Model Comparison

GPT-5.6 Luna vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-InstructWhich is better in 2026?

GPT-5.6 Luna significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is 4.6x cheaper per token.

Verdict: GPT-5.6 Luna vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct — which is better?

GPT-5.6 Luna (by OpenAI) and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct (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.

GPT-5.6 Luna outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is better at 0 benchmarks. GPT-5.6 Luna significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

On price, Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is roughly 4.6x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

GPT-5.6 Luna also accepts a larger context window (1,050,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose GPT-5.6 Luna if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 1 of 1 shared benchmarks
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 1,050,000 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jul 2026

Choose Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct if…

  • cost matters — it's about 4.6x cheaper per token
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

1 benchmarks

GPT-5.6 Luna outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is better at 0 benchmarks.

GPT-5.6 Luna significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Tue Jul 21 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct costs less

For input processing, GPT-5.6 Luna ($1.00/1M tokens) is 6.7x more expensive than Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct ($0.15/1M tokens).

For output processing, GPT-5.6 Luna ($6.00/1M tokens) is 4.0x more expensive than Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct ($1.50/1M tokens).

In conclusion, GPT-5.6 Luna is more expensive than Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Tue Jul 21 2026 • llm-stats.com
OpenAI
GPT-5.6 Luna
Input tokens$1.00
Output tokens$6.00
Best providerOpenAI
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct
Input tokens$0.15
Output tokens$1.50
Best providerNovita
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

GPT-5.6 Luna accepts 1,050,000 input tokens compared to Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct's 65,536 tokens. GPT-5.6 Luna can generate longer responses up to 128,000 tokens, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is limited to 65,536 tokens.

OpenAI
GPT-5.6 Luna
Input1,050,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct
Input65,536 tokens
Output65,536 tokens
Tue Jul 21 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

GPT-5.6 Luna supports multimodal inputs, whereas Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct does not.

GPT-5.6 Luna can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

GPT-5.6 Luna

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

GPT-5.6 Luna is licensed under a proprietary license, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct uses Apache 2.0.

License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.

GPT-5.6 Luna

Proprietary

Closed source

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

GPT-5.6 Luna was released on 2026-07-09, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct was released on 2025-09-10.

GPT-5.6 Luna is 10 months newer than Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct.

GPT-5.6 Luna

Jul 9, 2026

1 weeks ago

10mo newer
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct

Sep 10, 2025

10 months ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

GPT-5.6 Luna has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2026-02-16, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm GPT-5.6 Luna's training data extends to 2026-02-16, but cannot make a direct comparison without Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct's cutoff date.

GPT-5.6 Luna

Feb 2026

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct

—

Provider Availability

GPT-5.6 Luna is available from OpenAI. Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is available from Novita.

GPT-5.6 Luna

openai logo
OpenAI
Input Price:Input: $1.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $6.00/1M

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct

novita logo
Novita
Input Price:Input: $0.15/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.50/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

OpenAI
Larger context window (1,050,000 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Higher GPQA score (92.3% vs 72.9%)
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Has open weights

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against GPT-5.6 Luna and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

GPT-5.6 Luna
✓ Preferred
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
OpenAI
GPT-5.6 Luna
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct

FAQ

Common questions about GPT-5.6 Luna vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct.

Which is better, GPT-5.6 Luna or Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct?

GPT-5.6 Luna significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. GPT-5.6 Luna is made by OpenAI and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is made by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does GPT-5.6 Luna compare to Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct in benchmarks?

GPT-5.6 Luna scores Connectors: 99.9%, HealthBench Consensus: 95.1%, GPQA: 92.3%, Search and Function-Calling: 89.7%, Capture-the-Flag Challenges (Internal): 85.2%. Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct scores MMLU-Redux: 90.9%, MultiPL-E: 87.8%, IFEval: 87.6%, WritingBench: 87.3%, Creative Writing v3: 85.3%.

Is GPT-5.6 Luna cheaper than Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct?

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is 6.7x cheaper for input tokens. GPT-5.6 Luna costs $1.00/M input and $6.00/M output via openai. Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct costs $0.15/M input and $1.50/M output via novita.

What are the context window sizes for GPT-5.6 Luna and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct?

GPT-5.6 Luna supports 1.1M tokens and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct supports 66K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between GPT-5.6 Luna and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct?

Key differences include context window (1.1M vs 66K), input pricing ($1.00 vs $0.15/M), multimodal support (yes vs no), licensing (Proprietary vs Apache 2.0). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes GPT-5.6 Luna and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct?

GPT-5.6 Luna is developed by OpenAI and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is developed by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team.

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