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Open SourceAlibaba

Qwen3 Next 80B A3B

Qwen3 Next 80B A3B is a sparse mixture-of-experts language model from Alibaba's Qwen3 family, using roughly 80B total parameters with a small active-parameter count per token.

License Open Source
Input from
$0.090 / 1M tokens
on Deep Infra · 5 providers
Output from
$1.10 / 1M tokens
on Deep Infra

API Pricing

Cheapest input on Deep Infra · cheapest output on Deep Infra
ProviderInput / 1MOutput / 1MCached / 1M
$0.090$1.10-
$0.090$1.10-
$0.108$1.28$0.054
$0.150$1.50-
$0.150$1.50-

Prices updated daily. Last check: Nov 6, 2026

Compare API pricing for every Qwen model →

Qwen3 Next 80B A3B pricing by provider

Input, output, and batch rates, plus alternatives, for one provider at a time.

Performance & Benchmarks

Source: Artificial Analysis →
Output Speed
179 t/s
Latency (TTFT)
850ms

Benchmarks measured Nov 2026. Scores are independent evaluations, not vendor-reported.

Model Details

General

Creator
Alibaba
Modalities
Text

Capabilities

Open Source
Yes

Strengths & Limitations

Strengths

  • Sparse mixture-of-experts design activates roughly 3B of ~80B total parameters per token, reducing per-token compute versus a dense 80B model
  • Measured output throughput of about 185.6 tokens per second in third-party testing (Artificial Analysis)
  • Time to first token around 992 ms, low enough for interactive chat and streaming interfaces
  • Part of Alibaba's Qwen3 line, which is served by multiple independent inference providers rather than a single vendor endpoint
  • High token throughput suits long-form generation and multi-step agent loops that emit large volumes of output
  • Total parameter count near 80B gives more knowledge capacity than small dense models with similar active compute

Limitations

  • We do not have a confirmed context window length recorded for this model
  • No standardized quality benchmark scores (reasoning, coding, math) are recorded in our database for this entry
  • MoE models can show uneven quality across domains depending on expert routing, so results may vary more than with dense models of similar size
  • Roughly 80B total parameters must be held in memory for self-hosting even though only ~3B are active per token, raising VRAM requirements
  • Qwen3 is published in multiple variants and sizes; capability differences between instruct and reasoning-oriented builds mean the name alone does not determine behavior

Key Features

•Sparse mixture-of-experts architecture (~80B total parameters, ~3B active per token)
•Measured output speed of approximately 185.6 tokens per second
•Time to first token of approximately 992 ms
•Part of Alibaba's Qwen3 model family
•Available through multiple third-party inference providers listed in the pricing table
•Efficiency-oriented positioning: large total capacity with small active compute footprint
•Suitable for streaming interactive responses given sub-second first-token latency

About Qwen3 Next 80B A3B

Qwen3 Next 80B A3B is a large language model released by Alibaba as part of the Qwen3 line. Its name follows the Qwen convention for sparse mixture-of-experts (MoE) models: roughly 80 billion total parameters with approximately 3 billion active parameters per token (the "A3B" suffix). This design aims to give the model the knowledge capacity associated with a large parameter count while keeping the per-token compute closer to that of a much smaller dense model, which is the main reason it is positioned as an efficiency-oriented member of the Qwen3 family rather than a maximum-capability endpoint. In measured serving performance, Qwen3 Next 80B A3B reaches around 185.6 output tokens per second with a time to first token of roughly 992 ms, according to Artificial Analysis. That throughput figure reflects the low active-parameter count: fewer parameters are engaged per generated token, so hosted deployments can produce output quickly relative to dense models of comparable total size. The sub-second time to first token makes it usable in interactive settings, though prompt length and provider infrastructure will move both numbers in practice. We do not track a confirmed context window, modality list, or benchmark suite for this entry, so treat capability claims beyond the throughput measurements above as unverified here — check the provider's own model card for the variant you intend to use, since Qwen models are frequently published in separate instruct-tuned and reasoning-oriented builds with different behavior. In practice, models with this shape are deployed where high token throughput per unit of serving cost matters more than squeezing out the last few points of benchmark accuracy: long-form generation, batch text processing, and agent loops that emit many tokens per task.

Common Use Cases

Qwen3 Next 80B A3B fits workloads where a lot of tokens need to be generated quickly: long-form drafting, summarization over large document sets, synthetic data generation, and agent pipelines that chain many model calls and produce verbose intermediate output. The combination of ~185 output tokens per second and a roughly one-second time to first token also makes it a reasonable choice for chat assistants and code-completion style interfaces where perceived responsiveness matters. Because only about 3B parameters are active per token, it is often considered for high-volume batch jobs where per-token serving efficiency dominates the decision. For tasks that demand verified peak accuracy on hard reasoning, math, or competitive coding benchmarks, compare it directly against dense frontier-tier models and against reasoning-specific Qwen3 variants, since we do not record quality benchmark scores for this entry.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does Qwen3 Next 80B A3B cost?

Pricing varies by provider and by pricing model — some hosts bill separately for input and output tokens, others bundle or offer dedicated capacity. Because rates change frequently and differ across providers, check the live pricing table on this page for current figures rather than relying on any fixed number.

What does the "80B A3B" in the name mean?

It follows Alibaba's naming convention for sparse mixture-of-experts models: approximately 80 billion total parameters in the model, with roughly 3 billion active parameters used per generated token. The total count determines memory requirements, while the active count largely determines per-token compute and helps explain the model's high measured throughput.

What is Qwen3 Next 80B A3B best used for?

High-throughput text generation: long-form writing, summarization at volume, synthetic data pipelines, and agent workflows that emit many tokens per task. Its roughly 185 output tokens per second and sub-second time to first token also support interactive chat and streaming applications.

How fast is it compared to other models?

Third-party measurements from Artificial Analysis put it at about 185.6 output tokens per second with roughly 992 ms to first token. That is fast relative to dense models with similar total parameter counts, which is the expected result of activating only a small fraction of parameters per token. Actual figures depend on the provider, quantization, prompt length, and load.

Does it support long context or image input?

We do not have a confirmed context window length or modality list recorded for this model, so we do not make a claim either way. Check the model card published by the provider you plan to use, since context limits in particular are often capped lower by individual hosts than by the model itself.