Llama 4 Scout 109B vs Qwen3 235B-A22B (MoE)
Side-by-side VRAM requirements, benchmark scores, and GPU compatibility for local AI inference.
Quick verdict
Llama 4 Scout 109B is more hardware-efficient: it needs 77.3 GB at its Q4_K_M build vs 162.1 GB for Qwen3 235B-A22B (MoE)'s Q4_K_M, fitting on 33 GPUs natively.
VRAM at each quantization (8k context)
FP32
Llama 4 Scout 109B
491.3 GB
Qwen3 235B-A22B (MoE)
1054.6 GB
BF16
Llama 4 Scout 109B
247.2 GB
Qwen3 235B-A22B (MoE)
528.2 GB
FP16
Llama 4 Scout 109B
247.2 GB
Qwen3 235B-A22B (MoE)
528.2 GB
Q8_0
Llama 4 Scout 109B
132.8 GB
Qwen3 235B-A22B (MoE)
281.6 GB
Q6_K
Llama 4 Scout 109B
103.2 GB
Qwen3 235B-A22B (MoE)
217.8 GB
Q5_K_M
Llama 4 Scout 109B
89.9 GB
Qwen3 235B-A22B (MoE)
189.2 GB
Q4_K_M
Llama 4 Scout 109B
77.3 GB
Qwen3 235B-A22B (MoE)
162.1 GB
Q3_K_M
Llama 4 Scout 109B
61.7 GB
Qwen3 235B-A22B (MoE)
128.4 GB
Q2_K
Llama 4 Scout 109B
49.5 GB
Qwen3 235B-A22B (MoE)
102.0 GB
NVFP4
Llama 4 Scout 109B
64.0 GB
Qwen3 235B-A22B (MoE)
133.4 GB
| Quant | Llama 4 Scout 109B | Qwen3 235B-A22B (MoE) | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| FP32 | 491.3 GB | 1054.6 GB | -53% |
| BF16 | 247.2 GB | 528.2 GB | -53% |
| FP16 | 247.2 GB | 528.2 GB | -53% |
| Q8_0 | 132.8 GB | 281.6 GB | -53% |
| Q6_K | 103.2 GB | 217.8 GB | -53% |
| Q5_K_M | 89.9 GB | 189.2 GB | -52% |
| Q4_K_M | 77.3 GB | 162.1 GB | -52% |
| Q3_K_M | 61.7 GB | 128.4 GB | -52% |
| Q2_K | 49.5 GB | 102.0 GB | -51% |
| NVFP4 | 64.0 GB | 133.4 GB | -52% |
Diff is Llama 4 Scout 109B relative to Qwen3 235B-A22B (MoE). Green = lower VRAM (fits more GPUs).
Model specifications
| Spec | Llama 4 Scout 109B | Qwen3 235B-A22B (MoE) |
|---|---|---|
| Org | Meta | Alibaba |
| Parameters | 109B | 235B |
| Architecture | MoE (17B active) | MoE (22B active) |
| Context | 9766k tokens | 128k tokens |
| Modalities | text, vision | text |
| License | Llama 4 Community | Apache 2.0 |
| Commercial | Yes | Yes |
| Released | 2025-04-05 | 2025-04-29 |
| GPUs (native) | 33 / 119 | 16 / 119 |
Benchmark scores
| Benchmark | Llama 4 Scout 109B | Qwen3 235B-A22B (MoE) |
|---|---|---|
| MMLU-Pro | 74.3 | 84.4 |
Green = higher score (better). N/A = not yet available. ~ = inherited from a base model, not independently reported for that release itself.
GPUs that run only Llama 4 Scout 109B(17)
- NVIDIA H100 80GB80 GB
- NVIDIA A100 80GB80 GB
- NVIDIA RTX Pro 600096 GB
- AMD Strix Halo (96GB)96 GB
- AMD Strix Halo (64GB)64 GB
- Apple M5 Ultra (96GB)96 GB
- Apple M5 Max (64GB)64 GB
- Apple M5 Pro (64GB)64 GB
- Apple M4 Max (64GB)64 GB
- Apple M3 Ultra (96GB)96 GB
- +7 more
GPUs that run only Qwen3 235B-A22B (MoE)(0)
Every GPU that runs Qwen3 235B-A22B (MoE) also runs Llama 4 Scout 109B.
