Model Comparison

Claude Opus 5 vs Qwen3 MaxWhich is better in 2026?

Comparing Claude Opus 5 and Qwen3 Max across benchmarks, pricing, and capabilities.

Verdict: Claude Opus 5 vs Qwen3 Max — which is better?

Claude Opus 5 (by Anthropic) and Qwen3 Max (by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team) are two of the AI models people compare most. Here is how they stack up on benchmarks, price and capabilities, and which one to pick in 2026.

On price, Qwen3 Max is roughly 6.2x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Claude Opus 5 also accepts a larger context window (1,000,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose Claude Opus 5 if…

  • you process long inputs — it offers a 1,000,000 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jul 2026

Choose Qwen3 Max if…

  • cost matters — it's about 6.2x cheaper per token

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

No common benchmarks found

Claude Opus 5 and Qwen3 Maxdon't have any common benchmark datasets to compare. They may have been evaluated on different testing suites.

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Qwen3 Max costs less

For input processing, Claude Opus 5 ($5.00/1M tokens) is 10.0x more expensive than Qwen3 Max ($0.50/1M tokens).

For output processing, Claude Opus 5 ($25.00/1M tokens) is 5.0x more expensive than Qwen3 Max ($5.00/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Claude Opus 5 is more expensive than Qwen3 Max.*

* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens

Lowest available price from all providers
Sun Jul 26 2026 • llm-stats.com
Anthropic
Claude Opus 5
Input tokens$5.00
Output tokens$25.00
Best providerAnthropic
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 Max
Input tokens$0.50
Output tokens$5.00
Best providerNovita
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Claude Opus 5 accepts 1,000,000 input tokens compared to Qwen3 Max's 256,000 tokens. Qwen3 Max can generate longer responses up to 131,072 tokens, while Claude Opus 5 is limited to 128,000 tokens.

Anthropic
Claude Opus 5
Input1,000,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 Max
Input256,000 tokens
Output131,072 tokens
Sun Jul 26 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Claude Opus 5 supports multimodal inputs, whereas Qwen3 Max does not.

Claude Opus 5 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

Claude Opus 5

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Qwen3 Max

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Both models are licensed under proprietary licenses.

Both models have usage restrictions defined by their respective organizations.

Claude Opus 5

Proprietary

Closed source

Qwen3 Max

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Claude Opus 5 was released on 2026-07-24, while Qwen3 Max was released on 2025-12-15.

Claude Opus 5 is 7 months newer than Qwen3 Max.

Claude Opus 5

Jul 24, 2026

1 days ago

7mo newer
Qwen3 Max

Dec 15, 2025

7 months ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.

Unable to compare the recency of their training data.

No cutoff dates available

Provider Availability

Claude Opus 5 is available from Anthropic. Qwen3 Max is available from Novita.

Claude Opus 5

anthropic logo
Anthropic
Input Price:Input: $5.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $25.00/1M

Qwen3 Max

novita logo
Novita
Input Price:Input: $0.50/1MOutput Price:Output: $5.00/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Anthropic
Larger context window (1,000,000 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team

Qwen3 Max

View details

Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team

Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Claude Opus 5 and Qwen3 Max side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Claude Opus 5
✓ Preferred
Qwen3 Max
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Anthropic
Claude Opus 5
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 Max

FAQ

Common questions about Claude Opus 5 vs Qwen3 Max.

Which is better, Claude Opus 5 or Qwen3 Max?

Claude Opus 5 (Anthropic) and Qwen3 Max (Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team) each have strengths in different areas. Compare their benchmark scores, pricing, context windows, and capabilities above to determine which fits your needs.

How does Claude Opus 5 compare to Qwen3 Max in benchmarks?

Claude Opus 5 scores BrowseComp: 90.8%, BioMysteryBench: 90.1%, OSWorld 2.0: 70.6%, DeepSWE 1.1: 68.8%, Humanity's Last Exam: 64.7%. Qwen3 Max scores AIME 2025: 81.6%, t2-bench: 74.8%, SWE-Bench Verified: 69.6%, LiveCodeBench v6: 69.0%, SuperGPQA: 65.1%.

Is Claude Opus 5 cheaper than Qwen3 Max?

Qwen3 Max is 10.0x cheaper for input tokens. Claude Opus 5 costs $5.00/M input and $25.00/M output via anthropic. Qwen3 Max costs $0.50/M input and $5.00/M output via novita.

What are the context window sizes for Claude Opus 5 and Qwen3 Max?

Claude Opus 5 supports 1.0M tokens and Qwen3 Max supports 256K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Claude Opus 5 and Qwen3 Max?

Key differences include context window (1.0M vs 256K), input pricing ($5.00 vs $0.50/M), multimodal support (yes vs no). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Claude Opus 5 and Qwen3 Max?

Claude Opus 5 is developed by Anthropic and Qwen3 Max is developed by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team.

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