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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Claude Mythos 5 vs Qwen3.8 Max Preview

Qwen3.8 Max Preview comes out ahead, 47 to 36 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Anthropic

    Claude Mythos 5

    Released Jun 9, 2026

    36/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$10.00 / $50.00
    • Context1M
  2. Our pick

    Alibaba (Qwen)

    Qwen3.8 Max Preview

    Released Jul 19, 2026

    47/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$2.00 / $6.00
    • Context1M
  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Qwen3.8 Max Preview is our pick

Qwen3.8 Max Preview is the better all-round choice, scoring 47/100 against Claude Mythos 5 (36). It leads on price. Claude Mythos 5 wins on 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 priceQwen3.8 Max PreviewQwen3.8 Max Preview $3.00 · Claude Mythos 5 $20.00 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextAbout the sameClaude Mythos 5 1,000,000 · Qwen3.8 Max Preview 1,000,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsSame inputsClaude Mythos 5: Text, Images, PDFs · Qwen3.8 Max Preview: Text, Images, Video
  • Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
How the score is built
MeasureWeightClaude Mythos 5Qwen3.8 Max Preview
Price50%027
Inputs & features30%8070
Context window20%6060
Overall100%36/10047/100

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.

Claude Mythos 5 vs Qwen3.8 Max Preview specifications side by side
SpecificationClaude Mythos 5AnthropicQwen3.8 Max PreviewAlibaba (Qwen)
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
Input$10.00$2.00 (best)
Output$50.00$6.00 (best)
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$20.00$3.00 (best)
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 2 providersMedian of 6 providers
Limits
Context window1,000,000 tokens1,000,000 tokens
Max output128,000 tokens131,072 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesYes
PDFsYesNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoYes
ReasoningYesYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputYesNo
Availability
WeightsProprietaryProprietary
API model ID——
API providers26 (best)
ReleasedJun 9, 2026Jul 19, 2026
Knowledge cutoffJan 31, 2026—
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.

  • Claude Mythos 5$200.00
  • Qwen3.8 Max Preview$32.00
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Claude Mythos 5 or Qwen3.8 Max Preview?

Qwen3.8 Max Preview is the better all-round choice, scoring 47/100 against Claude Mythos 5 (36). It leads on price. Claude Mythos 5 wins on 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, Claude Mythos 5 or Qwen3.8 Max Preview?

Qwen3.8 Max Preview is cheaper at $2.00 input / $6.00 output per million tokens (median across 6 API providers). Claude Mythos 5 costs $10.00 input / $50.00 output per million tokens (median across 2 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $3.00 per million tokens for Qwen3.8 Max Preview versus $20.00 for Claude Mythos 5 (6.7× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Claude Mythos 5 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 Claude Mythos 5 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?

Claude Mythos 5 and Qwen3.8 Max Preview share the same 1,000,000-token context window. Maximum output per response: Claude Mythos 5 up to 128,000, Qwen3.8 Max Preview up to 131,072 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Claude Mythos 5 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. Claude Mythos 5 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. Claude Mythos 5 came out Jun 9, 2026. Knowledge cutoff: Claude Mythos 5 Jan 31, 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.