API cost decision in 10 seconds

Grok 4.20 vs Qwen3.5 397B A17B

Pick Qwen3.5 397B A17B for lower cost; pick Grok 4.20 only if the larger context window matters more.

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 397B A17B for lower cost; pick Grok 4.20 only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3.5 397B A17B is estimated at $1.56 vs $2.5 for Grok 4.20, saving $0.94 (37.6% lower).

Cost-first pickQwen3.5 397B A17B

Context-first pickGrok 4.20

Sample savings$0.9437.6%

10x traffic gap$9.4

Grok 4.20 has more context, but Qwen3.5 397B A17B saves $0.94 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $9.4. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Qwen3.5 397B A17B stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	Grok 4.20	Qwen3.5 397B A17B
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Qwen3.5 397B A17B	$7.5	$3.12
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Qwen3.5 397B A17B	$3.75	$2.73
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Qwen3.5 397B A17B	$13.75	$12.09

Cheaper input Qwen3.5 397B A17B $1.25 vs $0.39 / 1M

Qwen3.5 397B A17B is $0.86 cheaper per 1M input tokens (68.8% lower; 3.21x difference).

Cheaper output Qwen3.5 397B A17B $2.5 vs $2.34 / 1M

Qwen3.5 397B A17B is $0.16 cheaper per 1M output tokens (6.4% lower; 1.07x difference).

Larger context Grok 4.20 2M vs 262.14K

Grok 4.20 has 1.74M more context (7.63x larger).

Sample workload Qwen3.5 397B A17B $2.5 vs $1.56

Qwen3.5 397B A17B is $0.94 cheaper on the standard workload (37.6% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

Grok 4.20 Calculating… Estimated API cost

Qwen3.5 397B A17B 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 397B A17B has the lower input price; Qwen3.5 397B A17B has the lower output price; Grok 4.20 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Qwen3.5 397B A17B is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $2.5 for Grok 4.20 and $1.56 for Qwen3.5 397B A17B.

Best Fit

Choose Grok 4.20 when you care most about larger context window.

Choose Qwen3.5 397B A17B when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3.5 397B A17B is estimated at $1.56 vs $2.5 for Grok 4.20, saving $0.94 (37.6% lower).
Qwen3.5 397B A17B is $0.94 cheaper on the standard workload (37.6% lower).
Qwen3.5 397B A17B is $0.86 cheaper per 1M input tokens (68.8% lower; 3.21x difference).
Qwen3.5 397B A17B is $0.16 cheaper per 1M output tokens (6.4% lower; 1.07x difference).
Grok 4.20 has 1.74M more context (7.63x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	Grok 4.20 (xAI)	Qwen3.5 397B A17B (Qwen)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$1.25	$0.39
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$2.5	$2.34
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$2.5	$1.56
Context Window	2M	262.14K
Release Date	2026-03-31	2026-02-16

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Qwen3.5 397B A17B	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3.5 397B A17B is estimated at $1.56 vs $2.5 for Grok 4.20, saving $0.94 (37.6% lower).
High-volume input processing	Qwen3.5 397B A17B	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Qwen3.5 397B A17B	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Grok 4.20	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

Grok Build 0.1 can replace Grok 4.20 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $2.
Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct (free) can replace Qwen3.5 397B A17B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B (free) can replace Qwen3.5 397B A17B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Qwen2.5 7B Instruct can replace Qwen3.5 397B A17B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.09.

Larger context near this budget

Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.

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