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© 2026 CompareLLM. Public benchmark data aggregated from Arena Elo, LiveBench, SWE-bench & OpenRouter.

Every score has a dated snapshot.

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  3. Qwen 2.5 Plus vs Qwen 3 Max

Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 17, 2026

Qwen 2.5 Plus vs Qwen 3 Max benchmark

In this head-to-head showdown, Qwen 3 Max delivers higher overall intelligence and human-preferred responses (Elo 1,518 vs 1,445), while Qwen 3 Max leads in SWE-bench software engineering benchmarks (67.8%), while Qwen 2.5 Plus is more budget-friendly at $1/1M per 1M output tokens. Review the complete breakdown below to determine which model best fits your performance and budget requirements.

Executive Comparison Verdict

Bottom Line: Choose Qwen 3 Max if your priority is peak reasoning, complex code generation, and top preference Elo. Choose Qwen 2.5 Plus if you are optimizing for low latency, high throughput, and cost-efficient API deployment.
Share Analysis:
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Alibaba
Qwen 2.5 Plus

Alibaba balanced flagship API model with high-throughput general reasoning.

Elo 1,445$1/1M out
Alibaba
Qwen 3 Max

Alibaba flagship. Strong math and multilingual code.

Elo 1,518$3.9/1M out
Top Rival Showdowns for Qwen 2.5 Plus
All Matchups
Compare vs:vs Claude Opus 4.5vs GPT-5vs Gemini 3 Provs Grok 4.6vs DeepSeek V4 Pro
Preference Leader

Qwen 3 Max

Δ 73 Arena Elo pts

Throughput Leader

Qwen 2.5 Plus

110 tok/s

Value per Dollar Leader

Qwen 2.5 Plus

$1 / 1M output

Capability Percentiles

Relative percentile scores computed across all active models in the benchmark catalog.

Capability Matchup Radar

Multi-Dimensional Capability Radar

Each spoke is a skill. Farther from the center is better (0–100th percentile). Tap any dot to inspect details.

Tap any node to inspect
Percentile 0–100
Dimensional AdvantageQwen 3 Max 4/6
Head-to-Head Comparison

Overall Matchup Breakdown

Category wins across reasoning intelligence, generation speed, and token cost.

Qwen 2.5 Plus (4)vsQwen 3 Max (6)
Qwen 2.5 Plus: 4W (40%)Overall: Qwen 3 MaxQwen 3 Max: 6W (60%)
← Qwen 2.5 PlusQwen 3 Max →
Qwen 3 Max (5/5)

Intelligence & Reasoning

Preference Elo, Coding proficiency, SWE-bench & LiveBench accuracy

Preference Elo
1,445vs1,518
Coding Elo
1,460vs1,526
SWE-bench
59.2%vs67.8%
LiveBench
63.5%vs69.4%
GPQA Diamond
75.8%vs83.1%
Qwen 2.5 Plus: 0WQwen 3 Max: 5W
Qwen 2.5 Plus (2/2)

Speed & Latency

Generation throughput and time to first token responsiveness

Output speed
110 tok/svs80 tok/s
Time to first token
180 msvs280 ms
Qwen 2.5 Plus: 2WQwen 3 Max: 0W
Qwen 2.5 Plus (2/3)

Pricing & Capacity

Cost per million tokens and max context window length

Output price
$1/1Mvs$3.9/1M
Input price
$0.25/1Mvs$0.78/1M
Context window
128kvs262k
Qwen 2.5 Plus: 2WQwen 3 Max: 1W

