Qwen 2.5 vs Llama 3: The East vs West AI Battle

TL;DR

Qwen 2.5 is the surprising challenger that beats Llama 3 on coding and mathematics benchmarks. However, Llama 3 retains the edge in English creative writing and safety ecosystem.

Specifications Comparison

Qwen 2.5 (Alibaba)

Pros

• ✅ Incredible math/code performance
• ✅ Truly open license (Apache 2.0)
• ✅ Strong multilingual

Cons

• ❌ Heavier censorship on political topics
• ❌ Less Western documentation
• ❌ Nuance in English fiction

Llama 3 (Meta)

Pros

• ✅ Standard for US Enterprise
• ✅ Huge fine-tuning ecosystem
• ✅ Better safety guardrails

Cons

• ❌ Weaker at complex logic
• ❌ Restrictive license for giants
• ❌ Slower innovation cycle

Verdict

Qwen 2.5 is the surprising challenger that beats Llama 3 on coding and mathematics benchmarks. However, Llama 3 retains the edge in English creative writing and safety ecosystem.

Last updated: February 2026