Comparison · Qwen

Qwen3.8 27B vs Qwen3.8 Max (0902)

Listed API prices of Qwen3.8 27B and Qwen3.8 Max (0902) turned into the cost of the same three standard tasks, with speed from our own test requests in the United States. Output quality and answer length are not compared.

Calculated impact cost per task and per month

For an L2 task (deep analysis over a 50,000-token document, 3 steps), Qwen3.8 27B costs $0.139 and Qwen3.8 Max (0902) $0.336 at the prices listed in the United States on , so Qwen3.8 27B is 58.6 % less than Qwen3.8 Max (0902), counting visible output only, without cache discounts or hidden reasoning.

Head to head: Qwen3.8 27B: $0.139; Qwen3.8 Max (0902): $0.336 Calculated from published rates Input and visible output are priced separately for the same task. 159,000 input + 3,000 visible output tokens per task. No cache discount; hidden reasoning excluded.
Head to head.Calculated from published rates Input and visible output are priced separately for the same task. 159,000 input + 3,000 visible output tokens per task. No cache discount; hidden reasoning excluded. Open image · Explore the chart · Measured Lab · CC BY 4.0
TaskQwen3.8 27B, per taskQwen3.8 Max (0902), per taskQwen3.8 27B, per monthQwen3.8 Max (0902), per monthQwen3.8 27B vs Qwen3.8 Max (0902), per task
L1Micro-task (classification or strict JSON extraction)$0.0020per L1 task$0.0042per L1 task$29.20per month$61.32per month−52.4 %
L2Deep analysis over a 50,000-token document$0.139per L2 task$0.336per L2 task$2,032.32per month$4,905.60per month−58.6 %
L3Agentic coding loop, 15 steps$1.09per L3 task$2.69per L3 task$15,890.64per month$39,201.00per month−59.5 %

Calculated Per month: 20 tasks an hour around the clock, 730 hours.

Prices USD per 1M tokens

PriceQwen3.8 27BQwen3.8 Max (0902)
Input, per 1M tokens$0.800$2.00
Output, per 1M tokens$4.00$6.00
Price fromProvider's price list · source page PublishedProvider's price list · source page Published
Read · the United States · the United States
Context window1,024,000 tokens1,000,000 tokens

What can I use it for? six common tasks, our data checks

Quality on your task: not measured by Measured Lab yet.

TaskQwen3.8 27BQwen3.8 Max (0902)
Answer customer messages—Fits on price and context
Pull data from invoices and documents with strict JSON and page images—Fits on price and context
Summarize documents and meetings—Fits on price and context
Translate content—Fits on price and context
Chat assistant on your website—Fits on price and context
Write and review code with tool calls—Fits on price and context
Tasks it fits—6 of 6

Checks of our data for six common tasks: a published price, a context window and answer length for the task and, where the task needs them, strict JSON output, page images and tool calls; prices, cost a month and terms for each model on its model card. Qwen3.8 27B is not in the model picker. Compare models for your own task in the model picker.

Speed in the US Observed our test requests

In our test requests from the United States, the median time to the first answer token was 139 ms for Qwen3.8 27B (Hosted by Cerebras) and 1,504 ms for Qwen3.8 Max (0902) (Direct API · Alibaba Cloud).

Model and routeTime to first answer token, medianOutput speed, medianAnswers
Qwen3.8 27BHosted by Cerebras139 ms range 98 ms–16,848 ms610 tokens/s range 199 tokens/s–627 tokens/s115 answers on 23 dates
Qwen3.8 27BHosted by Groq195 ms range 102 ms–1,095 ms494 tokens/s range 210 tokens/s–528 tokens/s115 answers on 23 dates
Qwen3.8 Max (0902)Direct API · Alibaba Cloud1,504 ms range 1,113 ms–3,190 ms43.2 tokens/s range 24.5 tokens/s–59.9 tokens/s110 answers on 22 dates

The same short request to every model, sent from a measurement point in the United States; medians of successful answers on at least 2 different dates, latest on . How we measure

Price changes in the last 30 days

  • The listed price of Qwen3.8 27B changed on on OpenRouter: input $0.24 → $0.04, output $2.20 → $1.35 per 1M tokens.
  • The listed price of Qwen3.8 27B changed on on OpenRouter: input $0.04 → $0.20, output $1.35 → $2.50 per 1M tokens.
  • The listed price of Qwen3.8 27B changed on on OpenRouter: input $0.20 → $0.04, output $2.50 → $1.25 per 1M tokens.
  • The listed price of Qwen3.8 27B changed on on OpenRouter: input $0.04 → $0.15, output $1.25 → $1.88 per 1M tokens.

