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Updated 4 September 2026 · Independent comparison

Qwen vs Tabnine:
which should you use?

Qwen and Tabnine, side by side. Find the one that fits what you need to do.

Find your best fit

The 30-second answer

Qwen ships Coder builds trained for code specifically, up to 480B, and they are downloadable like the rest of the family. Tabnine can run entirely inside your own infrastructure with no code leaving it, which is why regulated teams still choose it.

Pricing, simplified

Start free. Upgrade when you need more.

1 of 2 have a free plan 0 of 2 prices re-read automatically · how we know No paid placement

The 30-second comparison

If you only read one section, make it this one. Rows where both sides say the same thing are left out — the point is where they differ. Where each row came from is listed underneath.

Qwen and Tabnine side by side, with the better fit for each row.
CategoryQwenTabnineBetter fit
What it's built forShips Coder builds trained for code specifically, up to 480B, and they are downloadable like the rest of the family.Can run entirely inside your own infrastructure with no code leaving it, which is why regulated teams still choose it.Tie
Free planYes. Free to use, weights downloadableNo. Paid from the start.Qwen
Cheapest way to payNo paid tier — it is free.$39 a month.Qwen
What the paid tiers costNo paid tier — it is free.
  • One person, from $39/month
Tie
What to watch out forThe coding editors most developers use do not ship with it selected; you are wiring it up yourself or self-hosting.It withdrew its free tier and every individual plan during 2025 — there is no way for one developer to buy it any more, only a team. Both tiers are annual and neither has a checkout: the button on each is Get a quote.Tie
Who it is usually forGeneral use.developersTie
Made byAlibaba Qwen — Hangzhou, CN.Tabnine — Tel Aviv, IL.Tie

Qwen is ahead on 2 of the 7 rows compared, 1 of them about how well it does the job itself. It is a single row of daylight, so read Tabnine’s column before deciding.

Overall pick

Qwen

Ships Coder builds trained for code specifically, up to 480B, and they are downloadable like the rest of the family.

✓ Ships Coder builds trained for code specifically, up to 480B, and they are downloadable like the rest of the family. ✓ You want to start without paying anything ✓ You would rather not take on a subscription at all ✓ Free to use, weights downloadable
Choose Tabnine instead if…

Can run entirely inside your own infrastructure with no code leaving it, which is why regulated teams still choose it.

Tabnine is the better answer when the job is what it was built for rather than what the pick above does broadly.

✓ Can run entirely inside your own infrastructure with no code leaving it, which is why regulated teams still choose it. ✓ You are among developers ✓ It can run on hardware you control ✓ It is aimed at developers

How we know

Every row that separated these two, and where it came from. Nothing here is a hands-on test — if a line rests on a vendor’s own pricing page, it says so and links it.

The 2 rows that decided this page, with the source for each.
RowFavoursWeightWhere it came from
Free planQwenHow well it does the jobFrom each vendor’s own pricing page. Dates and pages are listed below.
Cheapest way to payQwenEverything elseFrom each vendor’s own pricing page. Dates and pages are listed below.

The prices

Qwen. Read by hand off chat.qwen.ai on 4 September 2026. It is not on the monthly re-check, so confirm there before paying. chat.qwen.ai/pricing

Tabnine. Read by hand on 4 September 2026, because Tabnine cannot be read automatically: tabnine.com returns 200 with the plans drawn in JavaScript; the browser step found no amounts either. Runs 16, 17 and 23 agree. Verify by hand: the two tiers were read off the vendor page, both annual. tabnine.com/pricing

The ratings

The category these two share. Coding, Data & Technical Work — both are listed there in the catalogue, and the fit recorded against each listing is a judgement made here, by hand.

The nine-category grid below. Derived from what each product is listed for, by one script, once per build — so the same pair always reads the same. It is a derivation, not a review.

What this is not

Neither product was run side by side to produce this page. Nobody was paid to appear on it and nothing here is ranked by commission.

To put the same question to both and read the answers yourself, run them side by side — that is a live test, and this is not.

Choose based on what you’re doing

All ten categories, including the ones where neither of these is the answer. These ratings are derived from what each product is listed for, not from running it — a rating here is a reading of the record, and the record is linked.

01

General-Purpose AI Assistants

Questions, brainstorming, explanations, everyday tasks, decision-making, general advice.

Qwen
Good fit
Tabnine
Not a good fit
Best choice: Qwen
02

Search, Research & Academics

Web research, deep research, books, academic papers, citations, news, fact-checking.

Qwen
Limited fit
Tabnine
Bad fit
Best choice: Qwen
03

Writing, Communication & Language

Emails, reports, essays, editing, summarizing, translation, presentations.

