Qwen-Plus vs Sonar
Side-by-side API pricing comparison · Alibaba vs Perplexity
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Qwen-Plus is 25% cheaper on blended cost ($0.800 vs $1.00/Mtok)
Qwen-Plus
by Alibaba
Current mid tierInput
$0.400/Mtok
Output
$1.20/Mtok
✓ Cheaper
| Blended avg | $0.800/Mtok |
|---|---|
| Context | 131K tokens |
| Modality | text |
| Parameters | Proprietary |
| Released | Oct 1, 2025 |
Sonar
by Perplexity
Current mid tierInput
$1.00/Mtok
Output
$1.00/Mtok
| Blended avg | $1.00/Mtok |
|---|---|
| Context | 200K tokens |
| Modality | text |
| Parameters | Proprietary |
| Released | Feb 1, 2025 |
Cost at scale — 1M tokens (50/50 input/output)
| Volume | Qwen-Plus | Sonar | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1M tokens | $0.8 | $1 | $0.2 (20%) |
| 10M tokens | $8 | $10 | $2 (20%) |
| 100M tokens | $80 | $100 | $20 (20%) |
| 1000M tokens | $800 | $1000 | $200 (20%) |
Summary
Qwen-Plus by Alibaba costs $0.400/Mtok input and $1.20/Mtok output, with a 131K-token context window. It supports text input.
Sonar by Perplexity costs $1.00/Mtok input and $1.00/Mtok output, with a 200K-token context window. It supports text input.
On a blended cost basis, Qwen-Plus is 25% cheaper than Sonar.
Note: Pricing is per million tokens. Actual costs vary with usage patterns, prompt caching, and batch discounts. Always verify against official provider pricing pages.