AI model comparison
Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct vs Sonar
Pricing, context window, benchmarks, and features compared side by side. Or skip the guesswork and send one prompt to both.
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is an instruction-tuned chat model in the Qwen3-Next series optimized for fast, stable responses without “thinking” traces.
- Input / 1M
- $0.10
- Output / 1M
- $1.10
- Context
- 262K
Perplexity
Sonar
Sonar is lightweight, affordable, fast, and simple to use — now featuring citations and the ability to customize sources.
- Input / 1M
- $1
- Output / 1M
- $1
- Context
- 127K
At a glance
Quick verdict
How the two models stack up on the things people ask about most.
Lower price
Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct
3.3x cheaper for a typical chat
Higher intelligence score
Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct
9.6 vs 7.7 on Artificial Analysis
Larger context window
Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct
262K vs 127K tokens
Newer release
Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct
Released September 11, 2025
Benchmarks
Benchmark scores
Independent scores from Artificial Analysis. Higher is better.
Intelligence index
Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct9.6Sonar7.7Coding index
Qwen3 Next 80B A3B InstructNot availableSonarNot availableAgentic index
Qwen3 Next 80B A3B InstructNot availableSonarNot availablePricing
Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct vs Sonar API pricing
Per-token API rates. Cheaper option highlighted.
| Metric | Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct | Sonar |
|---|---|---|
| Input tokensPer 1M tokens | $0.10 | $1 |
| Output tokensPer 1M tokens | $1.10 | $1 |
| Cached input (read)Per 1M tokens | $0.07 | Not available |
| Cache writePer 1M tokens | Not available | Not available |
| Web searchPer request | Not available | $0.005 |
What it costs in practice
Estimated cost per 1,000 requests at standard rates. Coding and long-document figures also show the cost when the input is already cached.
Chat message
2K in, 500 out
Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct$0.75Sonar$2.50Coding task
30K in, 4K out
Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct$7.40$6.50 cachedSonar$34Long document summary
150K in, 2K out
Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct$17.20$12.70 cachedSonar$152Specs
Context window and capabilities
How much each model can read, how much it can write, and what it accepts as input.
| Metric | Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct | Sonar |
|---|---|---|
| Context window | 262K tokens | 127K tokens |
| Max output | 236K tokens | 114K tokens |
| Input types | Text | Image, Text |
| Output types | Text | Text |
| Reasoning effort levels | Not available | Not available |
| Default reasoning effort | Not available | Not available |
| Release date | September 11, 2025 | January 27, 2025 |
Features
Supported features
API features available for each model.
| Metric | Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct | Sonar |
|---|---|---|
| Tool calling | Supported | Not supported |
| Structured outputs | Supported | Not supported |
| JSON mode | Supported | Not supported |
| Reasoning | Not supported | Not supported |
| Temperature | Supported | Supported |
| Stop sequences | Supported | Not supported |
| Deterministic seed | Supported | Not supported |
| Verbosity control | Not supported | Not supported |
Keep exploring
More on these models
Other head-to-heads, the full model page, and the alternatives list for each model.
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Our take
Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct is 3.3x cheaper for a typical chat. Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct scores higher on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index (9.6 vs 7.7). Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct has the larger context window (262K vs 127K tokens). The right pick depends on your workload, so the quickest way to settle it is to send the same prompt to both and compare.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct or Sonar cheaper?
Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct is cheaper for a typical chat (2K input tokens and 500 output tokens). Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct costs $0.10 per 1M input tokens and $1.10 per 1M output tokens, while Sonar costs $1 per 1M input tokens and $1 per 1M output tokens.
Which has a bigger context window, Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct or Sonar?
Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct supports up to 262K tokens of context, compared with 127K for Sonar.
Is Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct smarter than Sonar?
On the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct scores 9.6 and Sonar scores 7.7, putting Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct ahead. Benchmarks don't capture everything, so the best test is running your own prompts through both.
Can I use Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct and Sonar at the same time?
Yes. Shortcut Chat sends one prompt to multiple models at once, so you can see Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct and Sonar answer side by side and keep the better response.
Why choose? Ask both.
Send one prompt to Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct and Sonar at the same time. Compare the answers side by side and keep the best one.