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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Qwen3.5 9B vs Seed 2.0 Code

Qwen3.5 9B comes out ahead, 79 to 57 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Our pick

    Alibaba (Qwen)

    Qwen3.5 9B

    Released Feb 23, 2026

    79/100
    • ECI139.5
    • Price$0.10 / $0.15
    • Context262K
    Full specs Remove Qwen3.5 9B

  2. ByteDance Seed

    Seed 2.0 Code

    Released Feb 14, 2026

    57/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.475 / $2.37
    • Context262K
    Full specs Remove Seed 2.0 Code

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Qwen3.5 9B is our pick

Qwen3.5 9B is the better all-round choice, scoring 79/100 against Seed 2.0 Code (57). It leads 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 9BQwen3.5 9B $0.113 · Seed 2.0 Code $0.95 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextAbout the sameQwen3.5 9B 262,144 · Seed 2.0 Code 262,144 tokens
  • Widest inputsSame inputsQwen3.5 9B: Text, Images, Video · Seed 2.0 Code: Text, Images, Video
  • Self-hostingQwen3.5 9BPublishes downloadable weights
How the score is built
MeasureWeightQwen3.5 9BSeed 2.0 Code
Price50%9551
Inputs & features30%8080
Context window20%3737
Overall100%79/10057/100

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 9B vs Seed 2.0 Code specifications side by side
SpecificationQwen3.5 9BAlibaba (Qwen)Seed 2.0 CodeByteDance Seed
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)139.5—
ECI rank#101 of 148—
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions79.0%—
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics61.7%—
Price per million tokens
Input$0.10 (best)$0.475
Output$0.15 (best)$2.37
Cached input—$0.095
Blended (3:1)$0.113 (best)$0.95
Long-context rateSame rateOver 32K: $0.712 / $3.56
Price sourceMedian of 14 providersOfficial Volcengine Ark API
Limits
Context window262,144 tokens262,144 tokens
Max output65,536 tokens131,072 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesYes
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoYesYes
ReasoningYesYesminimal · low · medium · high · xhigh · max
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputYesYes
Availability
WeightsOpenProprietary
API model ID—doubao-seed-2-0-code-preview-260215
API providers15 (best)10
ReleasedFeb 23, 2026Feb 14, 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 9B$1.30
  • Seed 2.0 Code$9.50
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Qwen3.5 9B or Seed 2.0 Code?

Qwen3.5 9B is the better all-round choice, scoring 79/100 against Seed 2.0 Code (57). It leads 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, Qwen3.5 9B or Seed 2.0 Code?

Qwen3.5 9B is cheaper at $0.10 input / $0.15 output per million tokens (median across 14 API providers). Seed 2.0 Code costs $0.475 input / $2.37 output per million tokens (official Volcengine Ark API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.113 per million tokens for Qwen3.5 9B versus $0.95 for Seed 2.0 Code (8.4× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Qwen3.5 9B has an ECI of 139.5 and Seed 2.0 Code has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Qwen3.5 9B and Seed 2.0 Code 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?

Qwen3.5 9B and Seed 2.0 Code share the same 262,144-token context window. Maximum output per response: Qwen3.5 9B up to 65,536, Seed 2.0 Code up to 131,072 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Qwen3.5 9B accepts text, images and video; Seed 2.0 Code accepts text, images and video. They handle the same number of input types.

Are any of these open source?

Qwen3.5 9B publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; Seed 2.0 Code is proprietary.

Which is newer?

Qwen3.5 9B is the newest, released Feb 23, 2026. Seed 2.0 Code came out Feb 14, 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

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