| Signal | Grok 3 Mini | Delta | Qwen3 235B A22B |
|---|---|---|---|
Capabilities | 83 | +17 | |
Benchmarks | 48 | -7 | |
Pricing | 100 | +1 | |
Context window size | 81 | -- | |
Recency | 72 | +8 | |
Output Capacity | 20 | -45 | |
| Overall Result | 3 wins | of 6 | 2 wins |
Score History
50.6
current score
Qwen3 235B A22B
right now
54
current score
xAI
Alibaba
Grok 3 Mini saves you $81.50/month
That's $978.00/year compared to Qwen3 235B A22B at your current usage level of 100K calls/month.
| Metric | Grok 3 Mini | Qwen3 235B A22B | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 51 | 54 | Qwen3 235B A22B |
| Rank | #171 | #163 | Qwen3 235B A22B |
| Quality Rank | #171 | #163 | Qwen3 235B A22B |
| Adoption Rank | #171 | #163 | Qwen3 235B A22B |
| Parameters | -- | 235B | -- |
| Context Window | 131K | 131K | -- |
| Pricing | $0.30/$0.50/M | $0.45/$1.82/M | -- |
| Signal Scores | |||
| Capabilities | 83 | 67 | Grok 3 Mini |
| Benchmarks | 48 | 55 | Qwen3 235B A22B |
| Pricing | 100 | 98 | Grok 3 Mini |
| Context window size | 81 | 81 | Grok 3 Mini |
| Recency | 72 | 64 | Grok 3 Mini |
| Output Capacity | 20 | 65 | Qwen3 235B A22B |
Our score (0-100) is driven by benchmark performance (90%) from Arena Elo ratings, MMLU, GPQA, HumanEval, SWE-bench, and 15+ standardized evaluations. Capabilities and context window serve as tiebreakers (10%). Learn more about our methodology.
Scores 51/100 (rank #171), placing it in the top 41% of all 290 models tracked.
Scores 54/100 (rank #163), placing it in the top 44% of all 290 models tracked.
With only a 3-point gap, these models are in the same performance tier. The practical difference in output quality is minimal - your choice should depend on pricing, latency requirements, and specific feature needs.
Grok 3 Mini offers 65% better value per quality point. At 1M tokens/day, you'd spend $12.00/month with Grok 3 Mini vs $34.13/month with Qwen3 235B A22B - a $22.13 monthly difference.
Both models have comparable response speeds. For most applications, the latency difference is negligible.
When latency matters most: Interactive chatbots, IDE code completion, real-time translation, and user-facing applications where response time directly impacts experience. For batch processing, background summarization, or offline analysis, latency is less critical.
Code generation & review
Based on overall model capabilities and architecture for coding tasks like generating functions, debugging, and refactoring
Customer support chatbot
Suitable for user-facing chat with competitive response times. Grok 3 Mini also offers lower per-token costs for high-volume support
Long document analysis
Larger context window (131K tokens) can process longer documents, contracts, and research papers in a single pass
Batch data extraction
Lower output pricing ($0.50/M) reduces costs when processing thousands of records daily
Creative writing & content
Higher overall composite score (54/100) correlates with better nuance, coherence, and style in long-form content
Qwen3 235B A22B has a moderate advantage with a 3.3999999999999986-point lead in composite score. It wins on more signal dimensions, but Grok 3 Mini has specific strengths that could make it the better choice for certain workflows.
Best for Quality
Grok 3 Mini
Marginally better benchmark scores; both are excellent
Best for Cost
Grok 3 Mini
65% lower pricing; better value at scale
Best for Reliability
Grok 3 Mini
Higher uptime and faster response speeds
Best for Prototyping
Grok 3 Mini
Stronger community support and better developer experience
Best for Production
Grok 3 Mini
Wider enterprise adoption and proven at scale
by xAI
| Capability | Grok 3 Mini | Qwen3 235B A22B |
|---|---|---|
| Vision (Image Input) | ||
| Function Calling | ||
| Streaming | ||
| JSON Mode | ||
| Reasoning | ||
| Web Searchdiffers | ||
| Image Output |
xAI
Alibaba
Grok 3 Mini saves you $1.86/month
That's 62% cheaper than Qwen3 235B A22B at 1,000 tokens/request and 100 requests/day.
Assumes 60% input / 40% output token ratio per request. Actual costs may vary based on your usage pattern.
| Parameter | Grok 3 Mini | Qwen3 235B A22B |
|---|---|---|
| Context Window | 131K | 131K |
| Max Output Tokens | -- | 8,192 |
| Open Source | No | Yes |
| Created | Jun 10, 2025 | Apr 28, 2025 |