Grok 4 Fast vs Qwen3.6-35B-A3B
Grok 4 Fast and Qwen3.6-35B-A3B are closely matched at 31.4 and 32.2 on the LLM Stats Score. Grok 4 Fast is 1.1x cheaper per token.
xAI · Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Grok 4 Fast and Qwen3.6-35B-A3B are closely matched on the overall LLM Stats Score at 31.4 and 32.2.
In the 3 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Qwen3.6-35B-A3B wins 2; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
On price, Grok 4 Fast is roughly 1.1x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Grok 4 Fast also accepts a larger context window (2,000,000 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 Grok 4 Fast
- cost matters — it's about 1.1x cheaper per token
- you process long inputs — it offers a 2,000,000 token context window
Choose Qwen3.6-35B-A3B
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 2 of 3 exact shared results
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Apr 2026
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
7 reported for Grok 4 Fast · 49 for Qwen3.6-35B-A3B
Grok 4 Fast outperforms in 1 benchmarks (HMMT 2025), while Qwen3.6-35B-A3B is better at 2 benchmarks (GPQA, Humanity's Last Exam).
Qwen3.6-35B-A3B 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, Grok 4 Fast ($0.20/1M tokens) is 2.0x more expensive than Qwen3.6-35B-A3B ($0.10/1M tokens).
For output processing, Grok 4 Fast ($0.50/1M tokens) is 1.9x cheaper than Qwen3.6-35B-A3B ($0.95/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Qwen3.6-35B-A3B is more expensive than Grok 4 Fast.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Grok 4 Fast accepts 2,000,000 input tokens compared to Qwen3.6-35B-A3B's 262,144 tokens. Qwen3.6-35B-A3B can generate longer responses up to 262,144 tokens, while Grok 4 Fast is limited to 30,000 tokens.
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Both Grok 4 Fast and Qwen3.6-35B-A3B support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Grok 4 Fast
Qwen3.6-35B-A3B
License
Usage and distribution terms
Grok 4 Fast is licensed under a proprietary license, while Qwen3.6-35B-A3B uses Apache 2.0.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Proprietary
Closed source
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Grok 4 Fast was released on 2025-08-28, while Qwen3.6-35B-A3B was released on 2026-04-16.
Qwen3.6-35B-A3B is 8 months newer than Grok 4 Fast.
Aug 28, 2025
1.1 years ago
Apr 16, 2026
6 months ago
7mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Provider Availability
Grok 4 Fast is available from xAI. Qwen3.6-35B-A3B is available from DeepInfra.
Grok 4 Fast
Qwen3.6-35B-A3B
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Grok 4 Fast and Qwen3.6-35B-A3B side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Grok 4 Fast vs Qwen3.6-35B-A3B.