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Grok Code Fast 1 vs Qwen3.8 Max

Qwen3.8 Max leads the LLM Stats Score 51.9 to 20.7. Grok Code Fast 1 is 4.7x cheaper per token.

xAI · Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team · Updated for 2026

Which is better?

Qwen3.8 Max leads the overall LLM Stats Score 51.9 to 20.7, ranking #11 overall.

On price, Grok Code Fast 1 is roughly 4.7x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.

Choose Grok Code Fast 1

  • cost matters — it's about 4.7x cheaper per token

Choose Qwen3.8 Max

  • overall performance matters — it scores 51.9 and ranks #11 on LLM Stats
  • your work emphasizes reasoning and coding — it leads those capability indexes
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Aug 2026
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

At a glance

The differences that matter most.

Core performance indexes
20.7
#191
51.9
#11
20.6
#184
50.6
#11
12.9
#139
39.6
#14
Cost, coverage & limits
Benchmark wins
Input price
$0.20 / M
$1.65 / M
Output price
$1.50 / M
$4.95 / M
Context window
256,000
256,000

Individual benchmarks

1 reported for Grok Code Fast 1 · 42 for Qwen3.8 Max

No common benchmarks found

Grok Code Fast 1 and Qwen3.8 Maxdon't have any common benchmark datasets to compare. They may have been evaluated on different testing suites.

Human preference

Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Grok Code Fast 1 costs less

For input processing, Grok Code Fast 1 ($0.20/1M tokens) is 8.2x cheaper than Qwen3.8 Max ($1.65/1M tokens).

For output processing, Grok Code Fast 1 ($1.50/1M tokens) is 3.3x cheaper than Qwen3.8 Max ($4.95/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Qwen3.8 Max is more expensive than Grok Code Fast 1.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Sun Sep 13 2026 • llm-stats.com
xAI
Grok Code Fast 1
Input tokens$0.20
Output tokens$1.50
Best providerxAI
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3.8 Max
Input tokens$1.65
Output tokens$4.95
Best providerDeepinfra
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Both models have the same input context window of 256,000 tokens. Qwen3.8 Max can generate longer responses up to 256,000 tokens, while Grok Code Fast 1 is limited to 10,000 tokens.

xAI
Grok Code Fast 1
Input256,000 tokens
Output10,000 tokens
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3.8 Max
Input256,000 tokens
Output256,000 tokens
Sun Sep 13 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input capabilities

Documented input modalities across available providers

Qwen3.8 Max supports multimodal inputs, whereas Grok Code Fast 1 does not.

Qwen3.8 Max can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

Grok Code Fast 1

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Qwen3.8 Max

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Grok Code Fast 1 is licensed under a proprietary license, while Qwen3.8 Max uses Qwen3.8-Max License.

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

Grok Code Fast 1

Proprietary

Closed source

Qwen3.8 Max

Qwen3.8-Max License

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Grok Code Fast 1 was released on 2025-08-28, while Qwen3.8 Max was released on 2026-08-02.

Qwen3.8 Max is 11 months newer than Grok Code Fast 1.

Grok Code Fast 1

Aug 28, 2025

1.0 years ago

Qwen3.8 Max

Aug 2, 2026

1 months ago

11mo newer

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

Grok Code Fast 1 is available from xAI. Qwen3.8 Max is available from DeepInfra, Fireworks, Novita, Together.

Grok Code Fast 1

xai logo
xAI
Input Price:Input: $0.20/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.50/1M

Qwen3.8 Max

deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $1.65/1MOutput Price:Output: $4.95/1M
fireworks logo
Fireworks
Input Price:Input: $2.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $6.00/1M
novita logo
Novita
Input Price:Input: $2.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $6.00/1M
together logo
Together
Input Price:Input: $2.50/1MOutput Price:Output: $6.25/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Grok Code Fast 1 and Qwen3.8 Max side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Grok Code Fast 1
✓ Preferred
Qwen3.8 Max
Open in Playground

FAQ

Common questions about Grok Code Fast 1 vs Qwen3.8 Max.

Which is better, Grok Code Fast 1 or Qwen3.8 Max?

Qwen3.8 Max leads the LLM Stats Score 51.9 to 20.7. Grok Code Fast 1 is made by xAI and Qwen3.8 Max is made by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their capability indexes, individual benchmarks, pricing, and limits above.

How does Grok Code Fast 1 compare to Qwen3.8 Max in benchmarks?

Grok Code Fast 1 scores SWE-Bench Verified: 70.8%. Qwen3.8 Max scores PaperBench: 93.0%, MRCR v2 (8-needle): 92.9%, GPQA: 92.6%, VideoMME w sub.: 90.4%, RealWorldQA: 88.0%.

Is Grok Code Fast 1 cheaper than Qwen3.8 Max?

Grok Code Fast 1 is 8.2x cheaper for input tokens. Grok Code Fast 1 costs $0.20/M input and $1.50/M output via xai. Qwen3.8 Max costs $1.65/M input and $4.95/M output via deepinfra.

What are the context window sizes for Grok Code Fast 1 and Qwen3.8 Max?

Grok Code Fast 1 supports 256K tokens and Qwen3.8 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 Grok Code Fast 1 and Qwen3.8 Max?

Key differences include LLM Stats Score (20.7 vs 51.9), input pricing ($0.20 vs $1.65/M), multimodal support (no vs yes), licensing (Proprietary vs Qwen3.8-Max License). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Grok Code Fast 1 and Qwen3.8 Max?

Grok Code Fast 1 is developed by xAI and Qwen3.8 Max is developed by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team.