Claude 3.7 Sonnet vs Qwen3 Max Thinking
Qwen3 Max Thinking leads the LLM Stats Score 33.0 to 24.0. Qwen3 Max Thinking is 2.5x cheaper per token.
Anthropic · Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Qwen3 Max Thinking leads the overall LLM Stats Score 33.0 to 24.0, ranking #101 overall.
In the 4 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Qwen3 Max Thinking wins 3; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
On price, Qwen3 Max Thinking is roughly 2.5x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Qwen3 Max Thinking also accepts a larger context window (256,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose Claude 3.7 Sonnet
- you want predictable pricing at $3.00/M input and $15.00/M output
Choose Qwen3 Max Thinking
- overall performance matters — it scores 33.0 and ranks #101 on LLM Stats
- your work emphasizes reasoning — it leads those capability indexes
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 3 of 4 exact shared results
- cost matters — it's about 2.5x cheaper per token
- you process long inputs — it offers a 256,000 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Feb 2026
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
11 reported for Claude 3.7 Sonnet · 34 for Qwen3 Max Thinking
Claude 3.7 Sonnet outperforms in 1 benchmarks (MMMLU), while Qwen3 Max Thinking is better at 3 benchmarks (GPQA, IFEval, SWE-Bench Verified).
Qwen3 Max Thinking shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Claude 3.7 Sonnet ($3.00/1M tokens) is 2.5x more expensive than Qwen3 Max Thinking ($1.20/1M tokens).
For output processing, Claude 3.7 Sonnet ($15.00/1M tokens) is 2.5x more expensive than Qwen3 Max Thinking ($6.00/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Claude 3.7 Sonnet is more expensive than Qwen3 Max Thinking.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Qwen3 Max Thinking accepts 256,000 input tokens compared to Claude 3.7 Sonnet's 200,000 tokens. Qwen3 Max Thinking can generate longer responses up to 256,000 tokens, while Claude 3.7 Sonnet is limited to 128,000 tokens.
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Claude 3.7 Sonnet supports multimodal inputs, whereas Qwen3 Max Thinking does not.
Claude 3.7 Sonnet can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
Claude 3.7 Sonnet
Qwen3 Max Thinking
License
Usage and distribution terms
Both models are licensed under proprietary licenses.
Both models have usage restrictions defined by their respective organizations.
Proprietary
Closed source
Proprietary
Closed source
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Claude 3.7 Sonnet was released on 2025-02-24, while Qwen3 Max Thinking was released on 2026-02-13.
Qwen3 Max Thinking is 12 months newer than Claude 3.7 Sonnet.
Feb 24, 2025
1.5 years ago
Feb 13, 2026
6 months ago
11mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Provider Availability
Claude 3.7 Sonnet is available from Anthropic, Bedrock, Google. Qwen3 Max Thinking is available from DeepInfra.
Claude 3.7 Sonnet
Qwen3 Max Thinking
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Claude 3.7 Sonnet and Qwen3 Max Thinking side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Claude 3.7 Sonnet vs Qwen3 Max Thinking.