Qwen or GigaChat: which to choose for business
Both models handle Russian and scale from a regular computer to a multi-GPU cluster. Qwen covers a wider size range (0.6B to 2.4T-A95B) and ships in Ollama, but the larger Qwen3.8 models use their own license, so commercial use comes with conditions. GigaChat from Sber is fully MIT, built around the Russian language and local context, and the catalog lists it for banks, the public sector and companies that must keep data in Russia; it is not in Ollama. GigaChat was updated more recently (2026-09 vs 2026-08) and has an audio version that handles recordings up to two hours.
Comparison based on catalog data
| Parameter | Qwen | GigaChat |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Text, Image + text | Text, Voice assistants |
| Developer | Alibaba, China | Sber, Russia |
| Releases | Aug 2023 – Aug 2026 | Dec 2024 – Sep 2026 |
| Sizes | 0,6B – 2,4T-A95B | 10B-A1.8B – 702B-A36B |
| Hardware | Laptop, 1 GPU, Cluster | Laptop, 1 GPU, Cluster |
| Commercial use | Commercial use with conditions | Commercial use allowed |
| License | Apache 2.0 (most versions); the larger Qwen3.8 models have their own license | MIT |
| Russian | Supported | Supported |
| Ollama | Yes | No |
| Without GPU | Yes | Yes |
| Tasks |
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Choose Qwen if
- You need a very small model: Qwen starts at 0.6B, GigaChat starts at 10B-A1.8B
- You want a one-command install through Ollama
- Your tasks are e-commerce: product descriptions, ticket triage, knowledge base answers
Choose GigaChat if
- You want a simple license: every GigaChat version is MIT
- You are a bank, a public body or a company required to keep data in Russia
- You need audio: GigaChat3.1-Audio understands recordings up to two hours long
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- Llama or DeepSeek: which to run inside your own perimeter
- Gemma or Phi: small models for modest hardware
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