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Head-to-head comparison

DeepSeek V3.2 vs Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct

DeepSeek V3.2 (DeepSeek) and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct (Qwen) compared on the ModelCap Index, API price, context window, provider availability, weight access and every public benchmark board they share. Figures are the same ones shown on the live rankings; nothing here is a hidden score.

Snapshot as of 23 September 2026

As of 23 September 2026, DeepSeek V3.2 holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#61 vs #64); DeepSeek V3.2 is 4.8× cheaper per output token ($0.40/1M vs $1.90/1M); and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct offers the longer context window (262K vs 164K tokens).

Which should you choose?

Choose DeepSeek V3.2 if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #61 against #64 (64.0 vs 62.0 points).
  • API cost matters — $0.40/1M output tokens against $1.90/1M, about 4.8× cheaper.
  • you want provider choice — 15 listed API providers against 5.
  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1476 against 1465.
  • AA τ²-Bench Telecom is your yardstick — 78.9% against 35.1%.
  • AA Humanity's Last Exam is your yardstick — 11.2% against 6.6%.
  • you want the more recently listed model — DeepSeek V3.2 was listed 1 December 2025, Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct 23 September 2025.

Choose Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct if…

  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.21/1M against $0.269/1M.
  • you need the longer context window — 262K tokens against 164K.

DeepSeek V3.2 vs Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of DeepSeek V3.2 and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct
FieldDeepSeek V3.2DeepSeekQwen3 VL 235B A22B InstructQwen
ModelCap Index position#61#64
Index score64.062.0
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.269$0.21
Output price / 1M tokens$0.40$1.90
Context window164K tokens262K tokens
Max output tokens66K33K
API providers listed155
Weight accessOpen weightsOpen weights
Input modalitiesTextText, Image
First listed1 December 202523 September 2025
PublisherDeepSeekQwen

Evidence: 4 public benchmark observations across 4 boards · 2 public benchmark observations across 2 boards. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: DeepSeek V3.2 vs Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct

Public benchmark boards where DeepSeek V3.2 or Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct has a published result
BoardDeepSeek V3.2Qwen3 VL 235B A22B InstructLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)14761469–1483Thinking14651452–1478DeepSeek V3.2
ARC-AGI-2ARC Prize Foundation4.0%—Only one result
SWE-benchSWE-bench (Princeton / SWE-agent team)70.0%High—Only one result
AA τ²-Bench TelecomArtificial Analysis78.9%tau2:telecom:dual-control:pass-at-1:3-repeats:source-model="DeepSeek V3.2 (Non-reasoning)":reasoning=false35.1%tau2:telecom:dual-control:pass-at-1:3-repeats:source-model="Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct":reasoning=falseDeepSeek V3.2
AA Humanity's Last ExamArtificial Analysis11.2%hle:may-2025:text-only-2158:no-tools:pass-at-1:source-model="DeepSeek V3.2 (Non-reasoning)":reasoning=false6.6%hle:may-2025:text-only-2158:no-tools:pass-at-1:source-model="Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct":reasoning=falseDeepSeek V3.2
WildClawBench OpenClawWildClawBench34.0—Only one result

Scores are the sources' own published figures for each model's best evaluated configuration; ModelCap never re-runs a benchmark.

Want a different pairing? Open the interactive comparison tool to swap either model for any current ranked language model.

DeepSeek V3.2 vs Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct: common questions

Is DeepSeek V3.2 better than Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct?

DeepSeek V3.2 ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 23 September 2026: #61 against #64. That is a capability ranking built from public benchmark evidence with published uncertainty; whether it is "better" for you also depends on price, context and where you can run it. Their published uncertainty intervals overlap, so the rank difference alone does not establish a reliable capability advantage for your workload.

Is DeepSeek V3.2 cheaper than Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct?

DeepSeek V3.2 is cheaper on output tokens: $0.40/1M against $1.90/1M. Input tokens are $0.269/1M for DeepSeek V3.2 and $0.21/1M for Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct. Prices are the lowest listed API offer ModelCap observed, in USD per million tokens. For 1,000 requests with 2,000 input and 500 output tokens each (2M input + 0.5M output), the listed-rate estimate is $0.74 for DeepSeek V3.2 versus $1.37 for Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct. DeepSeek V3.2 costs 46.1% less in this scenario. This excludes caching, batch discounts, prompt-length tiers, tool charges and retries; verify the selected endpoint before budgeting.

Which has the bigger context window, DeepSeek V3.2 or Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct?

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct has the larger context window: 262K tokens against 164K.

Which is better for coding, DeepSeek V3.2 or Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct?

Arena coding: DeepSeek V3.2 1476, Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct 1465 — DeepSeek V3.2 leads.

Are DeepSeek V3.2 and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct open-weight models?

DeepSeek V3.2: Open weights. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct: Open weights. Open weights mean the checkpoint can be downloaded and self-hosted under its licence; API-only models are available solely through hosted endpoints.

Where can I run DeepSeek V3.2 and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct?

ModelCap currently lists 15 API providers for DeepSeek V3.2 and 5 for Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this DeepSeek V3.2 vs Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 23 September 2026; the page re-renders within a minute of each data refresh, and the ModelCap Index positions are the same ones shown on the live rankings.

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