Comparison
Qwen vs Qwen-VL
Verdict
Pick Qwen if qwen is a large language model by Alibaba Cloud with support for Chinese and advanced features like flash-attention; 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 2d
Trust & integrity
| Signal | Qwen | Qwen-VL |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance | Slowing (164d since push) As of 2d · github_public_v1 | Dormant (740d since push) As of 2d · github_public_v1 |
| Provenance | Not a fork · Organization account As of 2d · github_public_v1 | Not a fork · Organization account As of 2d · github_public_v1 |
| OSV dependency advisories | Published findings As of 1mo · osv@v1 | Published findings As of 1mo · 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
- 44
- Qwen-VL
- 324
Language
- Qwen
- Python
- Qwen-VL
- Python
Adopt for
- Qwen
- Qwen is a large language model by Alibaba Cloud with support for Chinese and advanced features like flash-attention.
- 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
- 164d
- Qwen-VL
- 740d
Open issues (now)
- Qwen
- 44
- Qwen-VL
- 324
Stars delta
- Qwen
- +153 (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: Python 3.8+; PyTorch 1.12+; Transformers 4.32+; CUDA 11.4+ (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, flash-attention, llm, natural-language-processing.
- Also covers Inference & Serving.
- If you are working with extensive Chinese text data, Qwen offers specialized capabilities that might not be found in other generic LLMs.
When NOT to use Qwen
- If your project strictly requires a specific type of licensing, Qwen operates under the Apache-2.0 License with additional license agreements that may differ from general expectations and could pose a
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 Aug 17, 2026
- GitHub forks (QwenLM/Qwen) · observed Aug 17, 2026
- Last push (QwenLM/Qwen) · observed Mar 5, 2026
- License file (Apache-2.0) · observed Aug 17, 2026
- Decision facts (enrichment) · observed Jul 11, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Jul 11, 2026
- GitHub stars (QwenLM/Qwen-VL) · observed Aug 17, 2026
- GitHub forks (QwenLM/Qwen-VL) · observed Aug 17, 2026
- Last push (QwenLM/Qwen-VL) · observed Aug 7, 2024
- License file (Other) · observed Aug 17, 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 Aug 17, 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: Python 3.8+; PyTorch 1.12+; Transformers 4.32+; CUDA 11.4+ (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, flash-attention, llm, natural-language-processing; Also covers Inference & Serving; If you are working with extensive Chinese text data, Qwen offers specialized capabilities that might not be found in other generic LLMs.
- 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 a specific type of licensing, Qwen operates under the Apache-2.0 License with additional license agreements that may differ from general expectations and could pose a
- 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 (21,595 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.