Qwen3.8 Max Preview vs Sakana Namazu
Sakana Namazu comes out ahead, 51 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
Sakana AI
Sakana Namazu
51/100- ECI—
- Price$0.95 / $4.00
- Context262K
Add a model
Make it a three-way comparison.
Sakana Namazu is our pick
Sakana Namazu is the better all-round choice, scoring 51/100 against Qwen3.8 Max Preview (47). It leads on price and inputs & features. Qwen3.8 Max Preview wins on context window. 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 priceSakana NamazuSakana Namazu $1.71 · Qwen3.8 Max Preview $3.00 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextQwen3.8 Max PreviewQwen3.8 Max Preview 1,000,000 · Sakana Namazu 262,144 tokens
- Widest inputsSame inputsQwen3.8 Max Preview: Text, Images, Video · Sakana Namazu: Text, Images, PDFs
- Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
| Measure | Weight | Qwen3.8 Max Preview | Sakana Namazu |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 27 | 39 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 70 | 80 |
| Context window | 20% | 60 | 37 |
| Overall | 100% | 47/100 | 51/100 |
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) | Sakana NamazuSakana AI |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $2.00 | $0.95 (best) |
| Output | $6.00 | $4.00 (best) |
| Cached input | — | $0.15 |
| Blended (3:1) | $3.00 | $1.71 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 6 providers | Official Sakana AI API |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 1,000,000 tokens (best) | 262,144 tokens |
| Max output | 131,072 tokens (best) | 65,536 tokens |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | Yes |
| PDFs | No | Yes |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | Yes | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | Yes |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| API model ID | — | sakana-namazu |
| API providers | 6 (best) | 5 |
| Released | Jul 19, 2026 | Aug 3, 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
- Sakana Namazu$17.50
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Qwen3.8 Max Preview or Sakana Namazu?
Sakana Namazu is the better all-round choice, scoring 51/100 against Qwen3.8 Max Preview (47). It leads on price and inputs & features. Qwen3.8 Max Preview wins on context window. 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 Sakana Namazu?
Sakana Namazu is cheaper at $0.95 input / $4.00 output per million tokens (official Sakana AI 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 $1.71 per million tokens for Sakana Namazu versus $3.00 for Qwen3.8 Max Preview (1.8× 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 Sakana Namazu has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Qwen3.8 Max Preview and Sakana Namazu 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 has the largest context window at 1,000,000 tokens, against 262,144 for Sakana Namazu. Maximum output per response: Qwen3.8 Max Preview up to 131,072, Sakana Namazu up to 65,536 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Qwen3.8 Max Preview accepts text, images and video; Sakana Namazu accepts text, images and PDFs. They handle the same number of input types.
Are any of these open source?
No. Qwen3.8 Max Preview and Sakana Namazu are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.
Which is newer?
Sakana Namazu is the newest, released Aug 3, 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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