Comparison
Qwen vs Qwen-VL
Verdict
Pick Qwen if qwen is a large language model developed by Alibaba Cloud, available in Python with support for PyTorch and Transformers. It offers Docker images for easy deployment and supports various deployment options including Open; pick Qwen-VL if qwen-VL by Alibaba Cloud is a large vision-language model suitable for tasks blending image understanding with NLP, available under flexible licensing.
Markdown twin · Qwen alternatives · Qwen-VL alternatives
GraphCanon updated Sep 20, 2026
17views this month
Trust & integrity
| Signal | Qwen | Qwen-VL |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance | Slowing (196d since push) As of Sep 18, 2026 · github_public_v1 | Dormant (740d since push) As of Aug 17, 2026 · github_public_v1 |
| Provenance | Not a fork · Organization account As of Sep 18, 2026 · github_public_v1 | Not a fork · Organization account As of Aug 17, 2026 · github_public_v1 |
| OSV dependency advisories | Published findings As of Sep 18, 2026 · osv@v1 | Published findings As of Jul 11, 2026 · osv@v1 |
| deps.dev advisories | Not queried deps.dev@v1 | Not queried deps.dev@v1 |
| OpenSSF Scorecard | Not queried openssf-scorecard@v1 | Not queried openssf-scorecard@v1 |
Tagline
- Qwen
- Official repo of Qwen, a large language model by Alibaba Cloud
- Qwen-VL
- Official repo of Qwen-VL, a large vision language model by Alibaba Cloud
Stars
- Qwen
- 22k
- Qwen-VL
- 6.7k
Forks
- Qwen
- 1.9k
- Qwen-VL
- 495
Open issues
- Qwen
- 43
- Qwen-VL
- 324
Language
- Qwen
- Python
- Qwen-VL
- Python
Adopt for
- Qwen
- Qwen is a large language model developed by Alibaba Cloud, available in Python with support for PyTorch and Transformers. It offers Docker images for easy deployment and supports various deployment options including Open
- Qwen-VL
- Qwen-VL by Alibaba Cloud is a large vision-language model suitable for tasks blending image understanding with NLP, available under flexible licensing.
Persona
- Qwen
- -
- Qwen-VL
- -
Runtime
- Qwen
- -
- Qwen-VL
- -
License
- Qwen
- Apache-2.0
- Qwen-VL
- Permits both research and commercial use; review LICENSE for specifics.
Last pushed
- Qwen
- Mar 5, 2026
- Qwen-VL
- Aug 7, 2024
Categories
- Qwen
- Inference & Serving, LLM Frameworks
- Qwen-VL
- Computer Vision, LLM Frameworks, Model Training
Trust and health
Maintenance
- Qwen
- Slowing (36%)
- Qwen-VL
- Dormant (18%)
Days since push
- Qwen
- 196d
- Qwen-VL
- 740d
Open issues (now)
- Qwen
- 43
- Qwen-VL
- 324
Stars delta
- Qwen
- +177 (30d)
- Qwen-VL
- +16 (30d)
Open issues delta
- Qwen
- -1 (30d)
- Qwen-VL
- 0 (30d)
Full report
- Qwen
- Trust report
- Qwen-VL
- Trust report
Typed relationship
Qwen alternative Qwen-VLBoth Qwen and Qwen-VL are vision-language models from Alibaba Cloud, designed for Chinese natural language processing tasks.
Shared compatibility
- Python · Qwen: Python runtime · Qwen-VL: Python runtime
Choose Qwen if…
- License: Qwen is Apache-2.0, Qwen-VL is Other.
- Requirements: Requires Docker; Requires Python 3.8 and above.; PyTorch 1.12 and above is required, with 2.0 and above recommended.; Transformers 4.32 and above are required.; CUDA 11.4 and above are recommended for GPU users..
- Both Qwen and Qwen-VL are vision-language models from Alibaba Cloud, designed for Chinese natural language processing tasks.
- Tags unique to Qwen: chinese, docker, flash-attention, llm.
- Also covers Inference & Serving.
- When you need a large language model that supports Chinese language processing effectively.
When NOT to use Qwen
- If your project strictly requires models under a different license, as Qwen is under the Apache-2.0 License with specific commercial use agreements.
- When you need a model that does not require CUDA 11.4 or above for GPU acceleration, as Qwen recommends this for optimal performance.
- If your deployment environment does not support Docker, as Qwen heavily relies on Docker images for easy setup and deployment.
