Qwen3 Max vs Qwen3.8 Max
Qwen3.8 Max leads the LLM Stats Score 51.9 to 21.7. Qwen3 Max is 1.5x cheaper per token.
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team · Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Qwen3.8 Max leads the overall LLM Stats Score 51.9 to 21.7, ranking #11 overall.
In the 1 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Qwen3.8 Max wins 1; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
On price, Qwen3 Max is roughly 1.5x 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 Qwen3 Max
- cost matters — it's about 1.5x 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 value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 1 of 1 exact shared results
- 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.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
6 reported for Qwen3 Max · 42 for Qwen3.8 Max
Qwen3 Max outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3.8 Max is better at 1 benchmark (GPQA).
Qwen3.8 Max 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, Qwen3 Max ($0.50/1M tokens) is 3.3x cheaper than Qwen3.8 Max ($1.65/1M tokens).
For output processing, Qwen3 Max ($5.00/1M tokens) is 1.0x more expensive than Qwen3.8 Max ($4.95/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Qwen3.8 Max is more expensive than Qwen3 Max.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Qwen3.8 Max has 1400.0B more parameters than Qwen3 Max, making it 140.0% larger.
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 Qwen3 Max is limited to 131,072 tokens.
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Qwen3.8 Max supports multimodal inputs, whereas Qwen3 Max does not.
Qwen3.8 Max can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
Qwen3 Max
Qwen3.8 Max
License
Usage and distribution terms
Qwen3 Max 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
Qwen3 Max was released on 2025-12-15, while Qwen3.8 Max was released on 2026-08-02.
Qwen3.8 Max is 8 months newer than Qwen3 Max.
Dec 15, 2025
9 months ago
Aug 2, 2026
1 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
Qwen3 Max is available from Novita, DeepInfra. Qwen3.8 Max is available from DeepInfra, Fireworks, Novita, Together.
Qwen3 Max
Qwen3.8 Max
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Qwen3 Max and Qwen3.8 Max side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Qwen3 Max vs Qwen3.8 Max.