Tongyi Qianwen vs SiliconFlow
Compare Tongyi Qianwen and SiliconFlow: free credits, features, and ratings. Which one is right for you?
Category
LLM
API Platform
Rating
β 4
β 3.5
Free Credits
2.5 Max generates watermark-free images and videos for free
null RPM 500, TPM 2,000,000
Refresh Period
one-time
per-minute
Resolution
N/A
Watermark
No
No
Commercial Use
No
Yes
Paid From
API $0.12/million tokens
From Β₯0.006/1K tokens
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
SiliconFlow
Chinese API aggregation platform unifying open-source models under one interface. Free tier: RPM 500, TPM 2M, supporting DeepSeek, Qwen, GLM and more. Saves the trouble of self-hosting open-source models, with fast domestic access.
Pros
- βAccessible from China without VPN
- βHigh concurrency: RPM 500
- βFree models include GLM-Z1-9B and more
- βUnified interface for easy model switching
Cons
- βLimited number of free models
- βSome models require payment
- βRegistration needed for API token
Key Features
RPM 500TPM 2MChina Direct AccessOpenAI-Compatible APIUnified Multi-Model Interface