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Grok vs Qwen

Features, pricing, ratings, and pros and cons, side by side.

Verdict

Grok and Qwen are both AI Assistants tools. Qwen scores higher in FinderAtlas's editorial review (8.7 vs 8.3 out of 10), led by coding & syntax and value for money. Both have a free plan or trial. Only Grok is available on iOS.

Best overall

Qwen

  • Developers
  • AI researchers
  • Multilingual users
  • Teams that self-host models

Choose Grok if

  • You want a tool built for questions that need current information from X and the web.
  • Searches both X posts and the web for current information.
  • Free tier available without a subscription.

Choose Qwen if

  • You want a tool built for free general-purpose chat.
  • Free web assistant with image, video and document features.
  • Open-weight models in many sizes on Hugging Face and GitHub.
Best for beginners
Grok
Best for business
Qwen

Features

17 features compared.

  • Live Search
    Grok
    Available
    Qwen
    Not available
  • Chat and Reasoning
    Grok
    Available
    Qwen
    Not available
  • File and Image Analysis
    Grok
    Available
    Qwen
    Not available
  • Grok Imagine
    Grok
    Available
    Qwen
    Not available
  • Voice Mode
    Grok
    Available
    Qwen
    Not available
  • Conversation Import
    Grok
    Available
    Qwen
    Not available
  • Shared Subscription
    Grok
    Available
    Qwen
    Not available
  • xAI API
    Grok
    Available
    Qwen
    Not available
  • Document processing
    Grok
    Not available
    Qwen
    Available
  • Web search and tool use
    Grok
    Not available
    Qwen
    Available
  • Voice and video chat
    Grok
    Not available
    Qwen
    Available
  • Artifacts
    Grok
    Not available
    Qwen
    Available
  • Multi-model chat
    Grok
    Not available
    Qwen
    Available
  • Image and video understanding
    Grok
    Not available
    Qwen
    Available
  • Image generation and editing
    Grok
    Not available
    Qwen
    Available
  • Open-weight models
    Grok
    Not available
    Qwen
    Available
  • Model Studio API
    Grok
    Not available
    Qwen
    Available

Pricing

Plans as listed by each vendor. Check their sites for current prices.

  • Pricing model
    Grok
    Freemium
    Qwen
    Freemium
  • Free plan
    Grok
    Yes
    Qwen
    Yes
  • Starting price
    Grok
    $0
    Qwen
    $0
  • Plans
    Grok
    5 plans
    Qwen
    2 plans

Grok plans

  • Free

    $0

    Capped use of Grok on grok.com, X and the apps.

    • Limited prompts
    • Basic models

  • Plus

    $8/month

    Entry plan with a shared usage pool across Grok, the API, Cursor and X.

    • Grok Chat
    • Voice
    • Imagine and Build
    • Grok API
    • Cursor
    • Fewer X timeline ads
    • Premium checkmark

  • Premium

    Most popular

    $30/month

    4x the usage of Plus with the latest models.

    • 4x Plus usage
    • Latest Grok models
    • Image and video generation
    • Cloud agents and automations
    • Ad-free X on most surfaces

  • Super

    $100/month

    15x the usage of Plus.

    • 15x Plus usage
    • 1080p video
    • Priority model access at peak times

  • Ultra

    $200/month

    50x the usage of Plus.

    • 50x Plus usage
    • Most powerful chat models
    • Earliest access to new products and models

Qwen plans

  • Qwen Chat (web and app)

    Most popular

    $0

    Free access to the Qwen assistant on the web and Android

    • Chat with Qwen models
    • Image and video understanding
    • Image generation
    • Web search
    • Document processing
    • Artifacts

  • Open weights

    $0

    Downloadable models from Hugging Face and GitHub; license varies by model

    • Many model sizes
    • Run locally
    • Self-hosting

Our ratings

Scored out of 10 by the Finder Atlas editorial team. Last reviewed October 2026.

Grok
8.3overall
Qwen
8.7overall

Grok leads in 0 categories and Qwen in 2.

  • Real-time Information Access

    Grok
    8.8
    Qwen
    Not rated

  • Image and Video Generation

    Grok
    8.2
    Qwen
    Not rated

  • Reasoning & Math

    Grok
    8.5
    Qwen
    Not rated

  • Coding & Syntax

    Qwen leads by 0.2
    Grok
    8.3
    Qwen
    8.5

  • Value for Money

    Qwen leads by 1.5
    Grok
    7.5
    Qwen
    9.0

  • Open-Weight Availability

    Grok
    Not rated
    Qwen
    9.3

  • Multilingual Accuracy

    Grok
    Not rated
    Qwen
    8.8

  • Ease of Use

    Grok
    Not rated
    Qwen
    7.8

Scores weigh documented features, plan value, platform coverage, integrations and user feedback. A missing score means we have not rated that area yet.

Pros and cons

Grok

Pros

  • Searches both X posts and the web for current information
  • Free tier available without a subscription
  • Image and video generation in the same app as chat
  • Separate API with long context windows (up to 1M tokens on some models)
  • Real-time voice mode in the mobile apps

Cons

  • Free usage is capped, and xAI does not publish the exact limit
  • Usage limits are given only as multiples of the Plus plan, not as fixed numbers
  • Answers drawing on X posts can reflect unverified social content
  • The App Store rates the app 16+ because of mature themes

Qwen

Pros

  • Free web assistant with image, video and document features
  • Open-weight models in many sizes on Hugging Face and GitHub
  • Hosted API with Max, Flash and Omni model options
  • Strong multilingual coverage, including Chinese
  • Many models can be self-hosted, which keeps data on your own hardware

Cons

  • No published paid consumer tier or stated usage limits for the free assistant
  • Open-weight licenses vary by model, so not every model is Apache 2.0
  • Hosted chat and API are run by a China-based company, which may not suit sensitive data
  • App and model names change often, which can make official apps hard to identify

Platforms

  • Web
    Grok
    Supported
    Qwen
    Supported
  • Windows
    Grok
    Not supported
    Qwen
    Not supported
  • macOS
    Grok
    Not supported
    Qwen
    Not supported
  • iOS
    Grok
    Supported
    Qwen
    Not supported
  • Android
    Grok
    Supported
    Qwen
    Supported
  • API
    Grok
    Supported
    Qwen
    Supported
  • Browser Extension
    Grok
    Not supported
    Qwen
    Not supported

Integrations

Grok

No integrations listed.

Qwen

5 integrations
  • Hugging Face
  • GitHub
  • Ollama
  • LM Studio
  • Alibaba Cloud Model Studio

Company

  • Company
    Grok
    xAI
    Qwen
    Alibaba Cloud
  • Founded
    Grok
    2023
    Qwen
    2009
  • Headquarters
    Grok
    Not listed
    Qwen
    Hangzhou, China
  • Listing
    Grok
    Claimed
    Qwen
    Claimed

Frequently asked questions

Is Grok better than Qwen?

It depends on your workflow. Grok is built for questions that need current information from X and the web. Qwen is built for free general-purpose chat.

What are the key feature differences between Grok and Qwen?

Grok: xAI's AI assistant with live X and web search, image and voice tools. Qwen: Alibaba's free AI assistant and open-weight model family, on web, mobile and API. Grok is rated 4.0/5 from 1 user review.

Does Grok or Qwen have a free plan?

Yes, both do. Grok is freemium and Qwen is freemium, and each has a free plan or trial.

Which is cheaper, Grok or Qwen?

Both can be used for free. Paid plans differ in limits and features, so compare the tiers in the pricing table above.