Qwen3.8-27B vs Qwen3.6-27B
Side-by-side comparison of API pricing, specs, benchmarks, and capabilities
| Specification |
by Alibaba
|
by Alibaba
2 providers:
Alibaba $0.600/$3.60
Groq $0.600/$3.00
|
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Status | Current mid tier Open weights | Current mid tier Open weights |
| Released | Aug 14, 2026 | Apr 27, 2026 |
| Pricing per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.500/Mtok | $0.600/Mtok |
| Output | $3.00/Mtok | $3.60/Mtok |
| Blended avg | $1.13/Mtok | $1.35/Mtok |
| Price basis | Alibaba Model Studio International list price, single 0<Token≤1M tier, read off the vendor's open-source Qwen3.8 table directly beneath the Qwen3.8-2.4T-A95B row. Alibaba marks the SKU as eligible for the context-caching discount but prints no cache rate in that table, so cached input is left unset rather than inferred — the same treatment as its Qwen3.8-2.4T-A95B sibling. Alibaba's own endpoint on OpenRouter quotes $0.425/$2.55; the number here is the maker's published rate card, not the gateway's. | Alibaba Model Studio International list price, single 0<Token≤256K tier, from the vendor's open-source Qwen table. No context-cache or batch rate is printed for this SKU, so cached input is left unset rather than assumed. Alibaba's own gateway endpoint quotes a lower routed rate of $0.45/$2.70. Alibaba's pricing page states that it lists standard prices only and directs buyers to the Model Studio console for current offers, and this SKU's row carries no discount label, so the standard list rate is the one tracked here — the same basis as every other Alibaba row on this site. |
| Specifications | ||
| Context window | 1M tokens | 262K tokens |
| Parameters | 27B | 27B |
| Speed (TPS) | — | — |
| Modalities | ||
| Input |
text
|
text
|
| Benchmarks sources: Artificial Analysis / Artificial Analysis, Qwen model card | ||
| Independent composite scores measured for both models — each on its own scale | ||
| AA Intelligence Index | 52 | 37.7 |
| AA Agentic Index | 50.9 | 27.5 |
| AA-Omniscience Index (−100–100) | -10 | -20 |
| GDPval-AA v2 | 1543 ELO | — |
| Per-benchmark results published for Qwen3.6-27B only — no independent per-benchmark scores exist for Qwen3.8-27B yet | ||
| GPQA Diamond | — | 87.8 vendor |
| SWE-Bench Verified | — | 77.2 vendor |
| Providers | ||
| Available from |
Alibaba — $0.500/$3.00/Mtok
|
Alibaba — $0.600/$3.60/Mtok
Groq — $0.600/$3.00/Mtok
|
Cost at scale
1M tokens · 50/50 input/output| Volume | Qwen3.8-27B | Qwen3.6-27B | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1M tokens | $1.13 | $1.35 | $0.23 (17%) |
| 10M tokens | $11.25 | $13.5 | $2.25 (16.7%) |
| 100M tokens | $112.5 | $135 | $22.5 (16.7%) |
| 1000M tokens | $1125 | $1350 | $225 (16.7%) |
When to pick which
distilled from the pricing and spec data above- cost dominates: $1.13/Mtok blended vs $1.35 — 16.7% less on the same 50/50 token mix
- you need the longer context: 1M tokens vs 262K (3.8×)
- provider flexibility: available from 2 providers, so you can price-shop hosts or fail over
The cheaper option here — Qwen3.8-27B costs $1.13/Mtok blended on Alibaba.
Summary
Qwen3.8-27B by Alibaba costs $0.500/Mtok input and $3.00/Mtok output, with a 1M-token context window. It supports text input.
Qwen3.6-27B by Alibaba costs $0.600/Mtok input and $3.60/Mtok output, with a 262K-token context window. It supports text input and is available from 2 providers.
On a blended cost basis, Qwen3.8-27B is 16.7% cheaper than Qwen3.6-27B.It also has a larger context window.
Note: Pricing is per million tokens. Actual costs vary with usage patterns, prompt caching, and batch discounts. Always verify against official provider pricing pages.