Qwen Max vs Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct
Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct comes out ahead, 28 to 22 on our weighted score, though Qwen Max is 7% cheaper per token.
Alibaba (Qwen)Qwen Max
22/100- ECI—
- Price$1.60 / $6.40
- Context33K
- Our pickAlibaba (Qwen)
Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct
28/100- ECI—
- Price$1.50 / $7.50
- Context262K
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Make it a three-way comparison.
Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct is our pick
Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct is the better all-round choice, scoring 28/100 against Qwen Max (22). It leads on context window. 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 priceQwen MaxQwen Max $2.80 · Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct $3.00 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextQwen3-Coder 480B-A35B InstructQwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct 262,144 · Qwen Max 32,768 tokens
- Widest inputsSame inputsQwen Max: Text · Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct: Text
- Self-hostingQwen3-Coder 480B-A35B InstructPublishes downloadable weights
| Measure | Weight | Qwen Max | Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 29 | 27 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 25 | 25 |
| Context window | 20% | 0 | 37 |
| Overall | 100% | 22/100 | 28/100 |
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 | Qwen MaxAlibaba (Qwen) | Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B InstructAlibaba (Qwen) |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $1.60 | $1.50 (best) |
| Output | $6.40 (best) | $7.50 |
| Cached input | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $2.80 (best) | $3.00 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Over 32K: $2.70 / $13.50 |
| Price source | Official Alibaba API | Official Alibaba API |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 32,768 tokens | 262,144 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 8,192 tokens | 65,536 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | No |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | Open |
| API model ID | qwen-max | qwen3-coder-480b-a35b-instruct |
| API providers | 6 | 7 (best) |
| Released | Apr 3, 2024 | Apr 2025 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Apr 2024 | Apr 2025 |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Qwen Max$28.80
- Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct$30.00
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Qwen Max or Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct?
Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct is the better all-round choice, scoring 28/100 against Qwen Max (22). It leads on context window. 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, Qwen Max or Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct?
Qwen Max is cheaper at $1.60 input / $6.40 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct costs $1.50 input / $7.50 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $2.80 per million tokens for Qwen Max versus $3.00 for Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct (1.1× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Qwen Max has not been scored yet and Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Qwen Max and Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct 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-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct has the largest context window at 262,144 tokens, against 32,768 for Qwen Max. Maximum output per response: Qwen Max up to 8,192, Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct up to 65,536 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Qwen Max accepts text; Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct accepts text. They handle the same number of input types.
Are any of these open source?
Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; Qwen Max is proprietary.
Which is newer?
Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct is the newest, released Apr 2025. Qwen Max came out Apr 3, 2024. Knowledge cutoff: Qwen Max Apr 2024, Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct 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.
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