Qwen3.5 397B A17B is $4.61 cheaper per 1M input tokens (92.2% lower; 12.8x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
Qwen3.5 397B A17B vs Claude Opus 4.6
Pick Qwen3.5 397B A17B for lower cost; pick Claude Opus 4.6 only if the larger context window matters more.
Pricing data updated:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick Qwen3.5 397B A17B for lower cost; pick Claude Opus 4.6 only if the larger context window matters more.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3.5 397B A17B is estimated at $1.56 vs $17.5 for Claude Opus 4.6, saving $15.94 (91.1% lower).
Cost-first pickQwen3.5 397B A17B
Context-first pickClaude Opus 4.6
Sample savings$15.9491.1%
10x traffic gap$159.4
Claude Opus 4.6 has more context, but Qwen3.5 397B A17B saves $15.94 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $159.4. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Qwen3.5 397B A17B stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Qwen3.5 397B A17B | Claude Opus 4.6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Qwen3.5 397B A17B | $3.12 | $37.5 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Qwen3.5 397B A17B | $2.73 | $30 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Qwen3.5 397B A17B | $12.09 | $130 |
Qwen3.5 397B A17B is $22.66 cheaper per 1M output tokens (90.6% lower; 10.7x difference).
Claude Opus 4.6 has 737.86K more context (3.81x larger).
Qwen3.5 397B A17B is $15.94 cheaper on the standard workload (91.1% 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 397B A17B has the lower input price; Qwen3.5 397B A17B has the lower output price; Claude Opus 4.6 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Qwen3.5 397B A17B is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $1.56 for Qwen3.5 397B A17B and $17.5 for Claude Opus 4.6.
Choose Qwen3.5 397B A17B when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.
Choose Claude Opus 4.6 when you care most about larger context window.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3.5 397B A17B is estimated at $1.56 vs $17.5 for Claude Opus 4.6, saving $15.94 (91.1% lower).
- Qwen3.5 397B A17B is $15.94 cheaper on the standard workload (91.1% lower).
- Qwen3.5 397B A17B is $4.61 cheaper per 1M input tokens (92.2% lower; 12.8x difference).
- Qwen3.5 397B A17B is $22.66 cheaper per 1M output tokens (90.6% lower; 10.7x difference).
- Claude Opus 4.6 has 737.86K more context (3.81x larger).
| Feature | Qwen3.5 397B A17B (Qwen) | Claude Opus 4.6 (Anthropic) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0.39 | $5 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $2.34 | $25 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $1.56 | $17.5 |
| Context Window | 262.14K | 1M |
| Release Date |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Qwen3.5 397B A17B | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3.5 397B A17B is estimated at $1.56 vs $17.5 for Claude Opus 4.6, saving $15.94 (91.1% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Qwen3.5 397B A17B | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Qwen3.5 397B A17B | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | Claude Opus 4.6 | 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 397B A17B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B (free) can replace Qwen3.5 397B A17B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Qwen2.5 7B Instruct can replace Qwen3.5 397B A17B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.09.
- Qwen3.5-9B can replace Qwen3.5 397B A17B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.11.
- Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.
- Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent offers 2M context with $5 sample workload cost.
- Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
- OpenAI GPT Latest offers 1.05M context with $20 sample workload cost.
- No popular competitor is currently available.
Cheaper alternatives
Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.
Open cheapest modelsLarger context alternatives
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Open largest context modelsProvider catalogs
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Open provider hubsQwen catalog
Review all tracked Qwen models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.
Open Qwen modelsAnthropic catalog
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Open Anthropic modelsThe Qwen3.5 series 397B-A17B native vision-language model is built on a hybrid architecture that integrates a linear attention mechanism with a sparse mixture-of-experts model, achieving higher inference efficiency. It delivers...
Opus 4.6 is Anthropic’s strongest model for coding and long-running professional tasks. It is built for agents that operate across entire workflows rather than single prompts, making it especially effective...