Choose Qwen-VL if…
- License: Qwen-VL is Other, Qwen is Apache-2.0.
- Requirements: Requires python >=3.8, pytorch>=1.12 (cuda >=11.4 recommended).
- Both Qwen and Qwen-VL are vision-language models from Alibaba Cloud, designed for Chinese natural language processing tasks.
- Tags unique to Qwen-VL: vision-language-model.
- Also covers Computer Vision, Model Training.
- When needing to integrate visual inputs with natural language in AI applications
When NOT to use Qwen-VL
- If the application requires only traditional computer vision without language integration
- In scenarios where Python 3.8 or newer and PyTorch 1.12+ are not feasible for installation
Explore
Sources
Every stat on this page traces to a dated GitHub sync, license file, enrichment field, or trust scan.
- GitHub stars (QwenLM/Qwen) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- GitHub forks (QwenLM/Qwen) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- Last push (QwenLM/Qwen) · observed Mar 5, 2026
- License file (Apache-2.0) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- Decision facts (enrichment) · observed Sep 18, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Sep 18, 2026
- GitHub stars (QwenLM/Qwen-VL) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- GitHub forks (QwenLM/Qwen-VL) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- Last push (QwenLM/Qwen-VL) · observed Aug 7, 2024
- License file (Other) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- Decision facts (enrichment) · observed Jul 12, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Jul 11, 2026
GitHub stars on cards: Qwen 22k · Qwen-VL 6.7k (synced Sep 20, 2026).
Common questions
- What is the difference between Qwen and Qwen-VL?
- Qwen: Official repo of Qwen, a large language model by Alibaba Cloud. Qwen-VL: Official repo of Qwen-VL, a large vision language model by Alibaba Cloud. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories.
- When should I choose Qwen over Qwen-VL?
- Choose Qwen over Qwen-VL when License: Qwen is Apache-2.0, Qwen-VL is Other; Requirements: Requires Docker; Requires Python 3.8 and above.; PyTorch 1.12 and above is required, with 2.0 and above recommended.; Transformers 4.32 and above are required.; CUDA 11.4 and above are recommended for GPU users.; Both Qwen and Qwen-VL are vision-language models from Alibaba Cloud, designed for Chinese natural language processing tasks; Tags unique to Qwen: chinese, docker, flash-attention, llm; Also covers Inference & Serving; When you need a large language model that supports Chinese language processing effectively.
- When should I choose Qwen-VL over Qwen?
- Choose Qwen-VL over Qwen when License: Qwen-VL is Other, Qwen is Apache-2.0; Requirements: Requires python >=3.8, pytorch>=1.12 (cuda >=11.4 recommended); Both Qwen and Qwen-VL are vision-language models from Alibaba Cloud, designed for Chinese natural language processing tasks; Tags unique to Qwen-VL: vision-language-model; Also covers Computer Vision, Model Training; When needing to integrate visual inputs with natural language in AI applications.
- When should I avoid Qwen?
- If your project strictly requires models under a different license, as Qwen is under the Apache-2.0 License with specific commercial use agreements. When you need a model that does not require CUDA 11.4 or above for GPU acceleration, as Qwen recommends this for optimal performance. If your deployment environment does not support Docker, as Qwen heavily relies on Docker images for easy setup and deployment.
- When should I avoid Qwen-VL?
- If the application requires only traditional computer vision without language integration In scenarios where Python 3.8 or newer and PyTorch 1.12+ are not feasible for installation
- Is Qwen or Qwen-VL more popular on GitHub?
- Qwen has more GitHub stars (21,772 vs 6,724). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints.
- Are Qwen and Qwen-VL open source?
- Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (Qwen: Apache-2.0, Qwen-VL: Other).
- Where can I find alternatives to Qwen or Qwen-VL?
- GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at Qwen alternatives and Qwen-VL alternatives (Qwen markdown twin, Qwen-VL markdown twin), ranked by typed relationship edges rather than popularity votes.
- Is there a machine-readable version of this comparison?
- Yes. The markdown twin at this comparison mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers.
- Which is better maintained, Qwen or Qwen-VL?
- Qwen: Slowing. Qwen-VL: Dormant. Compare maintenance labels, days since push, and release cadence in the trust section below - stars alone do not measure maintenance.
- Where are the full trust reports for Qwen and Qwen-VL?
- GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: Qwen trust report; Qwen-VL trust report.