Qwen
Good fit
Tabnine
Bad fit
Best choice: Qwen
04

Coding, Data & Technical Work

Programming, debugging, data analysis, spreadsheets, math, engineering, technical research.

Qwen
Limited fit
Tabnine
Good fit
Best choice: Tabnine
05

Business, Finance & Professional Work

Business strategy, investing, market research, legal, sales, HR, accounting, consulting.

Qwen
Limited fit
Tabnine
Not a good fit
Best choice: Qwen
06

Image & Design

Image generation, photo editing, logos, graphics, product design, advertising creatives.

Qwen
Bad fit
Tabnine
Bad fit
Best choice: Neither
07

Video

Video generation and editing, clipping, subtitles, avatars, animation and motion capture.

Qwen
Bad fit
Tabnine
Bad fit
Best choice: Neither
08

Audio, Voice & Music

Voice generation, transcription, music, dubbing, sound cleanup and podcast production.

Qwen
Bad fit
Tabnine
Bad fit
Best choice: Neither
09

Marketing & Content Creation

Social media, SEO, advertising, copywriting, content ideas, scripts, brand development.

Qwen
Limited fit
Tabnine
Bad fit
Best choice: Qwen
10

Productivity, Automation & Personal Life

AI agents, workflows, scheduling, meetings, organization, shopping, travel, personal finance.

Qwen
Limited fit
Tabnine
Not a good fit
Best choice: Qwen
Pick Qwen if

Ships Coder builds trained for code specifically, up to 480B, and they are downloadable like the rest of the family.

by Alibaba Qwen
Ships Coder builds trained for code specifically, up to 480B, and they are downloadable like the rest of the family.
You want to start without paying anything
You would rather not take on a subscription at all
Free to use, weights downloadable
Pick Tabnine if

Can run entirely inside your own infrastructure with no code leaving it, which is why regulated teams still choose it.

Tel Aviv, IL
Can run entirely inside your own infrastructure with no code leaving it, which is why regulated teams still choose it.
You are among developers
It can run on hardware you control
It is aimed at developers

Pricing, simplified

The plans people actually compare, read from each vendor’s own page.

PricingSimple, up-to-date plan overview.
Qwenby Alibaba Qwen
Tabnineby Tabnine
Free version
Qwen
Yes — Free plan availableFree to use, weights downloadable
Tabnine
No — paid from the startPaid from the start
Individual plans
QwenFree plan only
Tabnine
Code Assistant $39 / month
Agentic Platform $59 / month
Business plans
QwenNot sold to teams
TabnineNot sold to teams
Enterprise
QwenNot published
TabnineNot published
View full details
QwenView Qwen pricing
TabnineView Tabnine pricing
Interactive

Tell us what you use AI for

Pick your main job and the verdict below changes to match. Every answer is on the page already, so this works as a reader, not a lookup.

The verdict for that job
Qwen
Close call. Both cover coding, data & technical work at the same level; only Qwen has a free plan.
7 rows compared

Frequently asked questions

Is Qwen or Tabnine better?

Qwen is ahead on 2 of the 7 rows compared, 1 of them about how well it does the job itself. It is a single row of daylight, so read Tabnine’s column before deciding. only Qwen has a free plan. Qwen: Ships Coder builds trained for code specifically, up to 480B, and they are downloadable like the rest of the family. Tabnine: Can run entirely inside your own infrastructure with no code leaving it, which is why regulated teams still choose it.

Is Qwen or Tabnine cheaper?

Only one of the two publishes a ladder we have verified, so a like-for-like comparison is not possible yet.

Do Qwen and Tabnine both have free plans?

Qwen does — Free to use, weights downloadable. Tabnine does not.

What should I watch out for?

Qwen: The coding editors most developers use do not ship with it selected; you are wiring it up yourself or self-hosting. Tabnine: It withdrew its free tier and every individual plan during 2025 — there is no way for one developer to buy it any more, only a team. Both tiers are annual and neither has a checkout: the button on each is Get a quote.

Read more

Qwen

What it is for, who makes it, what it costs and what to use instead.

Tabnine

What it is for, who makes it, what it costs and what to use instead.

Best AI for Coding

Programming, debugging, data analysis, spreadsheets, math, engineering, technical research.

How we compare AI tools
Every row is generated from the same record the rest of the site is built on, so this page cannot drift from what we say elsewhere. We separate winner, tie and depends rather than forcing each category into a ranking, and we drop rows where both sides say the same thing. A pick is only called an overall pick when it leads on rows about how well the tool does the job; a lead that rests on price or audience alone is labelled as one. Nothing here is a hands-on test — how we know lists the source and date behind every deciding row.