DeepSeek V3 vs Qwen 3 Max
Open-weights reasoning at bargain pricing. Meanwhile, qwen 3 max: alibaba's flagship. top-tier multilingual and coding.
Side-by-side
Specs
| Dimension | DeepSeek V3 | Qwen 3 Max |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | DeepSeek | Alibaba |
| Released | 2025-05 | 2025-10 |
| Context window | 128K | ✓256K |
| Output max | 8K | ✓32K |
| Input /M | ✓$0.27 | $1.20 |
| Output /M | ✓$1.10 | $4.00 |
| Modalities | text | ✓text, image |
| Open weights | ✓yes | no |
Scorecard
Dimension-by-dimension
DeepSeek V3
Qwen 3 Max
reasoning
9.0
8.0
coding
9.0
9.0
writing
7.0
8.0
speed
7.0
7.0
value
10.0
9.0
Verdict
Which wins, by use case
| Use case | Winner | Why |
|---|---|---|
| coding | DeepSeek V3 | a coin flip on our weighted coding score |
| writing | Qwen 3 Max | a coin flip on our weighted writing score |
| chat | DeepSeek V3 | a coin flip on our weighted chat score |
| agents | DeepSeek V3 | a clear edge on our weighted agents score |
| summarization | DeepSeek V3 | a coin flip on our weighted summarization score |
| translation | DeepSeek V3 | a coin flip on our weighted translation score |
| reasoning | DeepSeek V3 | a clear edge on our weighted reasoning score |
| research | DeepSeek V3 | a coin flip on our weighted research score |
| vision and multimodal | DeepSeek V3 | a coin flip on our weighted vision score |
| Cheapest AI models for bulk workloads | DeepSeek V3 | a clear edge on our weighted cheap-bulk score |
Bottom line
Our take
Pick DeepSeek V3 if you need: strong math & code, very cheap.
Pick Qwen 3 Max if you need: multilingual leader, strong coding.
At a 500M-input / 150M-output monthly volume, DeepSeek V3 costs roughly $300 vs Qwen 3 Max at $1200. Use our calculator to plug in your own numbers.
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