Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 1, 2026
In this head-to-head showdown, Qwen 3 Max delivers higher overall intelligence and human-preferred responses (Elo 1,518 vs 1,425), while Qwen 3 Max leads in SWE-bench software engineering benchmarks (67.8%), while Qwen 2.5 Coder 32B is more budget-friendly at $0.72/1M per 1M output tokens. Review the complete breakdown below to determine which model best fits your performance and budget requirements.
10 direct benchmark disciplines evaluated across capability, speed, and cost
Alibaba dedicated open-weight code generation model with near-frontier SWE-bench Verified coding capability.
Alibaba flagship. Strong math and multilingual code.
Δ 93 Arena Elo pts
110 tok/s
$0.72 / 1M output
Relative percentile scores computed across all active models in the benchmark catalog.
Comparing top Western standard models with China's leading frontier rival across 6 skill dimensions. Tap any spoke or dot to inspect.
Category wins across reasoning intelligence, generation speed, and token cost.
Preference Elo, Coding proficiency, SWE-bench & LiveBench accuracy
Generation throughput and time to first token responsiveness
Cost per million tokens and max context window length
| Benchmark | Qwen 2.5 Coder 32B | Qwen 3 Max | Advantage Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preference Elo | +93 | ||
| Coding Elo | +31 | ||
| LiveBench | +4.6% | ||
| SWE-bench | +2.6% | ||
| GPQA Diamond | +9.1% | ||
| Time to first token | +100 ms | ||
| Output speed | 110 tok/s | 80 tok/s | +30 tok/s |
| Input price | $0.18/1M | $1.2/1M | +$1.02/1M |
| Output price | $0.72/1M | $4.8/1M | +$4.08/1M |
| Context window | +131k |
Simulate monthly production API costs in USD (US Dollar).
Qwen 2.5 Coder 32B is estimated to save $96.90/month ($1,163/year).
Higher SWE-bench (67.8%).
Lower output list price ($0.72/1M).
Lower TTFT (180 ms).
Larger window (262k).
Qwen 3 Max is the side marked multimodal in the catalog.
| Target Workload | Recommended Pick | Evaluation Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Repo / coding agents | Qwen 3 Max | Higher SWE-bench (67.8%). |
| High-volume chat | Qwen 2.5 Coder 32B | Lower output list price ($0.72/1M). |
| Voice / low-latency UI | Qwen 2.5 Coder 32B | Lower TTFT (180 ms). |
| Long-document RAG | Qwen 3 Max | Larger window (262k). |
| Screenshots / vision | Qwen 3 Max | Qwen 3 Max is the side marked multimodal in the catalog. |
Closed flagship. Strong math. Compare to Sol and Opus on GPQA and SWE-bench, not on brand heat.
Sep 2025 open-weight mixture-of-experts. Self-host path. Don’t confuse it with Qwen 3 Max.
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Verified Head-to-Head Telemetry
