text model comparison
Gemini 3.8 Flash vs Qwen3.8-Max
Gemini 3.8 Flash and Qwen3.8-Max are both current text models, from Google and Alibaba Qwen. Gemini 3.8 Flash is 63% cheaper per 1M input tokens than Qwen3.8-Max, $0.75 vs $2. On Arena Text, Gemini 3.8 Flash scores 1497 Elo and Qwen3.8-Max 1483 Elo (Arena, measured October 8, 2026). Both accept about 1.05M tokens of context (1,048,576 and 1,000,000).
Data verified October 12, 2026 · Dataset 2026-10-12
Side by side
Standard-tier prices in effect today. The better value in each row is highlighted.
| Fact | Gemini 3.8 Flash | Qwen3.8-Max |
|---|---|---|
| Price per 1M input tokens | $0.75 (better) | $2 |
| Price per 1M output tokens | $3.75 (better) | $6 |
| Cost of 10M input and 2M output tokens | $15 (better) | $32 |
| Arena Text | 1497 Elo (#4 of 39) (better) | 1483 Elo (#12 of 39) |
| GPQA Diamond | 95.4% (#3 of 37) (better) | 92.7% (#17 of 37) |
| FrontierMath Tiers 1-3 (v2) | 68.4% (#21 of 37) | 74.7% (#17 of 37) (better) |
| SimpleQA Verified | 69.7% (#7 of 34) (better) | 45.8% (#22 of 34) |
| Provider | Alibaba Qwen | |
| Release date | September 2, 2026 | August 3, 2026 |
| Access | API only | API only |
| Context window | 1,048,576 tokens | 1,000,000 tokens |
| Max output | 65,536 tokens | 131,072 tokens |
| Input | text, image, audio, video | text, image, video |
| Output | text | text |
When to choose each
Gemini 3.8 Flash
Best for
- High-volume agentic and coding workloads where per-token cost dominates the decision
- Multimodal pipelines that need audio, video and PDF input in one model
Watch out for
- The listed price is promotional and ends 31 December 2026; on 1 January 2027 input and output both double, to $1.50 and $7.50, and cached input goes from $0.075 to $0.15
- Output pricing is billed inclusive of thinking tokens, so reasoning-heavy prompts cost more than the output length suggests
- Google’s published comparisons are against its own previous Flash release and were not independently reproduced here
Qwen3.8-Max
Best for
- Output-heavy generation workloads where the $6 per million output rate is the deciding factor
- Agentic and coding evaluations that need a 1M-token window at mid-tier cost
Watch out for
- Two releases share the name: the original 3 August 2026 model and the 0902 refresh. The rates and limits here are read from the 0902 listing
- Reported benchmark placements come from Alibaba and from public arena boards rather than a common pinned snapshot, so they are not comparable with the LiveBench results in this dataset
Gemini 3.8 Flash vs Qwen3.8-Max FAQ
Which is cheaper, Gemini 3.8 Flash or Qwen3.8-Max?
Gemini 3.8 Flash is 63% cheaper per 1M input tokens than Qwen3.8-Max, $0.75 vs $2. For 10M input and 2M output tokens, Gemini 3.8 Flash costs $15 and Qwen3.8-Max $32 at standard rates.
Which scores higher on independent benchmarks, Gemini 3.8 Flash or Qwen3.8-Max?
Gemini 3.8 Flash leads on Arena Text, 1497 Elo to 1483 Elo; Gemini 3.8 Flash leads on GPQA Diamond, 95.4% to 92.7%; Qwen3.8-Max leads on FrontierMath Tiers 1-3 (v2), 74.7% to 68.4%. Scores are independent evaluations, not either vendor's launch figures.
Which has the larger context window, Gemini 3.8 Flash or Qwen3.8-Max?
Both accept about 1.05M tokens of context (1,048,576 and 1,000,000).
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Production evaluation
Choosing between Gemini 3.8 Flash and Qwen3.8-Max?
Public benchmarks narrow the shortlist. We run both on your own tasks, data and cost limits, then build the routing and review controls to run the winner in production.
- A head-to-head evaluation on your real workload
- Routing between models by cost and difficulty