Grok 4.20 (Reasoning) vs Qwen3.8 Max Preview
Grok 4.20 (Reasoning) comes out ahead, 56 to 47 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
- Our pick
xAIGrok 4.20 (Reasoning)
56/100- ECI152.0
- Price$1.25 / $2.50
- Context1M
Alibaba (Qwen)Qwen3.8 Max Preview
47/100- ECI—
- Price$2.00 / $6.00
- Context1M
Add a model
Make it a three-way comparison.
Grok 4.20 (Reasoning) is our pick
Grok 4.20 (Reasoning) is the better all-round choice, scoring 56/100 against Qwen3.8 Max Preview (47). It leads on price and inputs & features. 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 priceGrok 4.20 (Reasoning)Grok 4.20 (Reasoning) $1.56 · Qwen3.8 Max Preview $3.00 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextAbout the sameGrok 4.20 (Reasoning) 1,000,000 · Qwen3.8 Max Preview 1,000,000 tokens
- Widest inputsSame inputsGrok 4.20 (Reasoning): Text, Images, PDFs · Qwen3.8 Max Preview: Text, Images, Video
- Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
| Measure | Weight | Grok 4.20 (Reasoning) | Qwen3.8 Max Preview |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 41 | 27 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 80 | 70 |
| Context window | 20% | 60 | 60 |
| Overall | 100% | 56/100 | 47/100 |
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 | Grok 4.20 (Reasoning)xAI | Qwen3.8 Max PreviewAlibaba (Qwen) |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | 152.0 | — |
| ECI rank | #41 of 148 | — |
| GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions | 89.3% | — |
| FrontierMath Tiers 1–3Research-level mathematics | 44.9% | — |
| OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics | 92.2% | — |
| SimpleQA VerifiedShort factual questions | 30.2% | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $1.25 (best) | $2.00 |
| Output | $2.50 (best) | $6.00 |
| Cached input | $0.20 | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $1.56 (best) | $3.00 |
| Long-context rate | Over 200K: $2.50 / $5.00 | Same rate |
| Price source | Official xAI API | Median of 6 providers |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 1,000,000 tokens | 1,000,000 tokens |
| Max output | 30,000 tokens | 131,072 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | Yes |
| PDFs | Yes | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | Yes | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| API model ID | grok-4.20-0309-reasoning | — |
| API providers | 11 (best) | 6 |
| Released | Mar 9, 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.
- Grok 4.20 (Reasoning)$17.50
- Qwen3.8 Max Preview$32.00
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Grok 4.20 (Reasoning) or Qwen3.8 Max Preview?
Grok 4.20 (Reasoning) is the better all-round choice, scoring 56/100 against Qwen3.8 Max Preview (47). It leads on price and inputs & features. 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, Grok 4.20 (Reasoning) or Qwen3.8 Max Preview?
Grok 4.20 (Reasoning) is cheaper at $1.25 input / $2.50 output per million tokens (official xAI API price). Qwen3.8 Max Preview costs $2.00 input / $6.00 output per million tokens (median across 6 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $1.56 per million tokens for Grok 4.20 (Reasoning) versus $3.00 for Qwen3.8 Max Preview (1.9× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Grok 4.20 (Reasoning) has an ECI of 152.0 and Qwen3.8 Max Preview has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Grok 4.20 (Reasoning) and Qwen3.8 Max Preview 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?
Grok 4.20 (Reasoning) and Qwen3.8 Max Preview share the same 1,000,000-token context window. Maximum output per response: Grok 4.20 (Reasoning) up to 30,000, Qwen3.8 Max Preview up to 131,072 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Grok 4.20 (Reasoning) accepts text, images and PDFs; Qwen3.8 Max Preview accepts text, images and video. They handle the same number of input types.
Are any of these open source?
No. Grok 4.20 (Reasoning) and Qwen3.8 Max Preview are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.
Which is newer?
Qwen3.8 Max Preview is the newest, released Jul 19, 2026. Grok 4.20 (Reasoning) came out Mar 9, 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 Oct 4, 2026.
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