Qwen3.6 Max Preview is $0.97 cheaper per 1M input tokens (48.7% lower; 1.95x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
NewQwen3.8 2.4T A95B vs Qwen3.6 Max Preview
Pick Qwen3.6 Max Preview for lower cost; pick Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B 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 Qwen3.6 Max Preview for lower cost; pick Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B only if the larger context window matters more.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3.6 Max Preview is estimated at $4.11 vs $5 for Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B, saving $0.89 (17.8% lower).
Cost-first pickQwen3.6 Max Preview
Context-first pickQwen3.8 2.4T A95B
Sample savings$0.8917.8%
10x traffic gap$8.92
Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B has more context, but Qwen3.6 Max Preview saves $0.89 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $8.92. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Qwen3.6 Max Preview stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B | Qwen3.6 Max Preview |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Qwen3.6 Max Preview | $13 | $8.22 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Qwen3.6 Max Preview | $8 | $7.19 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Qwen3.6 Max Preview | $32 | $31.84 |
Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B is $0.16 cheaper per 1M output tokens (2.6% lower; 1.03x difference).
Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B has 786.43K more context (4x larger).
Qwen3.6 Max Preview is $0.89 cheaper on the standard workload (17.8% 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
Qwen3.6 Max Preview has the lower input price; Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B has the lower output price; Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Qwen3.6 Max Preview is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $5 for Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B and $4.11 for Qwen3.6 Max Preview.
Choose Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B when you care most about lower output-token price, and larger context window.
Choose Qwen3.6 Max Preview when you care most about lower input-token price.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3.6 Max Preview is estimated at $4.11 vs $5 for Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B, saving $0.89 (17.8% lower).
- Qwen3.6 Max Preview is $0.89 cheaper on the standard workload (17.8% lower).
- Qwen3.6 Max Preview is $0.97 cheaper per 1M input tokens (48.7% lower; 1.95x difference).
- Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B is $0.16 cheaper per 1M output tokens (2.6% lower; 1.03x difference).
- Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B has 786.43K more context (4x larger).
| Feature | NewQwen3.8 2.4T A95B (Qwen) | Qwen3.6 Max Preview (Qwen) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $2 | $1.027 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $6 | $6.162 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $5 | $4.11 |
| Context Window | 1.05M | 262.14K |
| Release Date |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Qwen3.6 Max Preview | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3.6 Max Preview is estimated at $4.11 vs $5 for Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B, saving $0.89 (17.8% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Qwen3.6 Max Preview | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files. |
Related Alternatives
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- Qwen3 30B A3B Instruct 2507 can replace Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.14.
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- DeepSeek V4 Flash Latest offers 1.31M context with $0.11 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 · DeepSeek · #1
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Open Qwen modelsQwen3.8 2.4T A95B is an open-weight sparse mixture-of-experts model from Qwen and the open-weight variant of [Qwen3.8 Max](/qwen/qwen3.8-max), with 95 billion active parameters out of 2.4 trillion total. It is...
Qwen3.6-Max-Preview is a proprietary frontier model from Alibaba Cloud built on a sparse mixture-of-experts architecture with approximately 1 trillion total parameters. It is optimized for agentic coding, tool use, and...