Qwen3 Max Thinking is $0.22 cheaper per 1M input tokens (22% lower; 1.28x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
NewGrok Build 0.1 vs Qwen3 Max Thinking
Pick Grok Build 0.1 for lower cost; pick Qwen3 Max Thinking 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 Grok Build 0.1 for lower cost; pick Qwen3 Max Thinking only if the larger context window matters more.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Grok Build 0.1 is estimated at $2 vs $2.73 for Qwen3 Max Thinking, saving $0.73 (26.7% lower).
Cost-first pickGrok Build 0.1
Context-first pickQwen3 Max Thinking
Sample savings$0.7326.7%
10x traffic gap$7.3
Qwen3 Max Thinking has more context, but Grok Build 0.1 saves $0.73 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $7.3. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Cost winner changes by workload shape: input-heavy / RAG favors Qwen3 Max Thinking, balanced workload favors Grok Build 0.1, and output-heavy chatbot favors Grok Build 0.1.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Grok Build 0.1 | Qwen3 Max Thinking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Qwen3 Max Thinking | $6 | $5.85 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Grok Build 0.1 | $3 | $4.68 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Grok Build 0.1 | $11 | $20.28 |
Grok Build 0.1 is $1.9 cheaper per 1M output tokens (48.7% lower; 1.95x difference).
Qwen3 Max Thinking has 6.14K more context (1.02x larger).
Grok Build 0.1 is $0.73 cheaper on the standard workload (26.7% 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 Max Thinking has the lower input price; Grok Build 0.1 has the lower output price; Qwen3 Max Thinking offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Grok Build 0.1 is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $2 for Grok Build 0.1 and $2.73 for Qwen3 Max Thinking.
Choose Grok Build 0.1 when you care most about lower output-token price.
Choose Qwen3 Max Thinking when you care most about lower input-token price, and larger context window.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Grok Build 0.1 is estimated at $2 vs $2.73 for Qwen3 Max Thinking, saving $0.73 (26.7% lower).
- Grok Build 0.1 is $0.73 cheaper on the standard workload (26.7% lower).
- Qwen3 Max Thinking is $0.22 cheaper per 1M input tokens (22% lower; 1.28x difference).
- Grok Build 0.1 is $1.9 cheaper per 1M output tokens (48.7% lower; 1.95x difference).
- Qwen3 Max Thinking has 6.14K more context (1.02x larger).
| Feature | NewGrok Build 0.1 (xAI) | Qwen3 Max Thinking (Qwen) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $1 | $0.78 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $2 | $3.9 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $2 | $2.73 |
| Context Window | 256K | 262.14K |
| Release Date |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Grok Build 0.1 | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Grok Build 0.1 is estimated at $2 vs $2.73 for Qwen3 Max Thinking, saving $0.73 (26.7% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Qwen3 Max Thinking | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Grok Build 0.1 | 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.
- Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite offers 1.05M context with $1 sample workload cost.
- No popular competitor is currently available.
Cheaper alternatives
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