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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Qwen3.8 Max vs Qwen3.8 Max Preview

Qwen3.8 Max comes out ahead, 53 to 47 on our weighted score.

  1. Our pick

    Alibaba (Qwen)

    Qwen3.8 Max

    Released Aug 3, 2026

    53/100
    • ECI156.6
    • Price$2.00 / $6.00
    • Context1M
  2. Alibaba (Qwen)

    Qwen3.8 Max Preview

    Released Jul 19, 2026

    47/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$2.00 / $6.00
    • Context1M
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    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Qwen3.8 Max is our pick

Qwen3.8 Max is the better all-round choice, scoring 53/100 against Qwen3.8 Max Preview (47). It leads 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 priceSame priceQwen3.8 Max $3.00 · Qwen3.8 Max Preview $3.00 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextAbout the sameQwen3.8 Max 1,000,000 · Qwen3.8 Max Preview 1,000,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsQwen3.8 MaxQwen3.8 Max: Text, Images, PDFs, Video · Qwen3.8 Max Preview: Text, Images, Video
  • Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
How the score is built
MeasureWeightQwen3.8 MaxQwen3.8 Max Preview
Price50%2727
Inputs & features30%9070
Context window20%6060
Overall100%53/10047/100

Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.

02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.

Qwen3.8 Max vs Qwen3.8 Max Preview specifications side by side
SpecificationQwen3.8 MaxAlibaba (Qwen)Qwen3.8 Max PreviewAlibaba (Qwen)
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)156.6—
ECI rank#20 of 148—
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions92.7%—
FrontierMath Tiers 1–3Research-level mathematics74.7%—
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics99.4%—
SimpleQA VerifiedShort factual questions45.8%—
Price per million tokens
Input$2.00$2.00
Output$6.00$6.00
Cached input$0.25—
Blended (3:1)$3.00$3.00
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial Alibaba APIMedian of 6 providers
Limits
Context window1,000,000 tokens1,000,000 tokens
Max output131,072 tokens131,072 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesYes
PDFsYesNo
AudioNoNo
VideoYesYes
ReasoningYeslow · medium · xhighYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputYesNo
Availability
WeightsProprietaryProprietary
API model IDqwen3.8-max—
API providers25 (best)6
ReleasedAug 3, 2026Jul 19, 2026
Knowledge cutoff——
03 — Cost

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$32.00
  • Qwen3.8 Max Preview$32.00
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Qwen3.8 Max or Qwen3.8 Max Preview?

Qwen3.8 Max is the better all-round choice, scoring 53/100 against Qwen3.8 Max Preview (47). It leads 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 or Qwen3.8 Max Preview?

Qwen3.8 Max and Qwen3.8 Max Preview cost the same: $2.00 input / $6.00 output per million tokens.

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Qwen3.8 Max has an ECI of 156.6 and Qwen3.8 Max Preview has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Qwen3.8 Max and Qwen3.8 Max Preview 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 and Qwen3.8 Max Preview share the same 1,000,000-token context window. Maximum output per response: Qwen3.8 Max up to 131,072, Qwen3.8 Max Preview up to 131,072 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Qwen3.8 Max accepts text, images, PDFs and video; Qwen3.8 Max Preview accepts text, images and video. Qwen3.8 Max handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

No. Qwen3.8 Max and Qwen3.8 Max Preview are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.

Which is newer?

Qwen3.8 Max 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.