GPUs that run both natively(16)
- NVIDIA B300 288GB288 GB
- NVIDIA B200 180GB180 GB
- NVIDIA H200 141GB141 GB
- NVIDIA DGX Spark (128GB)128 GB
- AMD Instinct MI300X192 GB
- AMD Strix Halo (128GB)128 GB
- Apple M5 Ultra (512GB)512 GB
- Apple M5 Ultra (256GB)256 GB
- Apple M5 Max (128GB)128 GB
- Apple M4 Max (128GB)128 GB
- Apple M3 Ultra (512GB)512 GB
- Apple M3 Ultra (256GB)256 GB
- +4 more GPUs run both
Which should you use?
Choose Llama 4 Scout 109B if:
- • You have limited VRAM: it's a smaller model needing 77.3 GB vs 162.1 GB
- • Long context matters: it supports 9766k tokens vs 128k
- • You need vision/image understanding
Choose Qwen3 235B-A22B (MoE) if:
- • You want maximum capability and have a 163 GB+ GPU
- • Benchmark quality matters: scores 84.4 vs 74.3 on MMLU-Pro
- • You need chain-of-thought reasoning
- • It's the newer release (2025-04-29 vs 2025-04-05); check the benchmark table above for what actually improved
Frequently asked questions
- Which is better, Llama 4 Scout 109B or Qwen3 235B-A22B (MoE)?
- Llama 4 Scout 109B has 109B parameters vs 235B for Qwen3 235B-A22B (MoE), so Qwen3 235B-A22B (MoE) is the larger model. Llama 4 Scout 109B is more hardware-efficient, needing 77.3 GB at its Q4_K_M build vs 162.1 GB for Qwen3 235B-A22B (MoE)'s Q4_K_M. Llama 4 Scout 109B runs on more GPUs natively (33 vs 16). On MMLU-Pro, Qwen3 235B-A22B (MoE) scores higher (84.4 vs 74.3).
- How much VRAM does Llama 4 Scout 109B need vs Qwen3 235B-A22B (MoE)?
- At 8k context, Llama 4 Scout 109B needs approximately 77.3 GB of VRAM at its Q4_K_M build, while Qwen3 235B-A22B (MoE) needs 162.1 GB at its Q4_K_M build. At the largest build each ships, Llama 4 Scout 109B requires 247.2 GB (FP16) vs 528.2 GB (FP16) for Qwen3 235B-A22B (MoE).
- Can you run Llama 4 Scout 109B on the same GPUs as Qwen3 235B-A22B (MoE)?
- Yes, 16 GPUs can run both natively in VRAM, including NVIDIA B300 288GB, NVIDIA B200 180GB, NVIDIA H200 141GB. However, 17 GPUs can run Llama 4 Scout 109B but not Qwen3 235B-A22B (MoE), and no GPU can run Qwen3 235B-A22B (MoE) without also fitting Llama 4 Scout 109B.
- What is the difference between Llama 4 Scout 109B and Qwen3 235B-A22B (MoE)?
- Llama 4 Scout 109B has 109B parameters (17B active, MoE) with a 9766k context window. Qwen3 235B-A22B (MoE) has 235B parameters (22B active, MoE) with a 128k context window. Licensing differs: Llama 4 Scout 109B is Llama 4 Community while Qwen3 235B-A22B (MoE) is Apache 2.0.
- Which model fits in 24 GB of VRAM, Llama 4 Scout 109B or Qwen3 235B-A22B (MoE)?
- Neither fits in 24 GB: Llama 4 Scout 109B needs 77.3 GB at Q4_K_M and Qwen3 235B-A22B (MoE) needs 162.1 GB at Q4_K_M. Both require a multi-GPU server with 163 GB+ of combined VRAM.