Compare cost, what each option includes, setup, availability, and fit. Unknown facts remain unknown. Checked 2026-09-02.
Differences that matter
Side by side
Token cost at moderate daily use. A dash means an exact offering price is not observed; it never means $0.
Specifications
Swipe sideways to compare every specification and source receipt.
| DeepSeek V3.2 vendor · 12d | Qwen3-VL 8B vendor · 12d | |
|---|---|---|
| API format | OpenAI, Anthropic OpenRouter · 2026-07-06 | OpenAI OpenRouter · 2026-07-06 |
| Architecture class | Mixture of experts | — |
| Architecture | Transformer with MLA attention and mixture-of-experts feed-forward blocks | — |
| Capabilities | Tools, Thinking OpenRouter · 2026-07-06 | Vision, Tools OpenRouter · 2026-07-06 |
| Context window | 131072 OpenRouter · 2026-07-06 | 256000 OpenRouter · 2026-07-06 |
| Execution Paths | api OpenRouter · 2026-07-06 | api, self_host OpenRouter · 2026-07-06 |
| Restricted access | No OpenRouter · 2026-07-06 | No OpenRouter · 2026-07-06 |
| Class | value | value |
Cost at three usage tiers
| A few questions and small tasks each day. | $1.97/mo | $1.11/mo |
| Daily use, plus some scheduled tasks. | $6.58/mo | $3.71/mo |
| Working for you most of the day, including web tasks. | $19.74/mo | $11.12/mo |
Token cost only; add a host for the full-stack estimate. A model download's cost remains unknown until its hardware and energy are selected.
What others don't publish
DeepSeek V3.2
No unique caveat on file.
Qwen3-VL 8B
No unique caveat on file.