Grok 4.3 vs Qwen3-235B-A22B
Grok 4.3 (2026) and Qwen3-235B-A22B (2025) are frontier reasoning models from xAI and Alibaba. Grok 4.3 ships a 1m-token context window, while Qwen3-235B-A22B ships a 128k-token context window. On Google-Proof Q&A, Grok 4.3 leads by 4 pts. On pricing, Grok 4.3 ranges from $1.25 to $2.50/1M input tokens by tier; Qwen3-235B-A22B costs $0.09/1M input tokens. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads.
Grok 4.3 fits 8x more tokens; pick it for long-context work and Qwen3-235B-A22B for tighter calls.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Grok 4.3 | Qwen3-235B-A22B |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | reasoning-heavy apps, multimodal apps, and tool-calling agents | provider-routed production |
| Decision fit | RAG, Agents, and Long context | Coding, RAG, and Long context |
| Context window | 1m | 128k |
| Cheapest output | $2.50/1M tokens | $0.58/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 5 tracked | 5 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | Google-Proof Q&A leader | 1 shared |
Decision tradeoffs
- Grok 4.3 holds a shared-benchmark lead on Google-Proof Q&A, ahead by 4 points.
- Grok 4.3 has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Grok 4.3 uniquely exposes Vision, Multimodal, and Reasoning in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Grok 4.3 for RAG, Agents, and Long context.
- Qwen3-235B-A22B has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.58/1M tokens.
- Local decision data tags Qwen3-235B-A22B for Coding, RAG, and Long context.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.
Grok 4.3
$1,625
Cheapest tracked route/tier: xAI Console
Qwen3-235B-A22B
$217
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Novita AI
Estimated monthly gap: $1,408. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- Provider overlap exists on AWS Bedrock and OpenRouter; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Qwen3-235B-A22B is $1.92/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Check replacement coverage for Vision, Multimodal, and Reasoning before moving production traffic.
- Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter and AWS Bedrock; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Grok 4.3 is $1.92/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Grok 4.3 adds Vision, Multimodal, and Reasoning in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2026-05-06 | 2025-04-29 |
| Context window | 1m | 128k |
| Parameters | ~0.5T | 235B |
| Architecture | - | Decoder Only |
| License | Proprietary | Apache 2.0OSI-approved |
| Openness | Proprietary | Open source |
| Weights | Not released | Unknown |
| Code | Unknown | Unknown |
| Commercial use | Commercial use: conditional | Commercial use: permitted |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2024-11 | - |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Grok 4.3 | Qwen3-235B-A22B |
|---|---|---|
| Input price |
| $0.09/1M tokens |
| Output price |
| $0.58/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Grok 4.3 | Qwen3-235B-A22B |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | Yes | No |
| Multimodal | Yes | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | No |
| JSON / Tool use | Yes | No |
| Structured outputs | Yes | Yes |
| Code execution | No | No |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | Grok 4.3 | Qwen3-235B-A22B |
|---|---|---|
| Google-Proof Q&A | 90.1 | 86.1 |
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Last reviewed: 2026-07-10. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.