# Llama 3.2 3B vs Qwen Max

> Qwen Max is the stronger model overall, scoring 34.4 to 28.4 on the Noometry Index. Llama 3.2 3B costs 23× less per token, which makes it the better buy when Qwen Max's lead doesn't matter for your workload.

- Canonical page: https://noometry.com/compare/llama-3-2-3b-vs-qwen-max
- Last updated: 2026-10-10
- Shared benchmarks: 13

## Summary

- They share 13 benchmarks with published results for both. Llama 3.2 3B scores higher in 1 category and Qwen Max in 7 categories; 8 gaps are clear of the uncertainty.
- The widest gap is in writing & preference, where Qwen Max leads 48.0 to 24.9.
- Llama 3.2 3B is cheaper at $0.05 / $0.33 per million input/output tokens, against $1.60 / $6.40 for Qwen Max.
- Llama 3.2 3B accepts more context: 131K tokens versus 33K.
- Llama 3.2 3B has downloadable open weights; the other is API-only.

## Snapshot

| | Llama 3.2 3B | Qwen Max |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Meta | Alibaba (Qwen) |
| Noometry Index | 28.4 | 34.4 |
| Rank | 318 | 226 |
| Context | 131K | 33K |
| Input $/M | $0.05 | $1.60 |
| Output $/M | $0.33 | $6.40 |
| Weights | Open | Proprietary |

## Coding

- Llama 3.2 3B: 27.1 (#314)
- Qwen Max: 30.3 (#288)

| Benchmark | Llama 3.2 3B | Qwen Max |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Coding | 1098 | 1288 |
| Aider Polyglot | — | 21.8% |
| BigCodeBench Instruct | 23.4% | — |
| BigCodeBench Complete | 28.3% | — |

## Agentic & Tool Use

- Llama 3.2 3B: 19.9 (#135)
- Qwen Max: —

| Benchmark | Llama 3.2 3B | Qwen Max |
|---|---|---|
| Berkeley Function Calling Leaderboard | 21.9% | — |
| BALROG | 10.1% | — |

## Reasoning

- Llama 3.2 3B: 20.1 (#225)
- Qwen Max: 24.1 (#154)

| Benchmark | Llama 3.2 3B | Qwen Max |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Hard Prompts | 1095 | 1270 |

## Math

- Llama 3.2 3B: 29.9 (#213)
- Qwen Max: 21.0 (#272)

| Benchmark | Llama 3.2 3B | Qwen Max |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Math | 1126 | 1275 |
| OTIS Mock AIME 2024-2025 | — | 16.1% |
| MATH Level 5 | — | 67.2% |
| FrontierMath (Feb 2025 set) | — | 1% |

## Knowledge

- Llama 3.2 3B: 29.1 (#232)
- Qwen Max: 30.3 (#222)

| Benchmark | Llama 3.2 3B | Qwen Max |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Expert | 1090 | 1248 |
| GPQA Diamond | — | 56.1% |

## Multilingual

- Llama 3.2 3B: 26.4 (#276)
- Qwen Max: 42.0 (#197)

| Benchmark | Llama 3.2 3B | Qwen Max |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Non-English | 1019 | 1263 |
| LMArena Chinese | 1017 | 1254 |
| LMArena German | 1056 | 1254 |
| LMArena Russian | 949 | 1274 |
| LMArena French | — | 1329 |
| LMArena Japanese | — | 1205 |
| LMArena Korean | — | 1141 |
| LMArena Spanish | — | 1290 |

## Instruction Following

- Llama 3.2 3B: 56.3 (#270)
- Qwen Max: 66.7 (#203)

| Benchmark | Llama 3.2 3B | Qwen Max |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Instruction Following | 1089 | 1262 |

## Long Context

- Llama 3.2 3B: 33.4 (#256)
- Qwen Max: 39.4 (#175)

| Benchmark | Llama 3.2 3B | Qwen Max |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Longer Query | 1101 | 1289 |
| Fiction.LiveBench | — | 66.7% |

## Writing & Preference

- Llama 3.2 3B: 24.9 (#302)
- Qwen Max: 48.0 (#200)

| Benchmark | Llama 3.2 3B | Qwen Max |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | 1110 | 1282 |
| LMArena Creative Writing | 1094 | 1248 |
| LMArena Multi-Turn | 1105 | 1277 |
| EQ-Bench Creative Writing | 595 | — |

## FAQ

### Is Llama 3.2 3B better than Qwen Max?

Qwen Max is the stronger model overall, scoring 34.4 to 28.4 on the Noometry Index. Llama 3.2 3B costs 23× less per token, which makes it the better buy when Qwen Max's lead doesn't matter for your workload.

### Which is cheaper, Llama 3.2 3B or Qwen Max?

Llama 3.2 3B is cheaper. It lists at $0.05 per million input tokens and $0.33 per million output tokens; Qwen Max lists at $1.60 and $6.40.

### Is Llama 3.2 3B or Qwen Max better for coding?

Qwen Max scores higher on coding benchmarks: 30.3 versus 27.1 in the Noometry coding category.

### Which has the bigger context window?

Llama 3.2 3B does, with 131K tokens against 33K.

### How many benchmarks do Llama 3.2 3B and Qwen Max share?

13 benchmarks have published results for both models. Llama 3.2 3B has 18 scored results on Noometry and Qwen Max has 23.