Grok Build 0.1 vs Qwen3.5 35B-A3B Base
Grok Build 0.1 comes out ahead, 53 to 45 on our weighted score, though Qwen3.5 35B-A3B Base is 41% cheaper per token.
- Our pick
xAIGrok Build 0.1
53/100- ECI—
- Price$1.00 / $2.00
- Context256K
Alibaba (Qwen)Qwen3.5 35B-A3B Base
45/100- ECI—
- Price$0.54 / $1.33
- Context262K
Add a model
Make it a three-way comparison.
Grok Build 0.1 is our pick
Grok Build 0.1 is the better all-round choice, scoring 53/100 against Qwen3.5 35B-A3B Base (45). It leads on inputs & features. Qwen3.5 35B-A3B Base 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 priceQwen3.5 35B-A3B BaseQwen3.5 35B-A3B Base $0.739 · Grok Build 0.1 $1.25 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextQwen3.5 35B-A3B BaseQwen3.5 35B-A3B Base 262,144 · Grok Build 0.1 256,000 tokens
- Widest inputsSame inputsGrok Build 0.1: Text, Images, PDFs · Qwen3.5 35B-A3B Base: Text, Images, Video
- Self-hostingQwen3.5 35B-A3B BasePublishes downloadable weights (Apache-2.0)
| Measure | Weight | Grok Build 0.1 | Qwen3.5 35B-A3B Base |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 43 | 54 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 80 | 35 |
| Context window | 20% | 36 | 37 |
| Overall | 100% | 53/100 | 45/100 |
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 Build 0.1xAI | Qwen3.5 35B-A3B BaseAlibaba (Qwen) |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $1.00 | $0.54 (best) |
| Output | $2.00 | $1.33 (best) |
| Cached input | $0.20 | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $1.25 | $0.739 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Over 200K: $2.00 / $4.00 | Same rate |
| Price source | Official xAI API | Median of 1 providers |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 256,000 tokens | 262,144 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 256,000 tokens (best) | 65,536 tokens |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | Yes |
| PDFs | Yes | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yes | No |
| Tool calling | Yes | No |
| Structured output | Yes | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | OpenApache-2.0 |
| API model ID | grok-build-0.1 | — |
| API providers | 20 (best) | 1 |
| Released | Apr 16, 2026 | Feb 24, 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 Build 0.1$14.00
- Qwen3.5 35B-A3B Base$8.07
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Grok Build 0.1 or Qwen3.5 35B-A3B Base?
Grok Build 0.1 is the better all-round choice, scoring 53/100 against Qwen3.5 35B-A3B Base (45). It leads on inputs & features. Qwen3.5 35B-A3B Base 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, Grok Build 0.1 or Qwen3.5 35B-A3B Base?
Qwen3.5 35B-A3B Base is cheaper at $0.54 input / $1.33 output per million tokens (median across 1 API provider). Grok Build 0.1 costs $1.00 input / $2.00 output per million tokens (official xAI API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.739 per million tokens for Qwen3.5 35B-A3B Base versus $1.25 for Grok Build 0.1 (1.7× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Grok Build 0.1 has not been scored yet and Qwen3.5 35B-A3B Base has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Grok Build 0.1 and Qwen3.5 35B-A3B Base yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Note that Qwen3.5 35B-A3B Base does not support tool calling, which most coding agents need.
Which has the bigger context window?
Qwen3.5 35B-A3B Base has the largest context window at 262,144 tokens, against 256,000 for Grok Build 0.1. Maximum output per response: Grok Build 0.1 up to 256,000, Qwen3.5 35B-A3B Base up to 65,536 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Grok Build 0.1 accepts text, images and PDFs; Qwen3.5 35B-A3B Base accepts text, images and video. They handle the same number of input types.
Are any of these open source?
Qwen3.5 35B-A3B Base publishes its weights (Apache-2.0) and can be self-hosted; Grok Build 0.1 is proprietary.
Which is newer?
Grok Build 0.1 is the newest, released Apr 16, 2026. Qwen3.5 35B-A3B Base came out Feb 24, 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.
