LongCat-2.5 vs Qwen3 Max
LongCat-2.5 leads the LLM Stats Score 50.0 to 21.1. LongCat-2.5 is 3.1x cheaper per token.
Meituan · Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
LongCat-2.5 leads the overall LLM Stats Score 50.0 to 21.1, ranking #20 overall.
On price, LongCat-2.5 is roughly 3.1x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
LongCat-2.5 also accepts a larger context window (1,048,576 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 LongCat-2.5
- overall performance matters — it scores 50.0 and ranks #20 on LLM Stats
- your work emphasizes reasoning and coding — it leads those capability indexes
- cost matters — it's about 3.1x cheaper per token
- you process long inputs — it offers a 1,048,576 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Nov 2026
Choose Qwen3 Max
- you want predictable pricing at $0.50/M input and $5.00/M output
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
23 reported for LongCat-2.5 · 6 for Qwen3 Max
LongCat-2.5 and Qwen3 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
For input processing, LongCat-2.5 ($0.30/1M tokens) is 1.7x cheaper than Qwen3 Max ($0.50/1M tokens).
For output processing, LongCat-2.5 ($1.20/1M tokens) is 4.2x cheaper than Qwen3 Max ($5.00/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Qwen3 Max is more expensive than LongCat-2.5.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
LongCat-2.5 has 600.0B more parameters than Qwen3 Max, making it 60.0% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
LongCat-2.5 accepts 1,048,576 input tokens compared to Qwen3 Max's 256,000 tokens. Both models can generate responses up to 131,072 tokens.
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
LongCat-2.5 supports multimodal inputs, whereas Qwen3 Max does not.
LongCat-2.5 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
LongCat-2.5
Qwen3 Max
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
LongCat-2.5 was released on 2026-11-01, while Qwen3 Max was released on 2025-12-15.
LongCat-2.5 is 11 months newer than Qwen3 Max.
Nov 1, 2026
3 days ago
10mo newerDec 15, 2025
10 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
LongCat-2.5 is available from Meituan. Qwen3 Max is available from Novita, DeepInfra.
LongCat-2.5
Qwen3 Max
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against LongCat-2.5 and Qwen3 Max side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about LongCat-2.5 vs Qwen3 Max.