Solar Pro 3 is $0.63 cheaper per 1M input tokens (80.8% lower; 5.2x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
Qwen3 Max Thinking vs Solar Pro 3
Pick Solar Pro 3 for lower cost; pick Qwen3 Max Thinking 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 Solar Pro 3 for lower cost; pick Qwen3 Max Thinking only if the larger context window matters more.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Solar Pro 3 is estimated at $0.45 vs $2.73 for Qwen3 Max Thinking, saving $2.28 (83.5% lower).
Cost-first pickSolar Pro 3
Context-first pickQwen3 Max Thinking
Sample savings$2.2883.5%
10x traffic gap$22.8
Qwen3 Max Thinking has more context, but Solar Pro 3 saves $2.28 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $22.8. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Solar Pro 3 stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Qwen3 Max Thinking | Solar Pro 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Solar Pro 3 | $5.85 | $1.05 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Solar Pro 3 | $4.68 | $0.75 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Solar Pro 3 | $20.28 | $3.15 |
Solar Pro 3 is $3.3 cheaper per 1M output tokens (84.6% lower; 6.5x difference).
Qwen3 Max Thinking has 134.14K more context (2.05x larger).
Solar Pro 3 is $2.28 cheaper on the standard workload (83.5% 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
Solar Pro 3 has the lower input price; Solar Pro 3 has the lower output price; Qwen3 Max Thinking offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Solar Pro 3 is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $2.73 for Qwen3 Max Thinking and $0.45 for Solar Pro 3.
Choose Qwen3 Max Thinking when you care most about larger context window.
Choose Solar Pro 3 when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Solar Pro 3 is estimated at $0.45 vs $2.73 for Qwen3 Max Thinking, saving $2.28 (83.5% lower).
- Solar Pro 3 is $2.28 cheaper on the standard workload (83.5% lower).
- Solar Pro 3 is $0.63 cheaper per 1M input tokens (80.8% lower; 5.2x difference).
- Solar Pro 3 is $3.3 cheaper per 1M output tokens (84.6% lower; 6.5x difference).
- Qwen3 Max Thinking has 134.14K more context (2.05x larger).
| Feature | Qwen3 Max Thinking (Qwen) | Solar Pro 3 (Upstage) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0.78 | $0.15 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $3.9 | $0.6 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $2.73 | $0.45 |
| Context Window | 262.14K | 128K |
| Release Date |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Solar Pro 3 | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Solar Pro 3 is estimated at $0.45 vs $2.73 for Qwen3 Max Thinking, saving $2.28 (83.5% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Solar Pro 3 | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Solar Pro 3 | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | Qwen3 Max Thinking | 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 Max Thinking when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B (free) can replace Qwen3 Max Thinking when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Qwen2.5 7B Instruct can replace Qwen3 Max Thinking when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.09.
- Qwen3.5-9B can replace Qwen3 Max Thinking when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.11.
- Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.
- Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 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.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash · DeepSeek · #1
- Hy3 preview · Tencent · #2
- Claude Opus 4.7 · Anthropic · #3
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 · Anthropic · #4
Cheaper alternatives
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