Qwen3.8 Max 0902 vs Qwen3.8 Flash
Qwen3.8 Flash comes out ahead, 76 to 50 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
Alibaba (Qwen)Qwen3.8 Max 0902
50/100- ECI155.2
- Price$2.00 / $6.00
- Context1M
- Our pickAlibaba (Qwen)
Qwen3.8 Flash
76/100- ECI—
- Price$0.15 / $0.47
- Context1M
Add a model
Make it a three-way comparison.
Qwen3.8 Flash is our pick
Qwen3.8 Flash is the better all-round choice, scoring 76/100 against Qwen3.8 Max 0902 (50). 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 priceQwen3.8 FlashQwen3.8 Flash $0.23 · Qwen3.8 Max 0902 $3.00 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextAbout the sameQwen3.8 Max 0902 1,000,000 · Qwen3.8 Flash 1,000,000 tokens
- Widest inputsQwen3.8 Max 0902Qwen3.8 Max 0902: Text, Images, PDFs, Video · Qwen3.8 Flash: Text, Images, Video
- Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
| Measure | Weight | Qwen3.8 Max 0902 | Qwen3.8 Flash |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 27 | 80 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 80 | 80 |
| Context window | 20% | 60 | 60 |
| Overall | 100% | 50/100 | 76/100 |
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 | Qwen3.8 Max 0902Alibaba (Qwen) | Qwen3.8 FlashAlibaba (Qwen) |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | 155.2 | — |
| ECI rank | #28 of 148 | — |
| GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions | 92.3% | — |
| FrontierMath Tiers 1–3Research-level mathematics | 65.6% | — |
| OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics | 100% | — |
| SimpleQA VerifiedShort factual questions | 47.3% | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $2.00 | $0.15 (best) |
| Output | $6.00 | $0.47 (best) |
| Cached input | — | $0.016 |
| Blended (3:1) | $3.00 | $0.23 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 6 providers | Official Alibaba API |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 1,000,000 tokens | 1,000,000 tokens |
| Max output | 131,072 tokens | 131,072 tokens |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | Yes |
| PDFs | Yes | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | Yes | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yeslow · medium · xhigh |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | Yes |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| API model ID | — | qwen3.8-flash |
| API providers | 6 | 23 (best) |
| Released | Sep 2, 2026 | Aug 26, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | — | — |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Qwen3.8 Max 0902$32.00
- Qwen3.8 Flash$2.44
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Qwen3.8 Max 0902 or Qwen3.8 Flash?
Qwen3.8 Flash is the better all-round choice, scoring 76/100 against Qwen3.8 Max 0902 (50). 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, Qwen3.8 Max 0902 or Qwen3.8 Flash?
Qwen3.8 Flash is cheaper at $0.15 input / $0.47 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). Qwen3.8 Max 0902 costs $2.00 input / $6.00 output per million tokens (median across 6 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.23 per million tokens for Qwen3.8 Flash versus $3.00 for Qwen3.8 Max 0902 (13× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Qwen3.8 Max 0902 has an ECI of 155.2 and Qwen3.8 Flash has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Qwen3.8 Max 0902 and Qwen3.8 Flash 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?
Qwen3.8 Max 0902 and Qwen3.8 Flash share the same 1,000,000-token context window. Maximum output per response: Qwen3.8 Max 0902 up to 131,072, Qwen3.8 Flash up to 131,072 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Qwen3.8 Max 0902 accepts text, images, PDFs and video; Qwen3.8 Flash accepts text, images and video. Qwen3.8 Max 0902 handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
No. Qwen3.8 Max 0902 and Qwen3.8 Flash are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.
Which is newer?
Qwen3.8 Max 0902 is the newest, released Sep 2, 2026. Qwen3.8 Flash came out Aug 26, 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.
