Aion-3.0 vs Fugu Max vs Qwen3.8 Max Preview
Too close to call on our weighted score (Fugu Max 46, Qwen3.8 Max Preview 46, Aion-3.0 26). The right pick depends on what you value most.
Aion Labs
Aion-3.0
26/100- ECI—
- Price$3.00 / $6.00
- Context131K
Sakana AIFugu Max
46/100- ECI—
- Price$2.00 / $6.00
- Context1M
Alibaba (Qwen)Qwen3.8 Max Preview
46/100- ECI—
- Price$2.00 / $6.00
- Context1M
Too close to call
It is close. Our weighted score puts them within a point (Fugu Max 46/100, Qwen3.8 Max Preview 46/100, Aion-3.0 26/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: Fugu Max on price. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.
- CapabilityNot enough dataNo independent benchmark covers every model here yet
- Lowest priceFugu Max and Qwen3.8 Max PreviewFugu Max $3.00 · Qwen3.8 Max Preview $3.00 · Aion-3.0 $3.75 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextFugu Max and Qwen3.8 Max PreviewFugu Max 1,000,000 · Qwen3.8 Max Preview 1,000,000 · Aion-3.0 131,072 tokens
- Widest inputsFugu Max and Qwen3.8 Max PreviewAion-3.0: Text · Fugu Max: Text, Images, PDFs · Qwen3.8 Max Preview: Text, Images, Video
- Self-hostingNo open weightsAll three are available only through APIs
| Measure | Weight | Aion-3.0 | Fugu Max | Qwen3.8 Max Preview |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 22 | 26 | 26 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 35 | 70 | 70 |
| Context window | 20% | 25 | 60 | 60 |
| Overall | 100% | 26/100 | 46/100 | 46/100 |
Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | Aion-3.0Aion Labs | Fugu MaxSakana AI | Qwen3.8 Max PreviewAlibaba (Qwen) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $3.00 | $2.00 (best) | $2.00 (best) |
| Output | $6.00 | $6.00 | $6.00 |
| Cached input | — | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $3.75 | $3.00 (best) | $3.00 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 4 providers | Median of 9 providers | Median of 6 providers |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 131,072 tokens | 1,000,000 tokens (best) | 1,000,000 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 32,768 tokens | 128,000 tokens | 131,072 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | Yes | Yes |
| PDFs | No | Yes | No |
| Audio | No | No | No |
| Video | No | No | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | No | No |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| API model ID | — | — | — |
| API providers | 4 | 9 (best) | 6 |
| Released | May 5, 2026 | Sep 11, 2026 | Jul 19, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | — | — | — |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Aion-3.0$42.00
- Fugu Max$32.00
- Qwen3.8 Max Preview$32.00
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Aion-3.0, Fugu Max or Qwen3.8 Max Preview?
It is close. Our weighted score puts them within a point (Fugu Max 46/100, Qwen3.8 Max Preview 46/100, Aion-3.0 26/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: Fugu Max on price. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.
Which is cheaper, Aion-3.0, Fugu Max or Qwen3.8 Max Preview?
Fugu Max is cheaper at $2.00 input / $6.00 output per million tokens (median across 9 API providers). Qwen3.8 Max Preview costs $2.00 input / $6.00 output per million tokens (median across 6 API providers); Aion-3.0 costs $3.00 input / $6.00 output per million tokens (median across 4 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $3.00 per million tokens for Fugu Max versus $3.00 for Qwen3.8 Max Preview (1× as much) and $3.75 for Aion-3.0 (1.3× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers all three models yet. Aion-3.0 has not been scored yet, Fugu Max has not been scored yet and Qwen3.8 Max Preview has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Aion-3.0, Fugu Max and Qwen3.8 Max Preview yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. All three support tool calling for agent workflows.
Which has the bigger context window?
Fugu Max and Qwen3.8 Max Preview have the largest context windows (1,000,000 and 1,000,000 tokens), against 131,072 for Aion-3.0. Maximum output per response: Aion-3.0 up to 32,768, Fugu Max up to 128,000, Qwen3.8 Max Preview up to 131,072 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Aion-3.0 accepts text; Fugu Max accepts text, images and PDFs; Qwen3.8 Max Preview accepts text, images and video. Fugu Max handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
No. Aion-3.0, Fugu Max and Qwen3.8 Max Preview are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.
Which is newer?
Fugu Max is the newest, released Sep 11, 2026. Qwen3.8 Max Preview came out Jul 19, 2026; Aion-3.0 came out May 5, 2026.
How do you decide the winner?
Each model gets a 0–100 score on capability (50%, independent benchmark results); price (25%, blended price per million tokens (3 input : 1 output), log scale); inputs & features (15%, image, PDF, audio and video input, tool calling, structured output and reasoning); context window (10%, maximum tokens per request, log scale). Dimensions missing for any model are dropped and the remaining weights rescaled, so every model is judged on the same evidence. Specs and prices come from public model listings and the labs’ own API pages; capability scores come from independent benchmark runs. Data updated Nov 2, 2026.
