Tongyi Qianwen vs Groq
Compare Tongyi Qianwen and Groq: free credits, features, and ratings. Which one is right for you?
Category
LLM
API Platform
Rating
β 4
β 5
Free Credits
2.5 Max generates watermark-free images and videos for free
1000 requests/day
Refresh Period
one-time
daily
Resolution
N/A
Watermark
No
No
Commercial Use
No
Yes
Paid From
API $0.12/million tokens
Pay-as-you-go
Tongyi Qianwen
Alibaba's model family, from lightweight 0.5B to flagship 235B. Qwen3 series is the all-rounder among open-source models. Free to use, cheap API. Supports multimodal (text, image, video, code).
Pros
- βGenerous new user credits
- βAffordable API
- βAlibaba ecosystem
- βStrong multimodal
Cons
- βAverage creativity
- βReasoning not as good as DeepSeek
Key Features
Qwen3 full series open sourceMultimodal support (text/image/video/code)0.5B to 235B multiple sizes200K context windowTool calling capabilityAgent framework support
Groq
Groq uses custom LPU chips for inference, delivering speeds several times faster than standard GPUs. Free tier offers 1000 requests/day with Llama, Qwen, and other open-source models. If you need real-time response speed for chat or streaming, Groq is currently the fastest free inference service available.
Pros
- βExtremely fast inference with custom LPU hardware
- βGenerous free tier: 1000 requests/day
- βSupports popular open-source models (Llama, Qwen, etc.)
- βOpenAI-compatible API format
Cons
- βRequires VPN from China
- βOnly open-source models, no GPT/Claude
- βFree tier has concurrency and TPM limits
Key Features
LPU Hardware Inference17 Free ModelsOpenAI-Compatible APIStreaming OutputWhisper Speech-to-Text