Side-by-Side Benchmark Matrix

Preference EloQwen 3 Max (+73)
Qwen 2.5 Plus1,445
lmarena · Aug 17, 2026
Qwen 3 Max1,518
lmarena · Aug 17, 2026
Coding EloQwen 3 Max (+66)
Qwen 2.5 Plus1,460
lmarena · Aug 17, 2026
Qwen 3 Max1,526
lmarena · Aug 17, 2026
LiveBenchQwen 3 Max (+5.9%)
Qwen 2.5 Plus63.5%
livebench · Aug 17, 2026
Qwen 3 Max69.4%
livebench · Aug 17, 2026
SWE-benchQwen 3 Max (+8.6%)
Qwen 2.5 Plus59.2%
swebench · Aug 17, 2026
Qwen 3 Max67.8%
swebench · Aug 17, 2026
GPQA DiamondQwen 3 Max (+7.3%)
Qwen 2.5 Plus75.8%
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
Qwen 3 Max83.1%
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
Time to first tokenQwen 2.5 Plus (+100 ms)
Qwen 2.5 Plus180 ms
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
Qwen 3 Max280 ms
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
Output speedQwen 2.5 Plus (+30 tok/s)
Qwen 2.5 Plus110 tok/s
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
Qwen 3 Max80 tok/s
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
Input priceQwen 2.5 Plus (+$0.53/1M)
Qwen 2.5 Plus$0.25/1M
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
Qwen 3 Max$0.78/1M
openrouter · Aug 17, 2026
Output priceQwen 2.5 Plus (+$2.9/1M)
Qwen 2.5 Plus$1/1M
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
Qwen 3 Max$3.9/1M
openrouter · Aug 17, 2026
Context windowQwen 3 Max (+134k)
Qwen 2.5 Plus128k
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
Qwen 3 Max262k
openrouter · Aug 17, 2026
BenchmarkQwen 2.5 PlusQwen 3 MaxAdvantage Delta
Preference Elo
1,445
lmarena · Aug 17, 2026
1,518
lmarena · Aug 17, 2026
Qwen 3 Max (+73)
Coding Elo
1,460
lmarena · Aug 17, 2026
1,526
lmarena · Aug 17, 2026
Qwen 3 Max (+66)
LiveBench
63.5%
livebench · Aug 17, 2026
69.4%
livebench · Aug 17, 2026
Qwen 3 Max (+5.9%)
SWE-bench
59.2%
swebench · Aug 17, 2026
67.8%
swebench · Aug 17, 2026
Qwen 3 Max (+8.6%)
GPQA Diamond
75.8%
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
83.1%
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
Qwen 3 Max (+7.3%)
Time to first token
180 ms
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
280 ms
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
Qwen 2.5 Plus (+100 ms)
Output speed
110 tok/s
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
80 tok/s
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
Qwen 2.5 Plus (+30 tok/s)
Input price
$0.25/1M
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
$0.78/1M
openrouter · Aug 17, 2026
Qwen 2.5 Plus (+$0.53/1M)
Output price
$1/1M
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
$3.9/1M
openrouter · Aug 17, 2026
Qwen 2.5 Plus (+$2.9/1M)
Context window
128k
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
262k
openrouter · Aug 17, 2026
Qwen 3 Max (+134k)
Interactive Simulator (USD)

Workload Cost & Savings Calculator

Simulate monthly production API costs in USD (US Dollar).

Save up to 72% with Qwen 2.5 Plus
Monthly Volume50M tokens/mo
Quick Presets:
Token Ratio (In vs Out)70% In / 30% Out
RAG / Search (10% out)Coding / Chat (50% out)
Qwen 2.5 Plus$23.75 / mo
In: $8.75Out: $15
Qwen 3 Max$85.80 / mo
In: $27.3Out: $58.5
Estimated Cost Delta

Qwen 2.5 Plus is estimated to save $62.05/month ($745/year).

Based on 50M tokens (30% gen)

Key Selection Recommendations

  • 1
    Qwen 3 Max:Pick Qwen 3 Max when repo-level coding accuracy is the constraint.
  • 2
    Qwen 2.5 Plus:Pick Qwen 2.5 Plus when you are optimizing output cost.
  • 3
    Qwen 2.5 Plus:Pick Qwen 2.5 Plus when time-to-first-token matters more than peak Elo.

Recommended Workload Routing

Repo / coding agentsQwen 3 Max

Higher SWE-bench (67.8%).

High-volume chatQwen 2.5 Plus

Lower output list price ($1/1M).

