Exploring Qwen Code: Is It Good But Not Great?
John: Hey everyone, welcome back to the blog! Today, we’re diving into Qwen Code, Alibaba’s latest push in AI coding models. If you’ve been following AI trends in 2025, you’ve probably heard the buzz around Qwen3-Coder and its siblings. It’s being hailed as a solid tool for developers, but as the title suggests—from that InfoWorld piece—it’s good, but not great. Lila, as our resident beginner, what’s your first question on this?
Lila: Hi John! Okay, so what’s Qwen Code exactly? I’ve seen it mentioned in coding contexts, but I’m not sure if it’s a full AI model or just a tool.
John: Great starting point, Lila. Qwen Code refers to Alibaba’s family of AI models optimized for coding tasks, like the recently released Qwen3-Coder. Built on massive parameters—think 235 billion for some versions—it’s designed to automate coding, debugging, and even generating entire scripts. According to Alibaba’s official announcements and reviews from sites like Geeky Gadgets, it’s open-source, which is a big win for accessibility. If you’re comparing automation tools that integrate with coding AIs like this, our deep-dive on Make.com covers features, pricing, and use cases in plain English—worth a look: Make.com (formerly Integromat) — Features, Pricing, Reviews, Use Cases.
The Basics of Qwen Code
Lila: That sounds powerful. But why do people say it’s “good but not great”? Can you break down the key features first?
John: Absolutely. Let’s start with the strengths. From the latest releases, like Qwen3-Next analyzed on DEV Community just five days ago, these models use a hybrid architecture. For coding specifically, Qwen3-Coder shines in tasks like code completion and error fixing. It’s trained on billions of tokens, making it efficient on consumer hardware—Alibaba claims it’s 10x more powerful at 1/10th the cost of predecessors, per IndexBox news.
Lila: Tokens? Like in a game?
John: Haha, not quite—think of tokens as bite-sized pieces of data the AI learns from, like words or code snippets. This training helps it understand programming languages deeply. Recent benchmarks from VentureBeat show Qwen3-Thinking-2507 topping OpenAI and Gemini in reasoning tasks, which ties into coding logic.
Key Features and Performance Highlights
Lila: Okay, got it. What are some standout features? And how does it compare to big names like GPT or Claude?
John: Let’s list out the key features to make it clear:
- Efficiency: Models like Qwen3-Next activate only a fraction of parameters (e.g., 3B out of 80B), making it run faster and cheaper, as per GIGAZINE’s report.
- Coding-Specific Tools: Qwen3-Coder automates tasks like generating code from natural language prompts, with strong performance in benchmarks outperforming GPT-4.1, according to Geeky Gadgets.
- Open-Source Accessibility: Free to use and modify, which is huge for devs on a budget—trends on X show developers praising its integration with tools like VS Code.
- Multimodal Capabilities: Some versions, like Qwen-Image-Edit, extend to image editing, but for coding, it’s about handling complex queries with 256K context windows, from CurateClick analysis.
- Cost-Effectiveness: Alibaba’s push for lower inference costs is a trend in 2025, with Qwen3-Max-Preview hitting 1 trillion parameters yet staying efficient, as covered in Medium articles.
John: In comparisons, Fello AI’s September 2025 guide ranks Qwen 3 Max near the top against GPT-5 and Claude Opus 4.1. But here’s where “not great” comes in—it’s strong in reasoning but lags in creative coding or handling ambiguous prompts, per InfoWorld’s review.
Current Developments and Trends in 2025
Lila: Lags how? And what’s new this year?
John: Good question. In 2025, AI coding is exploding—trends on X highlight Qwen’s summer releases, like Qwen3-Thinking-2507 leading benchmarks. Alibaba’s trillion-parameter Qwen-3-Max-Preview, announced recently via Medium and Voice.Lapaas, is a game-changer for scale. But developments show it’s evolving; for instance, the Qwen3-Next is 10x faster, per Times of India mentions in AI alternatives.
Lila: That scale sounds insane. Is it practical for beginners like me?
John: It can be! Start with their open-source versions on Hugging Face. Trends indicate more integrations with everyday tools, making it approachable.
Challenges and Why It’s “Not Great”
Lila: Alright, spill the tea—what are the downsides?
John: Fair enough. Reviews from Geeky Gadgets and QWQ AI point out inconsistencies in performance for non-English code or niche languages. It’s good for standard tasks but not great for innovative, edge-case coding where models like Grok 4 excel. Plus, ethical concerns around data training—Alibaba’s models are powerful, but transparency is an ongoing debate in 2025 trends.
Lila: Makes sense. Any workarounds?
John: Hybrid approaches help—combine it with other tools. Speaking of which, if creating documents or slides feels overwhelming, this step-by-step guide to Gamma shows how you can generate presentations, documents, and even websites in just minutes: Gamma — Create Presentations, Documents & Websites in Minutes.
Future Potential and FAQs
Lila: What’s next for Qwen Code? And quick FAQs: How do I get started?
John: Future-wise, with 2025 trends leaning toward even larger models like Qwen-3-Max, expect better integration in dev workflows. Alibaba’s focus on cost-efficiency could make it a staple. For FAQs: To start, download from Alibaba’s site or GitHub. It’s free for most uses, but check licensing. Best for Python and JavaScript, per tests.
Lila: One more—does it handle real-time coding?
John: Yes, with low latency in newer versions. If you’re into automation, revisit that Make.com guide for pairing it with workflows: Make.com (formerly Integromat) — Features, Pricing, Reviews, Use Cases.
John’s Reflection: Wrapping up, Qwen Code is a solid step forward in accessible AI coding—efficient and powerful for many, but it reminds us no tool is perfect yet. It’s exciting to see Alibaba pushing boundaries in 2025.
Lila’s Takeaway: Thanks, John! I feel ready to try Qwen for simple scripts—it’s approachable, even if not flawless.
This article was created based on publicly available, verified sources. References:
- Qwen Code is good but not great – InfoWorld
- Qwen3-Next Complete Technical Analysis: Major Breakthrough in AI Model Architecture for 2025 – DEV Community
- Qwen 3 Coder Agentic Coder Performance Tested – Geeky Gadgets
- It’s Qwen’s summer: new open source Qwen3-235B-A22B-Thinking-2507 tops OpenAI, Gemini reasoning models on key benchmarks – VentureBeat
- What Is The Best AI Model In September 2025? Ultimate Comparison | Fello AI