Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct

Alibaba Qwenqwen/qwen3-vl-8b-instructProviders: 2
Inputi$0.12per 1M tokens
Outputi$0.46per 1M tokens
Contexti256K262,144 tokens
ReleasedOct 14, 2025Max output: 32K

About this model

Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct is an AI model from Alibaba Qwen, made available through the API on October 14, 2025. It can read up to 262,144 tokens in one request, roughly 492 pages of text, and write up to 32,768 tokens in a single answer. Besides text, it accepts images as input.

Through the API it costs $0.12 per million input tokens and $0.46 per million output tokens. Its pricing puts it among the more affordable models we track, which makes it a good fit for high-volume tasks.

It can call tools and functions, so developers can connect it to search, databases or other software. Its weights are openly published (Qwen/Qwen3-VL-8B-Instruct), so it can also be downloaded and run on your own hardware.

Quality scores

Rankings →

Not rated yet. Independent test results usually appear a few weeks after a model is released.

Benchmark data: Epoch AI, licensed CC BY 4.0

Where to use it

Companies that serve this model through an API: 2. Prices per million tokens, cheapest first.

ProviderInputiOutputiContextiUptime (24 h)i
AlibabaOfficialCheapest
$0.12$0.46128K99.2%
Parasailbf16
$0.25$0.75256K97.1%

Availability and prices come from OpenRouter’s public API and are refreshed daily. Uptime is the share of successful requests over the last 24 hours. Some providers run a compressed version of open models (fp8, int4), which is cheaper but can be slightly less accurate.

Use it in your code

Call Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct through OpenRouter’s OpenAI-compatible API: create a key on openrouter.ai, then run one of these examples.

curl https://openrouter.ai/api/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $OPENROUTER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"model": "qwen/qwen3-vl-8b-instruct", "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello! What can you do?"}]}'

The same code works with every model on this site: only the model ID changes. Many labs also offer their own API and SDK.

What it costs in practice

  • 1,000 chat replies
    ≈ 500 tokens in, 300 out each
    $0.195
  • Summarise a 100-page document
    ≈ 50,000 tokens in, 1,000 out
    $0.0063
  • An app with 10,000 requests a day for a month
    ≈ 1,000 tokens in, 400 out each
    $89.70

Cost calculator →

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News about Alibaba Qwen

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Frequently asked questions

How much does Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct cost?
Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct costs $0.12 per million input tokens and $0.46 per million output tokens through the API. For example, 1,000 chat replies of about 500 tokens in and 300 out cost around $0.195.
What is the context window of Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct?
Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct can read up to 262,144 tokens in one request, about 492 pages of text. It can write up to 32,768 tokens in a single answer.
Is Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct open source?
Yes. Its weights are published (Qwen/Qwen3-VL-8B-Instruct), so you can download it and run it on your own hardware, or use it through one of 2 API providers.
Who makes Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct?
Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct is made by Alibaba Qwen. It became available through the API on October 14, 2025.
Can Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct read images?
Yes. Besides text, it accepts images as input.
What are the alternatives to Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct?
Models with a similar price from other companies include Hy3, GPT-6 Luna Pro and Muse Spark 1.3 Contributor. You can compare them side by side on this page.