API cost decision in 10 seconds

Reka Edge vs Qwen3.5-9B

Pick Qwen3.5-9B when budget and context both matter.

Page updated: 2026-05-26T10:03:26Z Data confirmed: 2026-05-26T12:43:06Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Qwen3.5-9B when budget and context both matter.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3.5-9B is estimated at $0.11 vs $0.15 for Reka Edge, saving $0.04 (23.3% lower).

Cost-first pickQwen3.5-9B

Context-first pickQwen3.5-9B

Sample savings$0.0423.3%

10x traffic gap$0.35

Qwen3.5-9B is cheaper on the standard workload and also has the larger context window. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $0.35. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Cost winner changes by workload shape: input-heavy / RAG favors Qwen3.5-9B, balanced workload favors Qwen3.5-9B, and output-heavy chatbot favors Reka Edge.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	Reka Edge	Qwen3.5-9B
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Qwen3.5-9B	$0.55	$0.28
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Qwen3.5-9B	$0.2	$0.19
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Reka Edge	$0.6	$0.79

Cheaper input Qwen3.5-9B $0.1 vs $0.04 / 1M

Qwen3.5-9B is $0.06 cheaper per 1M input tokens (60% lower; 2.5x difference).

Cheaper output Reka Edge $0.1 vs $0.15 / 1M

Reka Edge is $0.05 cheaper per 1M output tokens (33.3% lower; 1.5x difference).

Larger context Qwen3.5-9B 16.38K vs 262.14K

Qwen3.5-9B has 245.76K more context (16x larger).

Sample workload Qwen3.5-9B $0.15 vs $0.11

Qwen3.5-9B is $0.04 cheaper on the standard workload (23.3% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

Reka Edge Calculating… Estimated API cost

Qwen3.5-9B 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

Qwen3.5-9B has the lower input price; Reka Edge has the lower output price; Qwen3.5-9B offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Qwen3.5-9B is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.15 for Reka Edge and $0.11 for Qwen3.5-9B.

Best Fit

Choose Reka Edge when you care most about lower output-token price.

Choose Qwen3.5-9B when you care most about lower input-token price, and larger context window.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3.5-9B is estimated at $0.11 vs $0.15 for Reka Edge, saving $0.04 (23.3% lower).
Qwen3.5-9B is $0.04 cheaper on the standard workload (23.3% lower).
Qwen3.5-9B is $0.06 cheaper per 1M input tokens (60% lower; 2.5x difference).
Reka Edge is $0.05 cheaper per 1M output tokens (33.3% lower; 1.5x difference).
Qwen3.5-9B has 245.76K more context (16x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	Reka Edge (rekaai)	Qwen3.5-9B (Qwen)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$0.1	$0.04
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$0.1	$0.15
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$0.15	$0.11
Context Window	16.38K	262.14K
Release Date	2026-03-20	2026-03-10

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Qwen3.5-9B	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3.5-9B is estimated at $0.11 vs $0.15 for Reka Edge, saving $0.04 (23.3% lower).
High-volume input processing	Qwen3.5-9B	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Reka Edge	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Qwen3.5-9B	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct (free) can replace Qwen3.5-9B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B (free) can replace Qwen3.5-9B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Qwen2.5 7B Instruct can replace Qwen3.5-9B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.09.

Larger context near this budget

Owl Alpha offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
DeepSeek V4 Flash (free) offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
Lyria 3 Pro Preview offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
Lyria 3 Clip Preview offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.

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Provider catalogs

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rekaai catalog

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Qwen catalog

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