Qwen3.5-35B-A3B is $0.11 cheaper per 1M input tokens (44.4% lower; 1.8x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
Qwen3.5-35B-A3B vs Qwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct
Pick Qwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct for lower cost; pick Qwen3.5-35B-A3B 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 Qwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct for lower cost; pick Qwen3.5-35B-A3B only if the larger context window matters more.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct is estimated at $0.62 vs $0.64 for Qwen3.5-35B-A3B, saving $0.01 (2.2% lower).
Cost-first pickQwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct
Context-first pickQwen3.5-35B-A3B
Sample savings$0.012.2%
10x traffic gap$0.14
Qwen3.5-35B-A3B has more context, but Qwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct saves $0.01 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $0.14. 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 Qwen3.5-35B-A3B, balanced workload favors Qwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct, and output-heavy chatbot favors Qwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Qwen3.5-35B-A3B | Qwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Qwen3.5-35B-A3B | $1.2 | $1.62 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Qwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct | $1.14 | $1 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Qwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct | $5.14 | $4 |
Qwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct is $0.25 cheaper per 1M output tokens (25% lower; 1.33x difference).
Qwen3.5-35B-A3B has 131.07K more context (2x larger).
Qwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct is $0.01 cheaper on the standard workload (2.2% 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
Qwen3.5-35B-A3B has the lower input price; Qwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct has the lower output price; Qwen3.5-35B-A3B offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Qwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.64 for Qwen3.5-35B-A3B and $0.62 for Qwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct.
Choose Qwen3.5-35B-A3B when you care most about lower input-token price, and larger context window.
Choose Qwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct when you care most about lower output-token price.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct is estimated at $0.62 vs $0.64 for Qwen3.5-35B-A3B, saving $0.01 (2.2% lower).
- Qwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct is $0.01 cheaper on the standard workload (2.2% lower).
- Qwen3.5-35B-A3B is $0.11 cheaper per 1M input tokens (44.4% lower; 1.8x difference).
- Qwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct is $0.25 cheaper per 1M output tokens (25% lower; 1.33x difference).
- Qwen3.5-35B-A3B has 131.07K more context (2x larger).
| Feature | Qwen3.5-35B-A3B (Qwen) | Qwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct (Qwen) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0.139 | $0.25 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $1 | $0.75 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $0.64 | $0.62 |
| Context Window | 262.14K | 131.07K |
| Release Date | ||
| Popularity | #65 | #150 |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Qwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct is estimated at $0.62 vs $0.64 for Qwen3.5-35B-A3B, saving $0.01 (2.2% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Qwen3.5-35B-A3B | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Qwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | Qwen3.5-35B-A3B | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files. |
Related Alternatives
- Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct (free) can replace Qwen3.5-35B-A3B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B (free) can replace Qwen3.5-35B-A3B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Qwen2.5 7B Instruct can replace Qwen3.5-35B-A3B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.09.
- Qwen3.5-9B can replace Qwen3.5-35B-A3B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.11.
- 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.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash · DeepSeek · #1
- Hy3 preview · Tencent · #2
- Claude Opus 4.7 · Anthropic · #3
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 · Anthropic · #4
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