Inkling Small (free) is free for input tokens while Qwen3.8 27B costs $0.4 per 1M tokens.
API cost decision in 10 seconds
NewQwen3.8 27B vs Inkling Small (free)
Pick Inkling Small (free) for lower cost; pick Qwen3.8 27B only if the larger context window matters more.
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Data confirmed:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick Inkling Small (free) for lower cost; pick Qwen3.8 27B only if the larger context window matters more.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Inkling Small (free) is estimated at $0 vs $1.9 for Qwen3.8 27B, saving $1.9 (100% lower).
Cost-first pickInkling Small (free)
Context-first pickQwen3.8 27B
Sample savings$1.9100%
10x traffic gap$19
Qwen3.8 27B has more context, but Inkling Small (free) saves $1.9 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $19. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Inkling Small (free) stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Qwen3.8 27B | Inkling Small (free) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Inkling Small (free) | $3.5 | $0 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Inkling Small (free) | $3.4 | $0 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Inkling Small (free) | $15.4 | $0 |
Inkling Small (free) is free for output tokens while Qwen3.8 27B costs $3 per 1M tokens.
Qwen3.8 27B has 737.86K more context (3.81x larger).
Inkling Small (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $1.9.
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
Inkling Small (free) has the lower input price; Inkling Small (free) has the lower output price; Qwen3.8 27B offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Inkling Small (free) is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $1.9 for Qwen3.8 27B and $0 for Inkling Small (free).
Choose Qwen3.8 27B when you care most about larger context window.
Choose Inkling Small (free) when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Inkling Small (free) is estimated at $0 vs $1.9 for Qwen3.8 27B, saving $1.9 (100% lower).
- Inkling Small (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $1.9.
- Inkling Small (free) is free for input tokens while Qwen3.8 27B costs $0.4 per 1M tokens.
- Inkling Small (free) is free for output tokens while Qwen3.8 27B costs $3 per 1M tokens.
- Qwen3.8 27B has 737.86K more context (3.81x larger).
| Feature | NewQwen3.8 27B (Qwen) | Inkling Small (free) (Thinking Machines) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0.4 | $0 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $3 | $0 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $1.9 | $0 |
| Context Window | 1M | 262.14K |
| Release Date |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Inkling Small (free) | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Inkling Small (free) is estimated at $0 vs $1.9 for Qwen3.8 27B, saving $1.9 (100% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Inkling Small (free) | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Inkling Small (free) | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | Qwen3.8 27B | 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 Qwen3.8 27B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B (free) can replace Qwen3.8 27B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Qwen3.7 Flash can replace Qwen3.8 27B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.1.
- Qwen3 30B A3B Instruct 2507 can replace Qwen3.8 27B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.14.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 offers 1.31M context with $0.17 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash Latest offers 1.31M context with $0.11 sample workload cost.
- Llama 4 Scout offers 1.31M context with $0.25 sample workload cost.
- MiMo-V2.5 offers 1.05M context with $0.28 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 · DeepSeek · #1
- MiMo-V2.5 · Xiaomi · #2
- Hy3 · Tencent · #3
- Ox Alpha · stealth · #4
Cheaper alternatives
Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.
Open cheapest modelsLarger context alternatives
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Open provider hubsQwen catalog
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Open Thinking Machines modelsQwen3.8 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...
Inkling Small is an open-weight multimodal mixture-of-experts model from Thinking Machines Lab, with 12B active parameters out of 276B total. It is positioned as the smaller, more efficient member of...