Qwen
Free AI assistant built on the Qwen model series, with search, deep research, image and video generation and an API.
Qwen is an AI assistant built on the Qwen series of models. Qwen answers questions with optional reasoning and web search, runs multi-step deep research, builds web pages from a description, and generates or edits images and video. Qwen is free to use on the web, iOS, Android, macOS and Windows, and has an OpenAI-compatible API.
Best for People who want a free general-purpose assistant with research and media generation, and developers who want to call Qwen models through an OpenAI-style API.
- Platforms
- Web, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, API
- Pricing model
- Free
- Free plan
- Yes
- API
- Yes
- Made by
- Alibaba Cloud
- Added
Last verified: . Information taken from qwen.ai.
What is Qwen?
Qwen is a general-purpose AI assistant and the public face of the Qwen model family, which the site says is powered by Alibaba Cloud. The chat interface offers switchable modes: a thinking mode for harder reasoning problems, web search, Deep Research that runs multi-step searches and writes a report, Web Dev that produces a complete page from a natural-language description, Artifacts, and tools for generating and editing images and generating video. The models are multimodal, so they can work with text, images, audio and video in the same conversation, for instance reading a chart or pulling details from a recording. The assistant is described as free and open to everyone. Alongside it, the site links to Qwen Code, a research index with open-source model releases, and an API platform whose request format is compatible with the OpenAI API.
Key Features
Thinking Mode
Applies step-by-step reasoning to harder questions and can draw on live web data while doing so.
Web Search
Looks up current information online and returns results matched to the context of the question.
Deep Research
Runs an agent that performs several rounds of searching and analysis, then writes up the findings as a readable report.
Web Dev
Produces a complete web page, with code and layout, from a description written in plain language.
Image and Video Generation
Creates images from scratch, edits existing ones, transfers styles or merges elements, and generates video.
Multimodal Understanding
Interprets text, images, audio and video together, such as reading a chart or summarising an audio clip.
Use Cases
- Background Research
- Hand a broad question to Deep Research and receive a structured report.
- Prototyping a Web Page
- Describe a page and get working markup to start from.
- Reading Charts and Recordings
- Upload an image or audio file and ask for the key information in it.
- Editing an Image
- Modify a picture or apply a different style through a text instruction.
- Calling Qwen Models from Code
- Use the API platform with tooling already written for the OpenAI request format.
Things to know
- The API is a separate platform
- The assistant is described as free, while developer access runs through the Qwen API platform linked from the site.
- Open-source releases
- The site's research index publishes model announcements, some of them marked as open source.
- Usage policy applies
- The footer links to terms of service, a privacy policy and a usage policy that govern use of the assistant.
FAQs
What is Qwen?
Qwen is an AI assistant built on the Qwen series of models, with chat, search, research, coding and media generation features.
What is Qwen used for?
Qwen is used to answer questions, research topics, build web pages from descriptions, analyse images, audio and video, and generate images and video.
Is Qwen free?
Yes. The Qwen site describes the assistant as free to use and open to all.
Does Qwen have an API?
Yes. Qwen has an API platform, and the site says its API format is compatible with the OpenAI API.
Does Qwen work on mobile?
Yes. Qwen lists iOS and Android apps in addition to the web version and desktop apps for macOS and Windows.
Who makes Qwen?
The Qwen site states that it is powered by Alibaba Cloud.
Are Qwen models open source?
Some are. The research section of the Qwen site announces open-source releases, for example the Qwen-Image-2.1 image model.
Who it's for
- General users
- Researchers
- Developers
- Students
- Content creators
Read about it
Comments
No comments yet. If you have used Qwen, tell other readers how it went.
Alternatives to Qwen
| Tool | Free plan | Starting price | API |
|---|---|---|---|
 Google GeminiGoogle's AI assistant for chat, research, and image, video and music generation, tied into Google apps. |
Yes | — | Yes |
ChatGPTAI chat assistant that answers questions, writes, creates images, runs deep research and helps with code. |
Yes | — | — |
 DeepSeekAI research company offering a chat assistant, a desktop harness and a token-billed API for its language models. |
— | — | Yes |
 Mammouth AIOne subscription that gives chat access to many text, image and video AI models, with projects and an API. |
— | — | Yes |
 ArenaPublic platform for chatting with AI models, comparing them side by side and voting to shape a community leaderboard. |
— | — | — |
Listed in the same categories as Qwen. A starting price appears only where we checked it on the maker’s pricing page; a dash means not checked or not published. All AI Chatbots tools