AI model comparison
Qwen3.8 27B vs Qwen3.6 Plus
Pricing, context window, benchmarks, and features compared side by side. Or skip the guesswork and send one prompt to both.
Qwen
Qwen3.8 27B
Qwen3.8 27B is an open-weight dense vision-language model from Qwen.
- Input / 1M
- $0.04
- Output / 1M
- $2.30
- Context
- 1M
Qwen
Qwen3.6 Plus
Qwen 3.6 Plus builds on a hybrid architecture that combines efficient linear attention with sparse mixture-of-experts routing, enabling strong scalability and high-performance inference.
- Input / 1M
- $0.33
- Output / 1M
- $1.95
- Context
- 1M
At a glance
Quick verdict
How the two models stack up on the things people ask about most.
Lower price
Qwen3.8 27B
1.3x cheaper for a typical chat
Higher intelligence score
Qwen3.8 27B
33.7 vs 27 on Artificial Analysis
Larger context window
Tie
1M vs 1M tokens
Newer release
Qwen3.8 27B
Released August 14, 2026
Benchmarks
Benchmark scores
Independent scores from Artificial Analysis. Higher is better.
Intelligence index
Qwen3.8 27B33.7Qwen3.6 Plus27Coding index
Qwen3.8 27B68.1Qwen3.6 Plus54.5Agentic index
Qwen3.8 27B45.8Qwen3.6 PlusNot availablePricing
Qwen3.8 27B vs Qwen3.6 Plus API pricing
Per-token API rates. Cheaper option highlighted.
| Metric | Qwen3.8 27B | Qwen3.6 Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Input tokensPer 1M tokens | $0.04 | $0.33 |
| Output tokensPer 1M tokens | $2.30 | $1.95 |
| Cached input (read)Per 1M tokens | $0.02 | Not available |
| Cache writePer 1M tokens | Not available | $0.41 |
| Long-context pricingPer 1M tokens, for very long prompts | Same rate at any length | $1.30 in / $3.90 out above 256K |
What it costs in practice
Estimated cost per 1,000 requests at standard rates. Coding and long-document figures also show the cost when the input is already cached.
Chat message
2K in, 500 out
Qwen3.8 27B$1.23Qwen3.6 Plus$1.63Coding task
30K in, 4K out
Qwen3.8 27B$10.40$9.79 cachedQwen3.6 Plus$17.55Long document summary
150K in, 2K out
Qwen3.8 27B$10.60$7.57 cachedQwen3.6 Plus$52.65Specs
Context window and capabilities
How much each model can read, how much it can write, and what it accepts as input.
| Metric | Qwen3.8 27B | Qwen3.6 Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Context window | 1M tokens | 1M tokens |
| Max output | 236K tokens | 66K tokens |
| Input types | Image, Text, Video | Image, Text, Video |
| Output types | Text | Text |
| Reasoning effort levels | Extra high, Medium, Low | Not available |
| Default reasoning effort | Extra high | Not available |
| Release date | August 14, 2026 | April 2, 2026 |
Features
Supported features
API features available for each model.
| Metric | Qwen3.8 27B | Qwen3.6 Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Tool calling | Supported | Supported |
| Structured outputs | Supported | Supported |
| JSON mode | Supported | Supported |
| Reasoning | Supported | Supported |
| Temperature | Supported | Supported |
| Stop sequences | Supported | Supported |
| Deterministic seed | Supported | Supported |
| Verbosity control | Not supported | Not supported |
Keep exploring
More on these models
Other head-to-heads, the full model page, and the alternatives list for each model.
Qwen3.8 27BView full model details- Qwen3.8 27B vs DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
- Qwen3.8 27B vs Hy4 preview
- Qwen3.8 27B vs Step 5 Preview
- Qwen3.8 27B vs DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731
- Qwen3.8 27B vs GPT-5.6 Luna
- Qwen3.8 27B vs GLM 5.2
- Qwen3.8 27B vs MiniMax M3
- Qwen3.8 27B vs DeepSeek V4 Pro 0813
- Qwen3.8 27B vs DeepSeek V4 Flash Vision Exp
- Qwen3.8 27B vs Gemini 3.6 Flash
- Qwen3.8 27B vs Muse Spark 1.1
- Qwen3.8 27B vs Gemini 3.5 Flash
- Qwen3.8 27B vs Qwen3.7 Max
Qwen3.6 PlusView full model details- Qwen3.6 Plus vs Qwen3.7 Max
- Qwen3.6 Plus vs MiniMax M3
- Qwen3.6 Plus vs GLM 5
- Qwen3.6 Plus vs Grok Build 0.1
- Qwen3.6 Plus vs Kimi K2.6
- Qwen3.6 Plus vs Gemini 3 Flash Preview
- Qwen3.6 Plus vs Grok 4.20
- Qwen3.6 Plus vs Inkling Small
- Qwen3.6 Plus vs Hy3
- Qwen3.6 Plus vs Qwen3.7 Plus
- Qwen3.6 Plus vs DeepSeek V4 Flash 0423
Our take
Qwen3.8 27B is 1.3x cheaper for a typical chat. Qwen3.8 27B scores higher on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index (33.7 vs 27). The right pick depends on your workload, so the quickest way to settle it is to send the same prompt to both and compare.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is Qwen3.8 27B or Qwen3.6 Plus cheaper?
Qwen3.8 27B is cheaper for a typical chat (2K input tokens and 500 output tokens). Qwen3.8 27B costs $0.04 per 1M input tokens and $2.30 per 1M output tokens, while Qwen3.6 Plus costs $0.33 per 1M input tokens and $1.95 per 1M output tokens.
Which has a bigger context window, Qwen3.8 27B or Qwen3.6 Plus?
Qwen3.8 27B supports up to 1M tokens of context, compared with 1M for Qwen3.6 Plus.
Is Qwen3.8 27B smarter than Qwen3.6 Plus?
On the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, Qwen3.8 27B scores 33.7 and Qwen3.6 Plus scores 27, putting Qwen3.8 27B ahead. Benchmarks don't capture everything, so the best test is running your own prompts through both.
Can I use Qwen3.8 27B and Qwen3.6 Plus at the same time?
Yes. Shortcut Chat sends one prompt to multiple models at once, so you can see Qwen3.8 27B and Qwen3.6 Plus answer side by side and keep the better response.
Why choose? Ask both.
Send one prompt to Qwen3.8 27B and Qwen3.6 Plus at the same time. Compare the answers side by side and keep the best one.