Pick MiMo-V2.5 for native omnimodal — strong image and video understanding or very low cost (~half the inference of the pro tier). Pick Qwen3 235B A22B for deep world knowledge from 235b total parameters (83.0 mmlu-pro, 93.1 mmlu-redux) or exceptional multilingual and alignment results (79.2 arena-hard v2, 85.2 writingbench). On a tight budget at scale, Qwen3 235B A22B is the value pick.
MiMo-V2.5 (Xiaomi) and Qwen3 235B A22B (Alibaba) are two of the models people most often weigh against each other in 2026. MiMo-V2.5 is xiaomi's cheap omnimodal model — Pro-level agentic perception across image and video at a fraction of the cost. Qwen3 235B A22B is an older 235B text-only open mixture-of-experts with broad knowledge and strong writing — but no vision, no thinking mode, and weak coding. They diverge most on price and context window — each quantified below from the models' real specs.
Key differences
Context window: MiMo-V2.5 holds 3.8× more — 1M (~1,500 pages) vs 256K (~393 pages). But effective recall usually fades long before the advertised ceiling, so the bigger number only helps if the model reasons over it.
Recency: MiMo-V2.5 is the newer model by about 9 months (released April 22, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Specifications
Spec
MiMo-V2.5
Qwen3 235B A22B
Provider
Xiaomi (China)
Alibaba (China)
Released
April 22, 2026
July 21, 2025
Context window
1M (~1,500 pages)
256K (~393 pages)
Price (in/out)
$0.14/$0.28 per 1M tokens
Open weight (self-host / free)
Open weight?
Yes — self-hostable
Yes — self-hostable
Modalities
text, image, audio, video, code
text, code
SWE-Bench Verified
Not published
Not published
MRCR v2 @ 1M
Not published
Not published
Who wins what
Native omnimodal — strong image and video understanding: MiMo-V2.5 — Xiaomi's cheap omnimodal model — Pro-level agentic perception across image and video at a fraction of the cost — and it carries the larger 1M context.
Very low cost (~half the inference of the Pro tier): MiMo-V2.5 — Xiaomi's cheap omnimodal model — Pro-level agentic perception across image and video at a fraction of the cost — and it is the newer of the two.
Agent-framework integration: MiMo-V2.5 — MiMo-V2.5 lists agent-framework integration among its strengths; Qwen3 235B A22B does not.
Deep world knowledge from 235B total parameters (83.0 MMLU-Pro, 93.1 MMLU-Redux): Qwen3 235B A22B — Qwen3 235B A22B lists deep world knowledge from 235B total parameters (83.0 MMLU-Pro, 93.1 MMLU-Redux) among its strengths; MiMo-V2.5 does not.
Exceptional multilingual and alignment results (79.2 Arena-Hard v2, 85.2 WritingBench): Qwen3 235B A22B — Qwen3 235B A22B lists exceptional multilingual and alignment results (79.2 Arena-Hard v2, 85.2 WritingBench) among its strengths; MiMo-V2.5 does not.
Outstanding structured logic — 95.0 on ZebraLogic: Qwen3 235B A22B — Qwen3 235B A22B lists outstanding structured logic — 95.0 on ZebraLogic among its strengths; MiMo-V2.5 does not.
Lowest cost at scale: Qwen3 235B A22B — Its weights are open, so at volume you pay for your own hardware instead of MiMo-V2.5's $0.14/$0.28 per 1M tokens.
Largest single-prompt input: MiMo-V2.5 — Its 1M window is about 3.8× larger than Qwen3 235B A22B's 256K, fitting roughly 1,500 pages in one prompt.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume: Qwen3 235B A22B — At Open weight (self-host / free) it undercuts MiMo-V2.5, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Someone analysing very long documents or codebases: MiMo-V2.5 — Larger 1M window fits more in one prompt.
Anyone whose priority is native omnimodal — strong image and video understanding: MiMo-V2.5 — It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is deep world knowledge from 235b total parameters (83.0 mmlu-pro, 93.1 mmlu-redux): Qwen3 235B A22B — That is its strongest area.
MiMo-V2.5: where it fits
Xiaomi's cheap omnimodal model — Pro-level agentic perception across image and video at a fraction of the cost. Released April 22, 2026 by Xiaomi, it is built for native omnimodal — strong image and video understanding, very low cost (~half the inference of the Pro tier), agent-framework integration, and 1M context for full documents in one pass.
Its trade-offs are real: not the deepest reasoning tier (see V2.5-Pro), and limited Western tooling and support. At $0.14 in / $0.28 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget price band.
Qwen3 235B A22B: where it fits
An older 235B text-only open mixture-of-experts with broad knowledge and strong writing — but no vision, no thinking mode, and weak coding. Released July 21, 2025 by Alibaba, it is built for deep world knowledge from 235B total parameters (83.0 MMLU-Pro, 93.1 MMLU-Redux), exceptional multilingual and alignment results (79.2 Arena-Hard v2, 85.2 WritingBench), outstanding structured logic — 95.0 on ZebraLogic, and no thinking mode, which makes latency and token spend entirely predictable.
