledge QA, and multilingual...

LFM2-24B-A2B

LFM2-24B-A2B is the largest model in the LFM2 family of hybrid architectures designed for efficient on-device deployment. Built as a 24B parameter Mixture-of-Experts model with only 2B active parameters per...