API cost decision in 10 seconds

Gemma 4 31B vs Qwen3.6 35B A3B

Pick Gemma 4 31B when budget is the priority.

Page updated: 2026-05-26T15:08:08Z Data confirmed: 2026-05-26T18:08:02Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Gemma 4 31B when budget is the priority.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Gemma 4 31B is estimated at $0.3 vs $0.65 for Qwen3.6 35B A3B, saving $0.35 (53.1% lower).

Cost-first pickGemma 4 31B

Context-first pickBoth models

Sample savings$0.3553.1%

10x traffic gap$3.45

The reported context window is tied, so cost and provider fit carry more weight. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $3.45. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Gemma 4 31B stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	Gemma 4 31B	Qwen3.6 35B A3B
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Gemma 4 31B	$0.78	$1.25
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Gemma 4 31B	$0.49	$1.15
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Gemma 4 31B	$1.97	$5.15

Cheaper input Gemma 4 31B $0.12 vs $0.15 / 1M

Gemma 4 31B is $0.03 cheaper per 1M input tokens (20% lower; 1.25x difference).

Cheaper output Gemma 4 31B $0.37 vs $1 / 1M

Gemma 4 31B is $0.63 cheaper per 1M output tokens (63% lower; 2.7x difference).

Larger context Tie 262.14K vs 262.14K

Both models report the same context window at 262.14K tokens.

Sample workload Gemma 4 31B $0.3 vs $0.65

Gemma 4 31B is $0.35 cheaper on the standard workload (53.1% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

Gemma 4 31B Calculating… Estimated API cost

Qwen3.6 35B A3B Calculating… Estimated API cost

Cheaper for this workload Calculating… Difference: calculating…

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

Verdict

Gemma 4 31B has the lower input price; Gemma 4 31B has the lower output price; both models report the same context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Gemma 4 31B is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.3 for Gemma 4 31B and $0.65 for Qwen3.6 35B A3B.

Best Fit

Choose Gemma 4 31B when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

Choose Qwen3.6 35B A3B when its provider, model quality, latency, or availability is more important than the numeric price/context winner.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Gemma 4 31B is estimated at $0.3 vs $0.65 for Qwen3.6 35B A3B, saving $0.35 (53.1% lower).
Gemma 4 31B is $0.35 cheaper on the standard workload (53.1% lower).
Gemma 4 31B is $0.03 cheaper per 1M input tokens (20% lower; 1.25x difference).
Gemma 4 31B is $0.63 cheaper per 1M output tokens (63% lower; 2.7x difference).
Both models report the same context window at 262.14K tokens.

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	Gemma 4 31B (Google)	Qwen3.6 35B A3B (Qwen)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$0.12	$0.15
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$0.37	$1
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$0.3	$0.65
Context Window	262.14K	262.14K
Release Date	2026-04-02	2026-04-27
Popularity	#27	#76

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Gemma 4 31B	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Gemma 4 31B is estimated at $0.3 vs $0.65 for Qwen3.6 35B A3B, saving $0.35 (53.1% lower).
High-volume input processing	Gemma 4 31B	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Gemma 4 31B	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Tie	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

Gemma 4 31B (free) can replace Gemma 4 31B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Gemma 4 26B A4B (free) can replace Gemma 4 31B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Lyria 3 Clip Preview can replace Gemma 4 31B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Lyria 3 Pro Preview can replace Gemma 4 31B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.

Larger context near this budget

Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.
Owl Alpha offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
DeepSeek V4 Flash offers 1.05M context with $0.2 sample workload cost.
Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite offers 1.05M context with $0.3 sample workload cost.

Popular competitors

DeepSeek V4 Flash · DeepSeek · #1
Hy3 preview · Tencent · #2
Claude Opus 4.7 · Anthropic · #3
Claude Sonnet 4.6 · Anthropic · #4

Cheaper alternatives

Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.

Open cheapest models

Larger context alternatives

Find models with larger context windows for RAG, long documents, and codebase review.

Open largest context models

Provider catalogs

Compare models within provider hubs before choosing a final API vendor.

Open provider hubs

Google catalog

Review all tracked Google models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.

Open Google models

Qwen catalog

Check other Qwen models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.

Open Qwen models

Gemma 4 31B

Gemma 4 31B Instruct is Google DeepMind's 30.7B dense multimodal model supporting text and image input with text output. Features a 256K token context window, configurable thinking/reasoning mode, native function...

Qwen3.6 35B A3B

Qwen3.6-35B-A3B is an open-weight multimodal model from Alibaba Cloud with 35 billion total parameters and 3 billion active parameters per token. It uses a hybrid sparse mixture-of-experts architecture combining Gated...