All model comparisons · How we check prices

Explore the numbers

Calculated from published rates

The same work. Two bills.

Input and visible output are priced separately for the same task.

$0.197L2 task differenceQwen3.8 Max (0902) more
$2,873.28L2 monthly differenceAssumption: 20 tasks/hour × 730 hours
1.36 sMedian wait differenceQwen3.8 Max (0902) starts later
Qwen3.8 27B$0.139Qwen3.8 Max (0902)$0.336$0.00$0.10$0.20$0.30$0.40Qwen3.8 27B$0.139Qwen3.8 Max (0902)$0.336$0.00$0.10$0.20$0.30$0.40
Fresh inputVisible output

159,000 input + 3,000 visible output tokens per task. No cache discount; hidden reasoning excluded.

Qwen3.8 Max (0902) costs $0.197 more per task.

Qwen3.8 27B$0.0020Qwen3.8 Max (0902)$0.0042$0.00$0.002$0.004$0.006Qwen3.8 27B$0.0020Qwen3.8 Max (0902)$0.0042$0.00$0.002$0.004$0.006
Fresh inputVisible output

1,500 input + 200 visible output tokens per task. No cache discount; hidden reasoning excluded.

Qwen3.8 Max (0902) costs $0.0022 more per task.

Qwen3.8 27B$1.09Qwen3.8 Max (0902)$2.69$0$1$2$3Qwen3.8 27B$1.09Qwen3.8 Max (0902)$2.69$0$1$2$3
Fresh inputVisible output

1,315,500 input + 9,000 visible output tokens per task. No cache discount; hidden reasoning excluded.

Qwen3.8 Max (0902) costs $1.60 more per task.

Qwen3.8 27B$2,032.32Qwen3.8 Max (0902)$4,905.60$0$2,000$4,000$6,000Qwen3.8 27B$2,032.32Qwen3.8 Max (0902)$4,905.60$0$2,000$4,000$6,000
Fresh inputVisible output

Assumption: 20 tasks/hour × 730 hours = 14,600 tasks/month.

Observed · United States

Wait and streaming speed

The same short request. Each route must have successful answers on at least two dates.

Qwen3.8 27B

Hosted by Cerebras · 115 answers on 23 dates.

First answer token 139 ms
Other published US routes · medians0.05.010.015.020.0secondsNearest US route medians0.05.010.015.020.0seconds

Nearby: Qwen3.8 Max (0902) · 1.50 s.

Qwen3.8 27B · 139 ms median; observed range 98 ms–16.85 s.

Output speed 610 tokens/s
Other published US routes · medians0200400600800tokens/sNearest US route medians0200400600800tokens/s

Nearby: Qwen3.8 Max (0902) · 43.2 tokens/s.

Qwen3.8 27B · 610 tokens/s median; observed range 199 tokens/s–627 tokens/s.

Observed · independent medians

More output than the answer shows.

Visible answer64Hidden reasoning0020406080Visible answer64Hidden reasoning0020406080

Calculated median cost per request: $0.00023.

Visible outputHidden reasoning

Visible output and hidden reasoning are independent medians and are not added together. Request cost is the median of individually priced requests. Hidden reasoning is billed at the output rate.

Published context window: 1,024,000 tokens.

Qwen3.8 Max (0902)

Direct API · Alibaba Cloud · 110 answers on 22 dates.

First answer token 1.50 s
Other published US routes · medians0.05.010.015.020.0secondsNearest US route medians0.05.010.015.020.0seconds

Nearby: Qwen3.8 27B · 139 ms.

Qwen3.8 Max (0902) · 1.50 s median; observed range 1.11 s–3.19 s.

Output speed 43.2 tokens/s
Other published US routes · medians0200400600800tokens/sNearest US route medians0200400600800tokens/s

Nearby: Qwen3.8 27B · 610 tokens/s.

Qwen3.8 Max (0902) · 43.2 tokens/s median; observed range 24.5 tokens/s–59.9 tokens/s.

Observed · independent medians

More output than the answer shows.

Visible answer560204060Visible answer560204060
Unknown · Hidden reasoning

The API did not report this count; Unknown is not zero.

Calculated median cost per request: $0.00108.

Visible outputHidden reasoning

Visible output and hidden reasoning are independent medians and are not added together. Request cost is the median of individually priced requests. Hidden reasoning is billed at the output rate.

Published context window: 1,000,000 tokens.

Unknown

No comparable published API documentation for this pair.

Sources: this page; published model prices (data (JSON)); task assumptions (data (JSON)). Published prices · Observed responses · Calculated scenarios · Assumptions stated with each chart.