Gemma 4 31B (free) is free for input tokens while Qwen3.6 35B A3B costs $0.15 per 1M tokens.
API cost decision in 10 seconds
Qwen3.6 35B A3B vs Gemma 4 31B (free)
Pick Gemma 4 31B (free) when budget is the priority.
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Data confirmed:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick Gemma 4 31B (free) when budget is the priority.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Gemma 4 31B (free) is estimated at $0 vs $0.65 for Qwen3.6 35B A3B, saving $0.65 (100% lower).
Cost-first pickGemma 4 31B (free)
Context-first pickBoth models
Sample savings$0.65100%
10x traffic gap$6.5
The reported context window is tied, so cost and provider fit carry more weight. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $6.5. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Gemma 4 31B (free) stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Qwen3.6 35B A3B | Gemma 4 31B (free) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Gemma 4 31B (free) | $1.25 | $0 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Gemma 4 31B (free) | $1.15 | $0 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Gemma 4 31B (free) | $5.15 | $0 |
Gemma 4 31B (free) is free for output tokens while Qwen3.6 35B A3B costs $1 per 1M tokens.
Both models report the same context window at 262.14K tokens.
Gemma 4 31B (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $0.65.
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
Gemma 4 31B (free) has the lower input price; Gemma 4 31B (free) has the lower output price; both models report the same context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Gemma 4 31B (free) is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.65 for Qwen3.6 35B A3B and $0 for Gemma 4 31B (free).
Choose Qwen3.6 35B A3B when its provider, model quality, latency, or availability is more important than the numeric price/context winner.
Choose Gemma 4 31B (free) when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Gemma 4 31B (free) is estimated at $0 vs $0.65 for Qwen3.6 35B A3B, saving $0.65 (100% lower).
- Gemma 4 31B (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $0.65.
- Gemma 4 31B (free) is free for input tokens while Qwen3.6 35B A3B costs $0.15 per 1M tokens.
- Gemma 4 31B (free) is free for output tokens while Qwen3.6 35B A3B costs $1 per 1M tokens.
- Both models report the same context window at 262.14K tokens.
| Feature | Qwen3.6 35B A3B (Qwen) | Gemma 4 31B (free) (Google) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0.15 | $0 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $1 | $0 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $0.65 | $0 |
| Context Window | 262.14K | 262.14K |
| Release Date |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Gemma 4 31B (free) | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Gemma 4 31B (free) is estimated at $0 vs $0.65 for Qwen3.6 35B A3B, saving $0.65 (100% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Gemma 4 31B (free) | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Gemma 4 31B (free) | 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
- Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct (free) can replace Qwen3.6 35B A3B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B (free) can replace Qwen3.6 35B A3B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Qwen2.5 7B Instruct can replace Qwen3.6 35B A3B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.09.
- Qwen3.5-9B can replace Qwen3.6 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
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 modelsGoogle catalog
Check other Google models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.
Open Google modelsQwen3.6-35B-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...
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