Qwen3.8 Max Preview vs Aion-3.0 vs Fugu Max
Too close to call on our weighted score (Qwen3.8 Max Preview 46, Fugu Max 46, Aion-3.0 26). The right pick depends on what you value most.
Alibaba (Qwen)Qwen3.8 Max Preview
46/100- ECI—
- Price$2.00 / $6.00
- Context1M
Aion Labs
Aion-3.0
26/100- ECI—
- Price$3.00 / $6.00
- Context131K
Sakana AIFugu Max
46/100- ECI—
- Price$2.00 / $6.00
- Context1M
Too close to call
It is close. Our weighted score puts them within a point (Qwen3.8 Max Preview 46/100, Fugu Max 46/100, Aion-3.0 26/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: Qwen3.8 Max Preview 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 Max Preview and Fugu MaxQwen3.8 Max Preview $3.00 · Fugu Max $3.00 · Aion-3.0 $3.75 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextQwen3.8 Max Preview and Fugu MaxQwen3.8 Max Preview 1,000,000 · Fugu Max 1,000,000 · Aion-3.0 131,072 tokens
- Widest inputsQwen3.8 Max Preview and Fugu MaxQwen3.8 Max Preview: Text, Images, Video · Aion-3.0: Text · Fugu Max: Text, Images, PDFs
- Self-hostingNo open weightsAll three are available only through APIs
| Measure | Weight | Qwen3.8 Max Preview | Aion-3.0 | Fugu Max |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 26 | 22 | 26 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 70 | 35 | 70 |
| Context window | 20% | 60 | 25 | 60 |
| Overall | 100% | 46/100 | 26/100 | 46/100 |
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 PreviewAlibaba (Qwen) | Aion-3.0Aion Labs | Fugu MaxSakana AI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $2.00 (best) | $3.00 | $2.00 (best) |
| Output | $6.00 | $6.00 | $6.00 |
| Cached input | — | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $3.00 (best) | $3.75 | $3.00 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 6 providers | Median of 4 providers | Median of 9 providers |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 1,000,000 tokens (best) | 131,072 tokens | 1,000,000 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 131,072 tokens (best) | 32,768 tokens | 128,000 tokens |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | No | Yes |
| PDFs | No | No | Yes |
| Audio | No | No | No |
| Video | Yes | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | No | No |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| API model ID | — | — | — |
| API providers | 6 | 4 | 9 (best) |
| Released | Jul 19, 2026 | May 5, 2026 | Sep 11, 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 Preview$32.00
- Aion-3.0$42.00
- Fugu Max$32.00
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Qwen3.8 Max Preview, Aion-3.0 or Fugu Max?
It is close. Our weighted score puts them within a point (Qwen3.8 Max Preview 46/100, Fugu Max 46/100, Aion-3.0 26/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: Qwen3.8 Max Preview 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 Preview, Aion-3.0 or Fugu Max?
Qwen3.8 Max Preview is cheaper at $2.00 input / $6.00 output per million tokens (median across 6 API providers). Fugu Max costs $2.00 input / $6.00 output per million tokens (median across 9 API providers); Aion-3.0 costs $3.00 input / $6.00 output per million tokens (median across 4 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $3.00 per million tokens for Qwen3.8 Max Preview versus $3.00 for Fugu Max (1× as much) and $3.75 for Aion-3.0 (1.3× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers all three models yet. Qwen3.8 Max Preview has not been scored yet, Aion-3.0 has not been scored yet and Fugu Max has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Qwen3.8 Max Preview, Aion-3.0 and Fugu Max yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. All three support tool calling for agent workflows.
Which has the bigger context window?
Qwen3.8 Max Preview and Fugu Max have the largest context windows (1,000,000 and 1,000,000 tokens), against 131,072 for Aion-3.0. Maximum output per response: Qwen3.8 Max Preview up to 131,072, Aion-3.0 up to 32,768, Fugu Max up to 128,000 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Qwen3.8 Max Preview accepts text, images and video; Aion-3.0 accepts text; Fugu Max accepts text, images and PDFs. Qwen3.8 Max Preview handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
No. Qwen3.8 Max Preview, Aion-3.0 and Fugu Max are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.
Which is newer?
Fugu Max is the newest, released Sep 11, 2026. Qwen3.8 Max Preview came out Jul 19, 2026; Aion-3.0 came out May 5, 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 Nov 2, 2026.
