Qwen3.8 Max Preview vs Qwen 3.8 Max Prime
Qwen3.8 Max Preview comes out ahead, 47 to 42 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
- Our pick
Alibaba (Qwen)Qwen3.8 Max Preview
47/100- ECI—
- Price$2.00 / $6.00
- Context1M
- Alibaba (Qwen)
Qwen 3.8 Max Prime
42/100- ECI—
- Price$4.00 / $12.00
- Context1M
Add a model
Make it a three-way comparison.
Qwen3.8 Max Preview is our pick
Qwen3.8 Max Preview is the better all-round choice, scoring 47/100 against Qwen 3.8 Max Prime (42). It leads on price. Qwen 3.8 Max Prime wins on 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 priceQwen3.8 Max PreviewQwen3.8 Max Preview $3.00 · Qwen 3.8 Max Prime $6.00 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextAbout the sameQwen3.8 Max Preview 1,000,000 · Qwen 3.8 Max Prime 1,000,000 tokens
- Widest inputsSame inputsQwen3.8 Max Preview: Text, Images, Video · Qwen 3.8 Max Prime: Text, Images, Video
- Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
| Measure | Weight | Qwen3.8 Max Preview | Qwen 3.8 Max Prime |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 27 | 13 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 70 | 80 |
| Context window | 20% | 60 | 60 |
| Overall | 100% | 47/100 | 42/100 |
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) | Qwen 3.8 Max PrimeAlibaba (Qwen) |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $2.00 (best) | $4.00 |
| Output | $6.00 (best) | $12.00 |
| Cached input | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $3.00 (best) | $6.00 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 6 providers | Median of 4 providers |
| 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 | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | Yes | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | Yes |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| API model ID | — | — |
| API providers | 6 (best) | 4 |
| Released | Jul 19, 2026 | Sep 23, 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
- Qwen 3.8 Max Prime$64.00
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Qwen3.8 Max Preview or Qwen 3.8 Max Prime?
Qwen3.8 Max Preview is the better all-round choice, scoring 47/100 against Qwen 3.8 Max Prime (42). It leads on price. Qwen 3.8 Max Prime wins on 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 Qwen 3.8 Max Prime?
Qwen3.8 Max Preview is cheaper at $2.00 input / $6.00 output per million tokens (median across 6 API providers). Qwen 3.8 Max Prime costs $4.00 input / $12.00 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 $6.00 for Qwen 3.8 Max Prime (2× 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 Qwen 3.8 Max Prime has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Qwen3.8 Max Preview and Qwen 3.8 Max Prime 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 Preview and Qwen 3.8 Max Prime share the same 1,000,000-token context window. Maximum output per response: Qwen3.8 Max Preview up to 131,072, Qwen 3.8 Max Prime up to 131,072 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Qwen3.8 Max Preview accepts text, images and video; Qwen 3.8 Max Prime accepts text, images and video. They handle the same number of input types.
Are any of these open source?
No. Qwen3.8 Max Preview and Qwen 3.8 Max Prime are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.
Which is newer?
Qwen 3.8 Max Prime is the newest, released Sep 23, 2026. Qwen3.8 Max Preview came out Jul 19, 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.
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