DeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1 is $0.16 cheaper per 1M input tokens (55% lower; 2.22x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 vs DeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1
Pick DeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1 for lower cost; pick Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 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 DeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1 for lower cost; pick Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 only if the larger context window matters more.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, DeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1 is estimated at $0.39 vs $1.2 for Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20, saving $0.81 (67.9% lower).
Cost-first pickDeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1
Context-first pickQwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20
Sample savings$0.8167.9%
10x traffic gap$8.15
Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 has more context, but DeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1 saves $0.81 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $8.15. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
DeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1 stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 | DeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | DeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1 | $2.4 | $0.93 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | DeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1 | $2.1 | $0.64 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | DeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1 | $9.3 | $2.63 |
DeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1 is $1.3 cheaper per 1M output tokens (72.2% lower; 3.6x difference).
Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 has 868.93K more context (7.63x larger).
DeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1 is $0.81 cheaper on the standard workload (67.9% 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
DeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1 has the lower input price; DeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1 has the lower output price; Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, DeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1 is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $1.2 for Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 and $0.39 for DeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1.
Choose Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 when you care most about larger context window.
Choose DeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1 when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, DeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1 is estimated at $0.39 vs $1.2 for Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20, saving $0.81 (67.9% lower).
- DeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1 is $0.81 cheaper on the standard workload (67.9% lower).
- DeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1 is $0.16 cheaper per 1M input tokens (55% lower; 2.22x difference).
- DeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1 is $1.3 cheaper per 1M output tokens (72.2% lower; 3.6x difference).
- Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 has 868.93K more context (7.63x larger).
| Feature | Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 (Qwen) | DeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1 (Nex AGI) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0.3 | $0.135 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $1.8 | $0.5 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $1.2 | $0.39 |
| Context Window | 1M | 131.07K |
| Release Date |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | DeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1 | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, DeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1 is estimated at $0.39 vs $1.2 for Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20, saving $0.81 (67.9% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | DeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1 | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | DeepSeek V3.1 Nex N1 | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 | 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 Plus 2026-04-20 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B (free) can replace Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Qwen2.5 7B Instruct can replace Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.09.
- Qwen3.5-9B can replace Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 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.
- Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite offers 1.05M context with $1 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Pro offers 1.05M context with $0.87 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
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 hubsQwen catalog
Review all tracked Qwen models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.
Open Qwen modelsNex AGI catalog
Check other Nex AGI models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.
Open Nex AGI modelsQwen3.5 Plus (April 2026) is a large-scale multimodal language model from Alibaba. It accepts text, image, and video input and produces text output, with a 1M token context window. This...
DeepSeek V3.1 Nex-N1 is the flagship release of the Nex-N1 series — a post-trained model designed to highlight agent autonomy, tool use, and real-world productivity. Nex-N1 demonstrates competitive performance across...