Claude Opus 4 vs Qwen 3 Coder

Side-by-side benchmark comparison across coding, math, reasoning, speed, and pricing.

Claude Opus 4 by Anthropic wins on 9 of 16 benchmarks against Qwen 3 Coder by Qwen, which leads on 6. This head-to-head comparison covers coding, math, reasoning, speed, and pricing metrics from our benchmark data.

Category-by-Category Breakdown

General Intelligence: In general intelligence, Claude Opus 4 scores 1375 on Chatbot Arena ELO compared to Qwen 3 Coder's 1290, while Claude Opus 4 scores 83.0% on MMLU-Pro compared to Qwen 3 Coder's 72.0%.

Coding: In coding, both score 90.0% on HumanEval+, while Claude Opus 4 scores 72.5% on SWE-bench Verified compared to Qwen 3 Coder's 66.5%, while Claude Opus 4 scores 60.0% on LiveCodeBench compared to Qwen 3 Coder's 52.0%, while Claude Opus 4 scores 1171 on Design Arena ELO compared to Qwen 3 Coder's 1135.

Math: In math, Claude Opus 4 scores 86.0% on MATH compared to Qwen 3 Coder's 76.0%, while Claude Opus 4 scores 95.0% on GSM8K compared to Qwen 3 Coder's 90.0%.

Reasoning: In reasoning, Claude Opus 4 scores 79.6% on GPQA Diamond compared to Qwen 3 Coder's 48.0%, while Claude Opus 4 scores 45.0% on ARC-AGI compared to Qwen 3 Coder's 28.0%.

Context: In context, Qwen 3 Coder scores 262K on Context Length compared to Claude Opus 4's 200K.

Pricing Comparison

Claude Opus 4 costs $15.0/1M input tokens and $75.0/1M output tokens, while Qwen 3 Coder costs $0.30/1M input and $1.0/1M output. Qwen 3 Coder is the more affordable option for API usage.

Speed Comparison

Claude Opus 4 generates output at 50 tok/s compared to Qwen 3 Coder's 80 tok/s, and the time to first token is 550 ms for Claude Opus 4 versus 350 ms for Qwen 3 Coder. Qwen 3 Coder delivers faster throughput.

Verdict

For developers prioritizing coding and general intelligence and math, Claude Opus 4 has the edge. For those who value affordability and speed, Qwen 3 Coder is the stronger choice.

Claude Opus 4 vs Qwen 3 Coder — FAQ

Which is better, Claude Opus 4 or Qwen 3 Coder?

Claude Opus 4 wins on more benchmarks overall (9 vs 6). However, the best choice depends on your specific needs — each model excels in different areas.

How does Claude Opus 4 compare to Qwen 3 Coder for coding?

Claude Opus 4 is better for coding, scoring 72.5% on SWE-bench Verified compared to 66.5%. SWE-bench tests real-world software engineering by resolving actual GitHub issues.

Is Claude Opus 4 cheaper than Qwen 3 Coder?

Yes, Qwen 3 Coder is cheaper. Claude Opus 4 costs $15.0/1M input and $75.0/1M output tokens. Qwen 3 Coder costs $0.30/1M input and $1.0/1M output tokens.

Which is faster, Claude Opus 4 or Qwen 3 Coder?

Qwen 3 Coder is faster, generating output at 80 tok/s compared to 50 tok/s. Faster output speed means shorter wait times for API responses.

What benchmarks does the Claude Opus 4 vs Qwen 3 Coder comparison cover?

This comparison covers 16 benchmarks including Chatbot Arena ELO, MMLU-Pro, HumanEval+, MATH, SWE-bench Verified, GPQA Diamond, Output Speed, Time to First Token, and more. Metrics span general intelligence, coding, math, reasoning, speed, and cost categories.