LongCat-2.5 vs Qwen3.8 Flash
LongCat-2.5 and Qwen3.8 Flash are closely matched at 50.0 and 47.8 on the LLM Stats Score. Qwen3.8 Flash is 2.3x cheaper per token.
Meituan · Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
LongCat-2.5 and Qwen3.8 Flash are closely matched on the overall LLM Stats Score at 50.0 and 47.8.
In the 5 individual benchmarks reported for both models, LongCat-2.5 wins 4; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
On price, Qwen3.8 Flash is roughly 2.3x 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
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 4 of 5 exact shared results
- 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 Qwen3.8 Flash
- cost matters — it's about 2.3x cheaper per token
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 · 22 for Qwen3.8 Flash
LongCat-2.5 outperforms in 4 benchmarks (DeepSWE 1.1, MathVision, NL2Repo, Vision2Web), while Qwen3.8 Flash is better at 1 benchmark (CharXiv-R).
LongCat-2.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
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 2.0x more expensive than Qwen3.8 Flash ($0.15/1M tokens).
For output processing, LongCat-2.5 ($1.20/1M tokens) is 2.6x more expensive than Qwen3.8 Flash ($0.47/1M tokens).
In conclusion, LongCat-2.5 is more expensive than Qwen3.8 Flash.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
LongCat-2.5 has 1475.0B more parameters than Qwen3.8 Flash, making it 1180.0% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
LongCat-2.5 accepts 1,048,576 input tokens compared to Qwen3.8 Flash's 1,000,000 tokens. Both models can generate responses up to 131,072 tokens.
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Both LongCat-2.5 and Qwen3.8 Flash support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
LongCat-2.5
Qwen3.8 Flash
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
LongCat-2.5 was released on 2026-11-01, while Qwen3.8 Flash was released on 2026-08-26.
LongCat-2.5 is 2 months newer than Qwen3.8 Flash.
Nov 1, 2026
5 days ago
2mo newerAug 26, 2026
2 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. Qwen3.8 Flash is available from Novita.
LongCat-2.5
Qwen3.8 Flash
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against LongCat-2.5 and Qwen3.8 Flash side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about LongCat-2.5 vs Qwen3.8 Flash.