Qwen3 Coder Next is $1.14 cheaper per 1M input tokens (91.2% lower; 11.4x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
Grok 4.20 vs Qwen3 Coder Next
Pick Qwen3 Coder Next for lower cost; pick Grok 4.20 only if the larger context window matters more.
Pricing data updated:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick Qwen3 Coder Next 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 Coder Next is estimated at $0.51 vs $2.5 for Grok 4.20, saving $1.99 (79.6% lower).
Cost-first pickQwen3 Coder Next
Context-first pickGrok 4.20
Sample savings$1.9979.6%
10x traffic gap$19.9
Grok 4.20 has more context, but Qwen3 Coder Next saves $1.99 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $19.9. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Qwen3 Coder Next stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Grok 4.20 | Qwen3 Coder Next |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Qwen3 Coder Next | $7.5 | $0.95 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Qwen3 Coder Next | $3.75 | $0.91 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Qwen3 Coder Next | $13.75 | $4.11 |
Qwen3 Coder Next is $1.7 cheaper per 1M output tokens (68% lower; 3.12x difference).
Grok 4.20 has 1.74M more context (7.63x larger).
Qwen3 Coder Next is $1.99 cheaper on the standard workload (79.6% 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
Qwen3 Coder Next has the lower input price; Qwen3 Coder Next has the lower output price; Grok 4.20 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Qwen3 Coder Next 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 $0.51 for Qwen3 Coder Next.
Choose Grok 4.20 when you care most about larger context window.
Choose Qwen3 Coder Next when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3 Coder Next is estimated at $0.51 vs $2.5 for Grok 4.20, saving $1.99 (79.6% lower).
- Qwen3 Coder Next is $1.99 cheaper on the standard workload (79.6% lower).
- Qwen3 Coder Next is $1.14 cheaper per 1M input tokens (91.2% lower; 11.4x difference).
- Qwen3 Coder Next is $1.7 cheaper per 1M output tokens (68% lower; 3.12x difference).
- Grok 4.20 has 1.74M more context (7.63x larger).
| Feature | Grok 4.20 (xAI) | Qwen3 Coder Next (Qwen) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $1.25 | $0.11 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $2.5 | $0.8 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $2.5 | $0.51 |
| Context Window | 2M | 262.14K |
| Release Date |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Qwen3 Coder Next | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3 Coder Next is estimated at $0.51 vs $2.5 for Grok 4.20, saving $1.99 (79.6% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Qwen3 Coder Next | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Qwen3 Coder Next | 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
- 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 Coder Next when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B (free) can replace Qwen3 Coder Next when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Qwen2.5 7B Instruct can replace Qwen3 Coder Next when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.09.
- Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.
- No popular competitor is currently available.
Cheaper alternatives
Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.
Open cheapest modelsLarger context alternatives
Find models with larger context windows for RAG, long documents, and codebase review.
Open largest context modelsProvider catalogs
Compare models within provider hubs before choosing a final API vendor.
Open provider hubsxAI catalog
Review all tracked xAI models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.
Open xAI modelsQwen catalog
Check other Qwen models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.
Open Qwen modelsGrok 4.20 is a reasoning model from xAI with industry-leading speed and agentic tool calling capabilities. It combines the lowest hallucination rate on the market with strict prompt adherance, delivering...
Qwen3-Coder-Next is an open-weight causal language model optimized for coding agents and local development workflows. It uses a sparse MoE design with 80B total parameters and only 3B activated per...