Inkling 2 Small vs Qwen3.8 Max
Inkling 2 Small and Qwen3.8 Max are closely matched at 47.2 and 50.3 on the LLM Stats Score. Inkling 2 Small is 5.2x cheaper per token.
Thinking Machines Lab · Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Inkling 2 Small and Qwen3.8 Max are closely matched on the overall LLM Stats Score at 47.2 and 50.3.
In the 3 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Inkling 2 Small wins 2; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
On price, Inkling 2 Small is roughly 5.2x 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 Inkling 2 Small
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 2 of 3 exact shared results
- cost matters — it's about 5.2x cheaper per token
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Nov 2026
Choose Qwen3.8 Max
- 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
11 reported for Inkling 2 Small · 42 for Qwen3.8 Max
Inkling 2 Small outperforms in 2 benchmarks (GPQA, Humanity's Last Exam), while Qwen3.8 Max is better at 1 benchmark (MMMU-Pro).
Inkling 2 Small 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, Inkling 2 Small ($0.30/1M tokens) is 5.5x cheaper than Qwen3.8 Max ($1.65/1M tokens).
For output processing, Inkling 2 Small ($1.00/1M tokens) is 5.0x cheaper than Qwen3.8 Max ($4.95/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Qwen3.8 Max is more expensive than Inkling 2 Small.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Qwen3.8 Max has 1806.0B more parameters than Inkling 2 Small, making it 304.0% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Both models have the same input context window of 256,000 tokens. Only Qwen3.8 Max specifies output context (256,000 tokens).
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Both Inkling 2 Small and Qwen3.8 Max support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Inkling 2 Small
Qwen3.8 Max
License
Usage and distribution terms
Inkling 2 Small 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.
Proprietary
Closed source
Qwen3.8-Max License
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Inkling 2 Small was released on 2026-11-05, while Qwen3.8 Max was released on 2026-08-02.
Inkling 2 Small is 3 months newer than Qwen3.8 Max.
Nov 5, 2026
3 days ago
3mo newerAug 2, 2026
3 months ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Provider Availability
Inkling 2 Small is available from Thinking Machines Lab. Qwen3.8 Max is available from DeepInfra, Fireworks, Novita, Together.
Inkling 2 Small
Qwen3.8 Max
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Inkling 2 Small and Qwen3.8 Max side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Inkling 2 Small vs Qwen3.8 Max.