API cost decision in 10 seconds

Qwen3.8 27B (free) vs Solar Pro 4

Pick Qwen3.8 27B (free) for lower cost; pick Solar Pro 4 only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated: 2026-09-17T19:07:55Z Data confirmed: 2026-09-17T20:07:56Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Qwen3.8 27B (free) for lower cost; pick Solar Pro 4 only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3.8 27B (free) is estimated at $0 vs $0.27 for Solar Pro 4, saving $0.27 (100% lower).

Cost-first pickQwen3.8 27B (free)

Context-first pickSolar Pro 4

Sample savings$0.27100%

10x traffic gap$2.7

Solar Pro 4 has more context, but Qwen3.8 27B (free) saves $0.27 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $2.7. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Qwen3.8 27B (free) stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	Qwen3.8 27B (free)	Solar Pro 4
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Qwen3.8 27B (free)	$0	$0.63
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Qwen3.8 27B (free)	$0	$0.45
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Qwen3.8 27B (free)	$0	$1.89

Cheaper input Qwen3.8 27B (free) $0 vs $0.09 / 1M

Qwen3.8 27B (free) is free for input tokens while Solar Pro 4 costs $0.09 per 1M tokens.

Cheaper output Qwen3.8 27B (free) $0 vs $0.36 / 1M

Qwen3.8 27B (free) is free for output tokens while Solar Pro 4 costs $0.36 per 1M tokens.

Larger context Solar Pro 4 262.14K vs 524.29K

Solar Pro 4 has 262.14K more context (2x larger).

Sample workload Qwen3.8 27B (free) $0 vs $0.27

Qwen3.8 27B (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $0.27.

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

Qwen3.8 27B (free) Calculating… Estimated API cost

Solar Pro 4 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

Qwen3.8 27B (free) has the lower input price; Qwen3.8 27B (free) has the lower output price; Solar Pro 4 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Qwen3.8 27B (free) is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0 for Qwen3.8 27B (free) and $0.27 for Solar Pro 4.

Best Fit

Choose Qwen3.8 27B (free) when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

Choose Solar Pro 4 when you care most about larger context window.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3.8 27B (free) is estimated at $0 vs $0.27 for Solar Pro 4, saving $0.27 (100% lower).
Qwen3.8 27B (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $0.27.
Qwen3.8 27B (free) is free for input tokens while Solar Pro 4 costs $0.09 per 1M tokens.
Qwen3.8 27B (free) is free for output tokens while Solar Pro 4 costs $0.36 per 1M tokens.
Solar Pro 4 has 262.14K more context (2x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	Qwen3.8 27B (free) (Qwen)	Solar Pro 4 (Upstage)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$0	$0.09
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$0	$0.36
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$0	$0.27
Context Window	262.14K	524.29K
Release Date	2026-08-14	2026-08-10

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Qwen3.8 27B (free)	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3.8 27B (free) is estimated at $0 vs $0.27 for Solar Pro 4, saving $0.27 (100% lower).
High-volume input processing	Qwen3.8 27B (free)	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Qwen3.8 27B (free)	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Solar Pro 4	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

No lower-cost same-provider swap is currently tracked for this pair.

Larger context near this budget

GLM 5.3 Flash offers 1.31M context with $0.24 sample workload cost.
DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 offers 1.31M context with $0.12 sample workload cost.
GLM Flash Latest offers 1.31M context with $0.2 sample workload cost.
DeepSeek V4 Flash Latest offers 1.31M context with $0.1 sample workload cost.

Popular competitors

Qwen3.8 Max (0902) · Qwen · #1
GPT-5.6 Luna · OpenAI · #2
Hy4 preview · Tencent · #3
GLM 5.3 Flash · Z.ai · #4

Cheaper alternatives

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Larger context alternatives

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Provider catalogs

Compare models within provider hubs before choosing a final API vendor.

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Qwen catalog

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

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Upstage catalog

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Qwen3.8 27B (free)

Qwen3.8 27B is an open-weight dense vision-language model from Qwen. It is suited for coding, professional workflows, research, multimodal interaction, and long-running agent tasks, with flexible thinking that can be...

Solar Pro 4

Solar Pro 4 is Upstage's cost-efficient large language model, featuring a 524K context window. It is built for long-horizon tasks and agentic workflows, with strong capabilities in office productivity, document-intensive...