Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct is $1.12 cheaper per 1M input tokens (89.6% lower; 9.62x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
Grok 4.20 vs Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct
Pick Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct for lower cost; pick Grok 4.20 only if the larger context window matters more.
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Data confirmed:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct for lower cost; pick Grok 4.20 only if the larger context window matters more.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct is estimated at $0.39 vs $2.5 for Grok 4.20, saving $2.11 (84.4% lower).
Cost-first pickQwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct
Context-first pickGrok 4.20
Sample savings$2.1184.4%
10x traffic gap$21.1
Grok 4.20 has more context, but Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct saves $2.11 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $21.1. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Grok 4.20 | Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct | $7.5 | $0.91 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct | $3.75 | $0.65 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct | $13.75 | $2.73 |
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct is $1.98 cheaper per 1M output tokens (79.2% lower; 4.81x difference).
Grok 4.20 has 1.74M more context (7.63x larger).
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct is $2.11 cheaper on the standard workload (84.4% lower).
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
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct has the lower input price; Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct has the lower output price; Grok 4.20 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $2.5 for Grok 4.20 and $0.39 for Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct.
Choose Grok 4.20 when you care most about larger context window.
Choose Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct is estimated at $0.39 vs $2.5 for Grok 4.20, saving $2.11 (84.4% lower).
- Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct is $2.11 cheaper on the standard workload (84.4% lower).
- Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct is $1.12 cheaper per 1M input tokens (89.6% lower; 9.62x difference).
- Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct is $1.98 cheaper per 1M output tokens (79.2% lower; 4.81x difference).
- Grok 4.20 has 1.74M more context (7.63x larger).
| Feature | Grok 4.20 (xAI) | Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct (Qwen) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $1.25 | $0.13 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $2.5 | $0.52 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $2.5 | $0.39 |
| Context Window | 2M | 262.14K |
| Release Date | ||
| Popularity | #92 | #116 |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct is estimated at $0.39 vs $2.5 for Grok 4.20, saving $2.11 (84.4% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | Grok 4.20 | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files. |
Related Alternatives
- Grok Build 0.1 can replace Grok 4.20 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $2.
- Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct (free) can replace Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B (free) can replace Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Qwen2.5 7B Instruct can replace Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.09.
- Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.
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- Hy3 preview · Tencent · #2
- Claude Opus 4.7 · Anthropic · #3
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 · Anthropic · #4
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