ZMIME
Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Qwen3.5 27B vs DeepSeek OCR 2

Qwen3.5 27B comes out ahead, 61 to 32 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Our pick

    Alibaba (Qwen)

    Qwen3.5 27B

    Released Feb 23, 2026

    61/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.30 / $2.40
    • Context262K
    Full specs Remove Qwen3.5 27B

  2. DeepSeek

    DeepSeek OCR 2

    Released Jan 27, 2026

    32/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.89 / $1.47
    • Context8K
    Full specs Remove DeepSeek OCR 2

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Qwen3.5 27B is our pick

Qwen3.5 27B is the better all-round choice, scoring 61/100 against DeepSeek OCR 2 (32). It leads on price, inputs & features and 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 priceQwen3.5 27BQwen3.5 27B $0.825 · DeepSeek OCR 2 $1.03 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextQwen3.5 27BQwen3.5 27B 262,144 · DeepSeek OCR 2 8,192 tokens
  • Widest inputsQwen3.5 27BQwen3.5 27B: Text, Images, Audio, Video · DeepSeek OCR 2: Text, Images
  • Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
How the score is built
MeasureWeightQwen3.5 27BDeepSeek OCR 2
Price50%5449
Inputs & features30%9025
Context window20%370
Overall100%61/10032/100

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.

Qwen3.5 27B vs DeepSeek OCR 2 specifications side by side
SpecificationQwen3.5 27BAlibaba (Qwen)DeepSeek OCR 2DeepSeek
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
Input$0.30 (best)$0.89
Output$2.40$1.47 (best)
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$0.825 (best)$1.03
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial Alibaba APIMedian of 1 providers
Limits
Context window262,144 tokens (best)8,192 tokens
Max output65,536 tokens (best)8,192 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesYes
PDFsNoNo
AudioYesNo
VideoYesNo
ReasoningYesNo
Tool callingYesNo
Structured outputYesNo
Availability
WeightsOpenOpen
API model IDqwen3.5-27b—
API providers16 (best)2
ReleasedFeb 23, 2026Jan 27, 2026
Knowledge cutoff——
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.

  • Qwen3.5 27B$7.80
  • DeepSeek OCR 2$11.83
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Qwen3.5 27B or DeepSeek OCR 2?

Qwen3.5 27B is the better all-round choice, scoring 61/100 against DeepSeek OCR 2 (32). It leads on price, inputs & features and 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, Qwen3.5 27B or DeepSeek OCR 2?

Qwen3.5 27B is cheaper at $0.30 input / $2.40 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). DeepSeek OCR 2 costs $0.89 input / $1.47 output per million tokens (median across 1 API provider). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.825 per million tokens for Qwen3.5 27B versus $1.03 for DeepSeek OCR 2 (1.3× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Qwen3.5 27B has not been scored yet and DeepSeek OCR 2 has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Qwen3.5 27B and DeepSeek OCR 2 yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Note that DeepSeek OCR 2 does not support tool calling, which most coding agents need.

Which has the bigger context window?

Qwen3.5 27B has the largest context window at 262,144 tokens, against 8,192 for DeepSeek OCR 2. Maximum output per response: Qwen3.5 27B up to 65,536, DeepSeek OCR 2 up to 8,192 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Qwen3.5 27B accepts text, images, audio and video; DeepSeek OCR 2 accepts text and images. Qwen3.5 27B handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

Yes, both publish their weights, so you can self-host them.

Which is newer?

Qwen3.5 27B is the newest, released Feb 23, 2026. DeepSeek OCR 2 came out Jan 27, 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.

05 — Keep comparing

Related comparisons