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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Qwen3.6 Max Preview vs Gemini 3 Pro Preview

Gemini 3 Pro Preview comes out ahead, 67 to 54 on our weighted score, though Qwen3.6 Max Preview is 35% cheaper per token.

  1. Alibaba (Qwen)

    Qwen3.6 Max Preview

    Released Apr 20, 2026

    54/100
    • ECI149.2
    • Price$1.30 / $7.80
    • Context262K
    Full specs Remove Qwen3.6 Max Preview
  2. Our pick

    Google

    Gemini 3 Pro Preview

    Released Nov 18, 2025

    67/100
    • ECI153.0
    • Price$2.00 / $12.00
    • Context1.05M
    Full specs Remove Gemini 3 Pro Preview

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Gemini 3 Pro Preview is our pick

Gemini 3 Pro Preview is the better all-round choice, scoring 67/100 against Qwen3.6 Max Preview (54). It leads on capability, inputs & features and context window. Qwen3.6 Max Preview wins on price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

  • CapabilityGemini 3 Pro PreviewCapabilities Index (ECI): Gemini 3 Pro Preview 153.0 · Qwen3.6 Max Preview 149.2
  • Lowest priceQwen3.6 Max PreviewQwen3.6 Max Preview $2.92 · Gemini 3 Pro Preview $4.50 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextGemini 3 Pro PreviewGemini 3 Pro Preview 1,048,576 · Qwen3.6 Max Preview 262,144 tokens
  • Widest inputsGemini 3 Pro PreviewQwen3.6 Max Preview: Text · Gemini 3 Pro Preview: Text, Images, PDFs, Audio, Video
  • Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
How the score is built
MeasureWeightQwen3.6 Max PreviewGemini 3 Pro Preview
CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI)50%7782
Price25%2819
Inputs & features15%35100
Context window10%3761
Overall100%54/10067/100
02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.

Qwen3.6 Max Preview vs Gemini 3 Pro Preview specifications side by side
SpecificationQwen3.6 Max PreviewAlibaba (Qwen)Gemini 3 Pro PreviewGoogle
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)149.2153.0 (best)
ECI rank#54 of 148#39 of 148 (best)
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions87.4%92.6% (best)
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics91.1%91.4% (best)
SWE-bench VerifiedFixing real GitHub issues76.7% (best)72.9%
SimpleQA VerifiedShort factual questions52.0%—
Price per million tokens
Input$1.30 (best)$2.00
Output$7.80 (best)$12.00
Cached input$0.13—
Blended (3:1)$2.92 (best)$4.50
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial Alibaba APIMedian of 2 providers
Limits
Context window262,144 tokens1,048,576 tokens (best)
Max output65,536 tokens65,536 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoYes
PDFsNoYes
AudioNoYes
VideoNoYes
ReasoningYesYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoYes
Availability
WeightsProprietaryProprietary
API model IDqwen3.6-max-preview—
API providers10 (best)3
ReleasedApr 20, 2026Nov 18, 2025
Knowledge cutoffApr 2025Jan 2025
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.

  • Qwen3.6 Max Preview$28.60
  • Gemini 3 Pro Preview$44.00
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Qwen3.6 Max Preview or Gemini 3 Pro Preview?

Gemini 3 Pro Preview is the better all-round choice, scoring 67/100 against Qwen3.6 Max Preview (54). It leads on capability, inputs & features and context window. Qwen3.6 Max Preview wins on price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

Which is cheaper, Qwen3.6 Max Preview or Gemini 3 Pro Preview?

Qwen3.6 Max Preview is cheaper at $1.30 input / $7.80 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). Gemini 3 Pro Preview costs $2.00 input / $12.00 output per million tokens (median across 2 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $2.92 per million tokens for Qwen3.6 Max Preview versus $4.50 for Gemini 3 Pro Preview (1.5× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

Gemini 3 Pro Preview scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): Gemini 3 Pro Preview 153.0 (#39 of 148) and Qwen3.6 Max Preview 149.2 (#54 of 148). The confidence ranges of the top two overlap (150.6–155.2 vs 147.6–152.0), so treat the gap as small. On individual benchmarks: GPQA Diamond — Gemini 3 Pro Preview 92.6%, Qwen3.6 Max Preview 87.4%; OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025 — Gemini 3 Pro Preview 91.4%, Qwen3.6 Max Preview 91.1%; SWE-bench Verified — Qwen3.6 Max Preview 76.7%, Gemini 3 Pro Preview 72.9%.

Which is better for coding?

Qwen3.6 Max Preview resolves more real GitHub issues on SWE-bench Verified: Qwen3.6 Max Preview 76.7% and Gemini 3 Pro Preview 72.9%. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.

Which has the bigger context window?

Gemini 3 Pro Preview has the largest context window at 1,048,576 tokens, against 262,144 for Qwen3.6 Max Preview. Maximum output per response: Qwen3.6 Max Preview up to 65,536, Gemini 3 Pro Preview up to 65,536 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Qwen3.6 Max Preview accepts text; Gemini 3 Pro Preview accepts text, images, PDFs, audio and video. Gemini 3 Pro Preview handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

No. Qwen3.6 Max Preview and Gemini 3 Pro Preview are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.

Which is newer?

Qwen3.6 Max Preview is the newest, released Apr 20, 2026. Gemini 3 Pro Preview came out Nov 18, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Qwen3.6 Max Preview Apr 2025, Gemini 3 Pro Preview Jan 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.

05 — Keep comparing

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