Qwen3.8 Max Preview vs Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite comes out ahead, 73 to 47 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
Alibaba (Qwen)Qwen3.8 Max Preview
47/100- ECI—
- Price$2.00 / $6.00
- Context1M
- Our pick
GoogleGemini 3.1 Flash Lite
73/100- ECI—
- Price$0.25 / $1.50
- Context1.05M
Add a model
Make it a three-way comparison.
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite is our pick
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite is the better all-round choice, scoring 73/100 against Qwen3.8 Max Preview (47). It leads on price and inputs & features. 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 priceGemini 3.1 Flash LiteGemini 3.1 Flash Lite $0.563 · Qwen3.8 Max Preview $3.00 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextGemini 3.1 Flash LiteGemini 3.1 Flash Lite 1,048,576 · Qwen3.8 Max Preview 1,000,000 tokens
- Widest inputsGemini 3.1 Flash LiteQwen3.8 Max Preview: Text, Images, Video · Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite: Text, Images, PDFs, Audio, Video
- Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
| Measure | Weight | Qwen3.8 Max Preview | Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 27 | 62 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 70 | 100 |
| Context window | 20% | 60 | 61 |
| Overall | 100% | 47/100 | 73/100 |
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) | Gemini 3.1 Flash LiteGoogle |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $2.00 | $0.25 (best) |
| Output | $6.00 | $1.50 (best) |
| Cached input | — | $0.025 |
| Blended (3:1) | $3.00 | $0.563 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 6 providers | Official Google API |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 1,000,000 tokens | 1,048,576 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 131,072 tokens (best) | 65,536 tokens |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | Yes |
| PDFs | No | Yes |
| Audio | No | Yes |
| Video | Yes | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yesminimal · low · medium · high |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | Yes |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| API model ID | — | gemini-3.1-flash-lite |
| API providers | 6 | 23 (best) |
| Released | Jul 19, 2026 | May 7, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | — | Jan 2025 |
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
- Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite$5.50
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Qwen3.8 Max Preview or Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite?
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite is the better all-round choice, scoring 73/100 against Qwen3.8 Max Preview (47). It leads on price and inputs & features. 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 or Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite?
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite is cheaper at $0.25 input / $1.50 output per million tokens (official Google API price). Qwen3.8 Max Preview 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 $0.563 per million tokens for Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite versus $3.00 for Qwen3.8 Max Preview (5.3× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Qwen3.8 Max Preview has not been scored yet and Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Qwen3.8 Max Preview and Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite 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?
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite has the largest context window at 1,048,576 tokens, against 1,000,000 for Qwen3.8 Max Preview. Maximum output per response: Qwen3.8 Max Preview up to 131,072, Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite up to 65,536 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Qwen3.8 Max Preview accepts text, images and video; Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite accepts text, images, PDFs, audio and video. Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
No. Qwen3.8 Max Preview and Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.
Which is newer?
Qwen3.8 Max Preview is the newest, released Jul 19, 2026. Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite came out May 7, 2026. Knowledge cutoff: Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite 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.
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