Ember-1 is $1 cheaper per 1M input tokens (25% lower; 1.33x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
NewEmber-1 vs NewQwen3.8 Max Prime
Pick Qwen3.8 Max Prime for lower cost; pick Ember-1 only if the larger context window matters more.
Page updated:
Data confirmed:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick Qwen3.8 Max Prime for lower cost; pick Ember-1 only if the larger context window matters more.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3.8 Max Prime is estimated at $10 vs $10.5 for Ember-1, saving $0.5 (4.8% lower).
Cost-first pickQwen3.8 Max Prime
Context-first pickEmber-1
Sample savings$0.54.8%
10x traffic gap$5
Ember-1 has more context, but Qwen3.8 Max Prime saves $0.5 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $5. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Cost winner changes by workload shape: input-heavy / RAG favors Ember-1, balanced workload favors Qwen3.8 Max Prime, and output-heavy chatbot favors Qwen3.8 Max Prime.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Ember-1 | Qwen3.8 Max Prime |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Ember-1 | $22.5 | $26 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Qwen3.8 Max Prime | $18 | $16 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Qwen3.8 Max Prime | $78 | $64 |
Qwen3.8 Max Prime is $3 cheaper per 1M output tokens (20% lower; 1.25x difference).
Ember-1 has 48.58K more context (1.05x larger).
Qwen3.8 Max Prime is $0.5 cheaper on the standard workload (4.8% lower).
Estimate your workload cost
Your Workload Cost
This estimate uses normalized public API pricing per 1M tokens. It is a planning aid, not a billing quote. Verify provider pricing, limits, and terms before production use.
Quick Decision
Ember-1 has the lower input price; Qwen3.8 Max Prime has the lower output price; Ember-1 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Qwen3.8 Max Prime is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $10.5 for Ember-1 and $10 for Qwen3.8 Max Prime.
Choose Ember-1 when you care most about lower input-token price, and larger context window.
Choose Qwen3.8 Max Prime when you care most about lower output-token price.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3.8 Max Prime is estimated at $10 vs $10.5 for Ember-1, saving $0.5 (4.8% lower).
- Qwen3.8 Max Prime is $0.5 cheaper on the standard workload (4.8% lower).
- Ember-1 is $1 cheaper per 1M input tokens (25% lower; 1.33x difference).
- Qwen3.8 Max Prime is $3 cheaper per 1M output tokens (20% lower; 1.25x difference).
- Ember-1 has 48.58K more context (1.05x larger).
| Feature | NewEmber-1 (Fireworks) | NewQwen3.8 Max Prime (Qwen) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $3 | $4 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $15 | $12 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $10.5 | $10 |
| Context Window | 1.05M | 1M |
| Release Date |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Qwen3.8 Max Prime | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3.8 Max Prime is estimated at $10 vs $10.5 for Ember-1, saving $0.5 (4.8% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Ember-1 | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Qwen3.8 Max Prime | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | Ember-1 | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files. |
Related Alternatives
- Qwen3.8 27B (free) can replace Qwen3.8 Max Prime when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct (free) can replace Qwen3.8 Max Prime when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B (free) can replace Qwen3.8 Max Prime when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Qwen3.7 Flash can replace Qwen3.8 Max Prime when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.1.
- Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
- Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
- GLM 5.3 Flash offers 1.31M context with $0.4 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 offers 1.31M context with $0.19 sample workload cost.
- MiMo-V2.6-Pro · Xiaomi · #1
- GLM 5.3 Flash · Z.ai · #2
- DeepSeek V4.1 Flash · DeepSeek · #3
- Hy4 preview · Tencent · #4
Cheaper alternatives
Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.
Open cheapest modelsLarger context alternatives
Find models with larger context windows for RAG, long documents, and codebase review.
Open largest context modelsProvider catalogs
Compare models within provider hubs before choosing a final API vendor.
Open provider hubsFireworks catalog
Review all tracked Fireworks models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.
Open Fireworks modelsQwen catalog
Check other Qwen models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.
Open Qwen modelsEmber-1 is a specialized reasoning model from Fireworks Research, built on [Kimi K3](https://openrouter.ai/moonshotai/kimi-k3). It is designed to make every token go further: it produces shorter reasoning traces, using roughly 40%...
Qwen3.8 Max Prime is a higher-throughput variant of Qwen3.8 Max from Alibaba's Qwen team, served as a separate SKU at a higher price point. It accepts text, image, and video...