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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview vs Qwen3 235B-A22B

Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview comes out ahead, 50 to 38 on our weighted score, though Qwen3 235B-A22B is 39% cheaper per token.

  1. Our pick

    Google

    Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview

    Released Apr 14, 2026

    50/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$1.00 / $5.00
    • Context131K
    Full specs Remove Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview

  2. Alibaba (Qwen)

    Qwen3 235B-A22B

    Released Apr 28, 2025

    38/100
    • ECI139.4
    • Price$0.70 / $2.80
    • Context131K
    Full specs Remove Qwen3 235B-A22B

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview is our pick

Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview is the better all-round choice, scoring 50/100 against Qwen3 235B-A22B (38). It leads on inputs & features. Qwen3 235B-A22B wins 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 priceQwen3 235B-A22BQwen3 235B-A22B $1.23 · Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview $2.00 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextAbout the sameGemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview 131,072 · Qwen3 235B-A22B 131,072 tokens
  • Widest inputsGemini Robotics-ER 1.6 PreviewGemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview: Text, Images, Audio, Video · Qwen3 235B-A22B: Text
  • Self-hostingQwen3 235B-A22BPublishes downloadable weights
How the score is built
MeasureWeightGemini Robotics-ER 1.6 PreviewQwen3 235B-A22B
Price50%3646
Inputs & features30%9035
Context window20%2424
Overall100%50/10038/100

Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. 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.

Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview vs Qwen3 235B-A22B specifications side by side
SpecificationGemini Robotics-ER 1.6 PreviewGoogleQwen3 235B-A22BAlibaba (Qwen)
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)—139.4
ECI rank—#103 of 148
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions—70.7%
Price per million tokens
Input$1.00$0.70 (best)
Output$5.00$2.80 (best)
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$2.00$1.23 (best)
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 1 providersOfficial Alibaba API
Limits
Context window131,072 tokens131,072 tokens
Max output65,536 tokens (best)16,384 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesNo
PDFsNoNo
AudioYesNo
VideoYesNo
ReasoningYesYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputYesNo
Availability
WeightsProprietaryOpen
API model ID—qwen3-235b-a22b
API providers17 (best)
ReleasedApr 14, 2026Apr 28, 2025
Knowledge cutoffJan 2025Apr 2025
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.

  • Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview$20.00
  • Qwen3 235B-A22B$12.60
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview or Qwen3 235B-A22B?

Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview is the better all-round choice, scoring 50/100 against Qwen3 235B-A22B (38). It leads on inputs & features. Qwen3 235B-A22B wins 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, Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview or Qwen3 235B-A22B?

Qwen3 235B-A22B is cheaper at $0.70 input / $2.80 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview costs $1.00 input / $5.00 output per million tokens (median across 1 API provider). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $1.23 per million tokens for Qwen3 235B-A22B versus $2.00 for Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview (1.6× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview has not been scored yet and Qwen3 235B-A22B has an ECI of 139.4.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview and Qwen3 235B-A22B 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?

Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview and Qwen3 235B-A22B share the same 131,072-token context window. Maximum output per response: Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview up to 65,536, Qwen3 235B-A22B up to 16,384 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview accepts text, images, audio and video; Qwen3 235B-A22B accepts text. Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

Qwen3 235B-A22B publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview is proprietary.

Which is newer?

Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview is the newest, released Apr 14, 2026. Qwen3 235B-A22B came out Apr 28, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview Jan 2025, Qwen3 235B-A22B Apr 2025.

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 Oct 4, 2026.

05 — Keep comparing

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