Its trade-offs: nearly a year old and superseded — Artificial Analysis now steers users to Qwen3.5-397B instead, text-only with no vision, and the absence of a thinking mode caps its hardest reasoning, coding is weak by 2026 standards, and it publishes no SWE-Bench score to compare on, and its 235B weights need roughly 438GB in BF16, far beyond consumer hardware. As an open-weight model, its running cost is your own hardware rather than a per-token fee.
The bottom line for this matchup
MiMo-V2.5 and Qwen3 235B A22B overlap enough that the right pick depends on your specific job. Qwen3 235B A22B costs less per token; MiMo-V2.5 holds the larger context; and each leads in its own area — MiMo-V2.5 for native omnimodal — strong image and video understanding, Qwen3 235B A22B for deep world knowledge from 235b total parameters (83.0 mmlu-pro, 93.1 mmlu-redux). Rather than crowning one, run the same hard task through both once and let the results decide.
Frequently asked questions
Is MiMo-V2.5 or Qwen3 235B A22B better for coding?
Public SWE-Bench figures are not available for either model, so the honest test is your own repository — run an identical real bug through both. By design, MiMo-V2.5 leans toward native omnimodal — strong image and video understanding while Qwen3 235B A22B leans toward deep world knowledge from 235b total parameters (83.0 mmlu-pro, 93.1 mmlu-redux), and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, MiMo-V2.5 or Qwen3 235B A22B?
Qwen3 235B A22B is cheaper — $0.14/$0.28 per 1M tokens vs Open weight (self-host / free).
Which has the bigger context window?
MiMo-V2.5 — 1M vs 256K, about 3.8× larger. Useful only if the model actually reasons over the full window, which not all do.
Can I use both MiMo-V2.5 and Qwen3 235B A22B together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you MiMo-V2.5, Qwen3 235B A22B and 40+ others under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day), so you can draft with one and cross-check with the other instead of buying two subscriptions.
Which is newer, MiMo-V2.5 or Qwen3 235B A22B?
MiMo-V2.5 — released April 22, 2026, about 9 months after Qwen3 235B A22B.
MiMo-V2.5 vs Qwen3 235B A22B
Xiaomi · China | Alibaba · China · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
Pick MiMo-V2.5 for native omnimodal — strong image and video understanding or very low cost (~half the inference of the pro tier). Pick Qwen3 235B A22B for deep world knowledge from 235b total parameters (83.0 mmlu-pro, 93.1 mmlu-redux) or exceptional multilingual and alignment results (79.2 arena-hard v2, 85.2 writingbench). On a tight budget at scale, Qwen3 235B A22B is the value pick.
MiMo-V2.5 (Xiaomi) and Qwen3 235B A22B (Alibaba) are two of the models people most often weigh against each other in 2026. MiMo-V2.5 is xiaomi's cheap omnimodal model — Pro-level agentic perception across image and video at a fraction of the cost. Qwen3 235B A22B is an older 235B text-only open mixture-of-experts with broad knowledge and strong writing — but no vision, no thinking mode, and weak coding. They diverge most on price and context window — each quantified below from the models' real specs.
Key differences at a glance
▸Context window: MiMo-V2.5 holds 3.8× more — 1M (~1,500 pages) vs 256K (~393 pages). But effective recall usually fades long before the advertised ceiling, so the bigger number only helps if the model reasons over it.
▸Recency: MiMo-V2.5 is the newer model by about 9 months (released April 22, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Side-by-side specs
Spec
MiMo-V2.5
Qwen3 235B A22B
Provider
Xiaomi (China)
Alibaba (China)
Released
April 22, 2026
July 21, 2025
Context window
1M (~1,500 pages)
256K (~393 pages)
Price (in/out)
$0.14/$0.28 per 1M tokens
Open weight (self-host / free)
Open weight?
Yes — self-hostable
Yes — self-hostable
Modalities
text, image, audio, video, code
text, code
SWE-Bench Verified
Not published
Not published
MRCR v2 @ 1M
Not published
Not published
Who wins what
Native omnimodal — strong image and video understanding
MiMo-V2.5
Xiaomi's cheap omnimodal model — Pro-level agentic perception across image and video at a fraction of the cost — and it carries the larger 1M context.
Very low cost (~half the inference of the Pro tier)
MiMo-V2.5
Xiaomi's cheap omnimodal model — Pro-level agentic perception across image and video at a fraction of the cost — and it is the newer of the two.
Agent-framework integration
MiMo-V2.5
MiMo-V2.5 lists agent-framework integration among its strengths; Qwen3 235B A22B does not.
Deep world knowledge from 235B total parameters (83.0 MMLU-Pro, 93.1 MMLU-Redux)
Qwen3 235B A22B
Qwen3 235B A22B lists deep world knowledge from 235B total parameters (83.0 MMLU-Pro, 93.1 MMLU-Redux) among its strengths; MiMo-V2.5 does not.
