Head-to-head · Qwen3-VL

Qwen3-VL 8B vs Qwen3-VL 30B-A3B

Qwen3-VL 8B needs ~7.3 GB at Q4_K_M; Qwen3-VL 30B-A3B needs ~20.4 GB. That ~13.1 GB gap decides which hardware runs each; they differ on 5 of the 11 devices below.

Spec Qwen3-VL 8B Qwen3-VL 30B-A3B

Parameters8.77B31.1B MoE

Memory at Q4_K_M~7.3 GB~20.4 GB

Context window256k256k

LMArenanot rankednot ranked

LicenseApache-2.0Apache-2.0

Which devices run each

A representative spread across the memory range. Tap a verdict for the full breakdown.

Size at each quantization

Quant Qwen3-VL 8B Qwen3-VL 30B-A3B

Q2_K 3.7 GB* 13 GB*

Q3_K_M 4.3 GB* 15.2 GB*

Q4_K_M 5.76 GB 18.29 GB

Q5_K_M 6.2 GB* 22.2 GB*

Q6_K 7.2 GB* 25.5 GB*

Q8_0 9.19 GB 31.26 GB

FP16 17.5 GB* 62.2 GB*

* derived from bits-per-weight; unstarred sizes are measured GGUF files.

Bottom line

The larger Qwen3-VL 30B-A3B needs ~20.4 GB; Qwen3-VL 8B runs on lighter hardware at ~7.3 GB with more headroom and faster responses. Check each against your exact device: what runs Qwen3-VL 8B · what runs Qwen3-VL 30B-A3B.

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FAQ

What is the difference in memory between Qwen3-VL 8B and Qwen3-VL 30B-A3B?

At Q4_K_M, Qwen3-VL 8B needs about 7.3 GB and Qwen3-VL 30B-A3B needs about 20.4 GB, a difference of ~13.1 GB.

Should I run Qwen3-VL 8B or Qwen3-VL 30B-A3B?

Run Qwen3-VL 30B-A3B if your hardware has the ~20.4 GB it needs and you want maximum quality; run Qwen3-VL 8B (~7.3 GB) for lighter hardware, faster responses, and more memory headroom.

Full breakdowns: Qwen3-VL 8B · Qwen3-VL 30B-A3B · all models × devices.

Sources

huggingface.co · 4 sources
ollama.com · 2 sources
- ollama.com/library/qwen3-vl:30b
- ollama.com/library/qwen3-vl:8b

Memory figures are estimates at Q4_K_M. Catalog updated 2026-10-05. See methodology.