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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Nov 2, 2026

Aion-3.0 vs Qwen3.5 0.8B

Qwen3.5 0.8B comes out ahead, 57 to 31 on our weighted score.

  1. Aion Labs

    Aion-3.0

    Released May 5, 2026

    31/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$3.00 / $6.00
    • Context131K
  2. Our pick

    Alibaba (Qwen)

    Qwen3.5 0.8B

    Released Mar 2, 2026

    57/100
    • ECI—
    • Price—
    • Context262K
  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Qwen3.5 0.8B is our pick

Qwen3.5 0.8B is the better all-round choice, scoring 57/100 against Aion-3.0 (31). It leads on inputs & features and context window. The score weighs inputs & features 60%, context window 40%. 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 priceAion-3.0Aion-3.0 $3.75 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend) · Qwen3.5 0.8B unpriced
  • Longest contextQwen3.5 0.8BQwen3.5 0.8B 262,144 · Aion-3.0 131,072 tokens
  • Widest inputsQwen3.5 0.8BAion-3.0: Text · Qwen3.5 0.8B: Text, Images, Video
  • Self-hostingQwen3.5 0.8BPublishes downloadable weights (Apache-2.0)
How the score is built
MeasureWeightAion-3.0Qwen3.5 0.8B
Inputs & features60%3570
Context window40%2537
Overall100%31/10057/100

Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability and price. The remaining weights were rescaled.

02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.

Aion-3.0 vs Qwen3.5 0.8B specifications side by side
SpecificationAion-3.0Aion LabsQwen3.5 0.8BAlibaba (Qwen)
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
Input$3.00—
Output$6.00—
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$3.75—
Long-context rateSame rate—
Price sourceMedian of 4 providers—
Limits
Context window131,072 tokens262,144 tokens (best)
Max output32,768 tokens81,920 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoYes
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoYes
ReasoningYesYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsProprietaryOpenApache-2.0
API model ID——
API providers4 (best)1
ReleasedMay 5, 2026Mar 2, 2026
Knowledge cutoff——
03 — Cost

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
  • Qwen3.5 0.8B—
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Aion-3.0 or Qwen3.5 0.8B?

Qwen3.5 0.8B is the better all-round choice, scoring 57/100 against Aion-3.0 (31). It leads on inputs & features and context window. The score weighs inputs & features 60%, context window 40%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.

Which is cheaper, Aion-3.0 or Qwen3.5 0.8B?

Aion-3.0 is cheaper at $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 $3.75 per million tokens for Aion-3.0 versus . Qwen3.5 0.8B has no published per-token price.

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Aion-3.0 has not been scored yet and Qwen3.5 0.8B has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Aion-3.0 and Qwen3.5 0.8B yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.

Which has the bigger context window?

Qwen3.5 0.8B has the largest context window at 262,144 tokens, against 131,072 for Aion-3.0. Maximum output per response: Aion-3.0 up to 32,768, Qwen3.5 0.8B up to 81,920 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Aion-3.0 accepts text; Qwen3.5 0.8B accepts text, images and video. Qwen3.5 0.8B handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

Qwen3.5 0.8B publishes its weights (Apache-2.0) and can be self-hosted; Aion-3.0 is proprietary.

Which is newer?

Aion-3.0 is the newest, released May 5, 2026. Qwen3.5 0.8B came out Mar 2, 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.