Exceptional multilingual and alignment results (79.2 Arena-Hard v2, 85.2 WritingBench)
Qwen3 235B A22B
Qwen3 235B A22B lists exceptional multilingual and alignment results (79.2 Arena-Hard v2, 85.2 WritingBench) among its strengths; MiMo-V2.5 does not.
Outstanding structured logic — 95.0 on ZebraLogic
Qwen3 235B A22B
Qwen3 235B A22B lists outstanding structured logic — 95.0 on ZebraLogic among its strengths; MiMo-V2.5 does not.
Lowest cost at scale
Qwen3 235B A22B
Its weights are open, so at volume you pay for your own hardware instead of MiMo-V2.5's $0.14/$0.28 per 1M tokens.
Largest single-prompt input
MiMo-V2.5
Its 1M window is about 3.8× larger than Qwen3 235B A22B's 256K, fitting roughly 1,500 pages in one prompt.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume
→ Qwen3 235B A22B
At Open weight (self-host / free) it undercuts MiMo-V2.5, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Someone analysing very long documents or codebases
→ MiMo-V2.5
Larger 1M window fits more in one prompt.
Anyone whose priority is native omnimodal — strong image and video understanding
→ MiMo-V2.5
It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is deep world knowledge from 235b total parameters (83.0 mmlu-pro, 93.1 mmlu-redux)
→ Qwen3 235B A22B
That is its strongest area.
MiMo-V2.5: where it fits
Xiaomi's cheap omnimodal model — Pro-level agentic perception across image and video at a fraction of the cost. Released April 22, 2026 by Xiaomi, it is built for native omnimodal — strong image and video understanding, very low cost (~half the inference of the Pro tier), agent-framework integration, and 1M context for full documents in one pass.
Its trade-offs are real: not the deepest reasoning tier (see V2.5-Pro), and limited Western tooling and support. At $0.14 in / $0.28 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget price band.
Qwen3 235B A22B: where it fits
An older 235B text-only open mixture-of-experts with broad knowledge and strong writing — but no vision, no thinking mode, and weak coding. Released July 21, 2025 by Alibaba, it is built for deep world knowledge from 235B total parameters (83.0 MMLU-Pro, 93.1 MMLU-Redux), exceptional multilingual and alignment results (79.2 Arena-Hard v2, 85.2 WritingBench), outstanding structured logic — 95.0 on ZebraLogic, and no thinking mode, which makes latency and token spend entirely predictable.
Its trade-offs: nearly a year old and superseded — Artificial Analysis now steers users to Qwen3.5-397B instead, text-only with no vision, and the absence of a thinking mode caps its hardest reasoning, coding is weak by 2026 standards, and it publishes no SWE-Bench score to compare on, and its 235B weights need roughly 438GB in BF16, far beyond consumer hardware. As an open-weight model, its running cost is your own hardware rather than a per-token fee.
The bottom line for this matchup
MiMo-V2.5 and Qwen3 235B A22B overlap enough that the right pick depends on your specific job. Qwen3 235B A22B costs less per token; MiMo-V2.5 holds the larger context; and each leads in its own area — MiMo-V2.5 for native omnimodal — strong image and video understanding, Qwen3 235B A22B for deep world knowledge from 235b total parameters (83.0 mmlu-pro, 93.1 mmlu-redux). Rather than crowning one, run the same hard task through both once and let the results decide.
Want both MiMo-V2.5 and Qwen3 235B A22B without two subscriptions? LumiChats gives you these plus 40+ models under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day) — draft with one, cross-check with the other.
Is MiMo-V2.5 or Qwen3 235B A22B better for coding?
Public SWE-Bench figures are not available for either model, so the honest test is your own repository — run an identical real bug through both. By design, MiMo-V2.5 leans toward native omnimodal — strong image and video understanding while Qwen3 235B A22B leans toward deep world knowledge from 235b total parameters (83.0 mmlu-pro, 93.1 mmlu-redux), and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, MiMo-V2.5 or Qwen3 235B A22B?
Qwen3 235B A22B is cheaper — $0.14/$0.28 per 1M tokens vs Open weight (self-host / free).
Which has the bigger context window?
MiMo-V2.5 — 1M vs 256K, about 3.8× larger. Useful only if the model actually reasons over the full window, which not all do.
Can I use both MiMo-V2.5 and Qwen3 235B A22B together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you MiMo-V2.5, Qwen3 235B A22B and 40+ others under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day), so you can draft with one and cross-check with the other instead of buying two subscriptions.
Which is newer, MiMo-V2.5 or Qwen3 235B A22B?
MiMo-V2.5 — released April 22, 2026, about 9 months after Qwen3 235B A22B.
Specifications and benchmarks reflect publicly reported figures as of June 2026 and may change as providers release updates. Always verify on your own workload.