API cost decision in 10 seconds

Qwen3.5 397B A17B vs Qwen3 14B

Pick Qwen3 14B for lower cost; pick Qwen3.5 397B A17B only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated: 2026-05-26T15:08:08Z Data confirmed: 2026-05-26T19:08:13Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Qwen3 14B for lower cost; pick Qwen3.5 397B A17B only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3 14B is estimated at $0.22 vs $1.56 for Qwen3.5 397B A17B, saving $1.34 (85.9% lower).

Cost-first pickQwen3 14B

Context-first pickQwen3.5 397B A17B

Sample savings$1.3485.9%

10x traffic gap$13.4

Qwen3.5 397B A17B has more context, but Qwen3 14B saves $1.34 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $13.4. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Qwen3 14B stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	Qwen3.5 397B A17B	Qwen3 14B
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Qwen3 14B	$3.12	$0.62
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Qwen3 14B	$2.73	$0.34
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Qwen3 14B	$12.09	$1.3

Cheaper input Qwen3 14B $0.39 vs $0.1 / 1M

Qwen3 14B is $0.29 cheaper per 1M input tokens (74.4% lower; 3.9x difference).

Cheaper output Qwen3 14B $2.34 vs $0.24 / 1M

Qwen3 14B is $2.1 cheaper per 1M output tokens (89.7% lower; 9.75x difference).

Larger context Qwen3.5 397B A17B 262.14K vs 131.7K

Qwen3.5 397B A17B has 130.44K more context (1.99x larger).

Sample workload Qwen3 14B $1.56 vs $0.22

Qwen3 14B is $1.34 cheaper on the standard workload (85.9% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

Qwen3.5 397B A17B Calculating… Estimated API cost

Qwen3 14B 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

Qwen3 14B has the lower input price; Qwen3 14B has the lower output price; Qwen3.5 397B A17B offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Qwen3 14B 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 $0.22 for Qwen3 14B.

Best Fit

Choose Qwen3.5 397B A17B when you care most about larger context window.

Choose Qwen3 14B when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3 14B is estimated at $0.22 vs $1.56 for Qwen3.5 397B A17B, saving $1.34 (85.9% lower).
Qwen3 14B is $1.34 cheaper on the standard workload (85.9% lower).
Qwen3 14B is $0.29 cheaper per 1M input tokens (74.4% lower; 3.9x difference).
Qwen3 14B is $2.1 cheaper per 1M output tokens (89.7% lower; 9.75x difference).
Qwen3.5 397B A17B has 130.44K more context (1.99x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	Qwen3.5 397B A17B (Qwen)	Qwen3 14B (Qwen)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$0.39	$0.1
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$2.34	$0.24
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$1.56	$0.22
Context Window	262.14K	131.7K
Release Date	2026-02-16	2025-04-28
Popularity	#53	#138

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Qwen3 14B	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3 14B is estimated at $0.22 vs $1.56 for Qwen3.5 397B A17B, saving $1.34 (85.9% lower).
High-volume input processing	Qwen3 14B	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Qwen3 14B	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Qwen3.5 397B A17B	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

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.

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.
DeepSeek V4 Pro offers 1.05M context with $0.87 sample workload cost.

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Cheaper alternatives

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Larger context alternatives

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Provider catalogs

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Qwen catalog

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

Open Qwen models

Qwen3.5 397B A17B

The 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...

Qwen3 14B

Qwen3-14B is a dense 14.8B parameter causal language model from the Qwen3 series, designed for both complex reasoning and efficient dialogue. It supports seamless switching between a "thinking" mode for...