Qwen3 8B vs Qwen1.5 7B
Side-by-side comparison of VRAM requirements, quantization, context length, and hardware compatibility.
Specifications
| Qwen3 8B | Qwen1.5 7B | |
|---|---|---|
| Parameters | 8B | 7.7B |
| Context | — | 33K |
| Architecture | — | Qwen2ForCausalLM |
| License | Apache 2.0 | Other |
| Downloads | 470 | 156.0K |
| Released | Jun 2026 | — |
VRAM by Quantization: Qwen3 8B vs Qwen1.5 7B
| Quantization | Bits | Qwen3 8B VRAM | Qwen1.5 7B VRAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q2_K | 3.40 | 3.7 GB | 4.7 GB |
| Q3_K_M | 3.90 | 4.3 GB | 5.1 GB |
| Q3_K_S | 3.50 | 3.9 GB | 4.8 GB |
| Q4_0 | 4.00 | 4.4 GB | 5.2 GB |
| Q4_K_M | 4.80 | 5.3 GB | 6.0 GB |
| Q5_K_M | 5.70 | 6.3 GB | 6.9 GB |
| Q6_K | 6.60 | 7.3 GB | 7.7 GB |
| Q8_0 | 8.00 | 8.8 GB | 9.1 GB |
Verdict
Qwen3 8B needs less VRAM at Q4_K_M (5.3 GB vs 6.0 GB), so it fits on smaller GPUs. Qwen1.5 7B is the more widely downloaded of the two.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Which needs less VRAM, Qwen3 8B or Qwen1.5 7B?
At Q4_K_M, Qwen3 8B needs 5.3 GB and Qwen1.5 7B needs 6.0 GB, so Qwen3 8B is the lighter option to run locally.
- What is the difference between Qwen3 8B and Qwen1.5 7B?
Qwen3 8B is a 8B model from litert-community (Qwen family), while Qwen1.5 7B is a 7.7B model from Alibaba (Qwen family). Compare their VRAM requirements above to see which fits your GPU or Mac.