Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 16, 2026
In this head-to-head showdown, Qwen3 235B delivers higher overall intelligence and human-preferred responses (Elo 1,440 vs 1,412), while Qwen3 235B leads in SWE-bench software engineering benchmarks (59.4%), while Llama 4 Scout is more budget-friendly at $0.3/1M per 1M output tokens. Review the complete breakdown below to determine which model best fits your performance and budget requirements.
9 direct benchmark disciplines evaluated across capability, speed, and cost
Meta open-weight Llama 4 long-context sibling of Maverick. Common public API lists sit near $0.08–$0.30 / $0.30–$0.70 per 1M; we store a conservative hosted list until OpenRouter overwrites.
Open-weight Qwen3 mixture-of-experts.
Currently comparing Llama 4 Scout vs Qwen3 235B. Alternative family tiers available.
Δ 28 Arena Elo pts
155 tok/s
$0.3 / 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 | Llama 4 Scout | Qwen3 235B | Advantage Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preference Elo | +28 | ||
| Coding Elo | — | — | |
| LiveBench | +3.9% | ||
| SWE-bench | +7% | ||
| GPQA Diamond | +5.6% | ||
| Time to first token | +190 ms | ||
| Output speed | 155 tok/s | 74 tok/s | +81 tok/s |
| Input price | $0.08/1M | $0.22/1M | +$0.14/1M |
| Output price | $0.88/1M | +$0.58/1M | |
| Context window | +9.9M |
Simulate monthly production API costs in USD (US Dollar).
Llama 4 Scout is estimated to save $13.60/month ($163/year).
Higher SWE-bench (59.4%).
Lower output list price ($0.3/1M).
Lower TTFT (130 ms).
Larger window (10M).
Llama 4 Scout is the side marked multimodal in the catalog.
| Target Workload | Recommended Pick | Evaluation Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Repo / coding agents | Qwen3 235B | Higher SWE-bench (59.4%). |
| High-volume chat | Llama 4 Scout | Lower output list price ($0.3/1M). |
| Voice / low-latency UI | Llama 4 Scout | Lower TTFT (130 ms). |
| Long-document RAG | Llama 4 Scout | Larger window (10M). |
| Screenshots / vision | Llama 4 Scout | Llama 4 Scout is the side marked multimodal in the catalog. |
$1/$5 hosted Claude vs a cheap long-context open sibling. The alternative-to-Sonnet pair that is honest.
Huge window, cheap hosted lists. The Haiku alternative that is actually open-weight.
Sep 2025 open-weight mixture-of-experts. Self-host path. Don’t confuse it with Qwen 3 Max.
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