Voice / low-latency UIQwen 2.5 Plus

Lower TTFT (180 ms).

Long-document RAGQwen 3 Max

Larger window (262k).

Screenshots / visionQwen 3 Max

Both accept images. Defaulting to the higher-Elo side (Qwen 3 Max).

Target WorkloadRecommended PickEvaluation Rationale
Repo / coding agentsQwen 3 MaxHigher SWE-bench (67.8%).
High-volume chatQwen 2.5 PlusLower output list price ($1/1M).
Voice / low-latency UIQwen 2.5 PlusLower TTFT (180 ms).
Long-document RAGQwen 3 MaxLarger window (262k).
Screenshots / visionQwen 3 MaxBoth accept images. Defaulting to the higher-Elo side (Qwen 3 Max).

Related Editorial Dispatches & Benchmark Notes

View all news
launchApr 18, 2026

Qwen 3 Max: Alibaba’s flagship for math and multilingual code

Closed flagship. Strong math. Compare to Sol and Opus on GPQA and SWE-bench, not on brand heat.

launchSep 20, 2025

Qwen3 235B: the open MoE Qwen, not the Max SKU

Sep 2025 open-weight mixture-of-experts. Self-host path. Don’t confuse it with Qwen 3 Max.

Community Sentiment

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CompareLLM Matrix

Verified head-to-head card

LIVE
VS
Alibaba

Qwen 2.5 Plus

Elo 1,445
LiveBench63.5%
SWE-bench59.2%
Speed110 tok/s
Output cost$1/1M
Alibaba

Qwen 3 Max

Elo 1,518
LiveBench69.4%
SWE-bench67.8%
Speed80 tok/s
Output cost$3.9/1M

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better overall, Qwen 2.5 Plus or Qwen 3 Max?
Qwen 3 Max has the higher preference Elo in our latest snapshot (1,518). “Better” still depends on coding, price, and latency — see the table.
Which is better at coding, Qwen 2.5 Plus or Qwen 3 Max?
Qwen 3 Max leads SWE-bench at 67.8% vs 59.2%. SWE-bench is one harness, not your repo.
Which is cheaper to run in production?
Qwen 2.5 Plus output tokens are $1/1M versus $3.9/1M. Input prices and retry rates still move the real bill.
Which is faster, Qwen 2.5 Plus or Qwen 3 Max?
Qwen 2.5 Plus has the lower time-to-first-token (180 ms vs 280 ms). Tokens/sec is a separate column if you care about long completions.
Which has the larger context window?
Qwen 3 Max accepts 262k tokens versus 128k.
Can I self-host either model?
Neither model is marked open-weights here. You are comparing hosted APIs.
Are these scores from CompareLLM’s own evals?
No. V1 aggregates public leaderboards (and optional first-party latency pings). Each cell names its source and date. Read /methodology.
What does preference Elo mean on this page?
Preference Elo is a crowd vote from LMArena / Arena. People see two hidden answers and pick the one they like more. The model that wins more often gets a higher Elo. That means people preferred it — not that it passed a school test. It is not SWE-bench, not accuracy, and not a number we invent. Qwen 2.5 Plus and Qwen 3 Max Elo cells are dated snapshots from the named source — we do not compute Arena ourselves.

Related news

  • launch · Apr 18, 2026

    Qwen 3 Max: Alibaba’s flagship for math and multilingual code

  • launch · Sep 20, 2025

    Qwen3 235B: the open MoE Qwen, not the Max SKU

Similar Head-to-Head Comparisons

All Qwen 2.5 Plus matchups →|All Qwen 3 Max matchups →
Qwen 2.5 Plus vs Qwen2.5 Coder 32B Instruct (previous qwen)Qwen 2.5 Plus vs Qwen 2.5 Coder 32B (next qwen)Qwen QwQ 32B vs Qwen 3 MaxQwen3 235B vs Qwen 2.5 PlusMistral Large 3 vs Qwen 2.5 PlusDoubao Pro 1.5 vs Qwen 2.5 Plus