Model comparison - Same provider, successor
Qwen3.6-27B vs Qwen3.8-27B
Qwen3.6-27B and Qwen3.8-27B are both Alibaba Cloud (Qwen) models. On list price, Qwen3.8-27B charges 17% less than Qwen3.6-27B for input ($0.50 vs $0.60 per 1M tokens), and Qwen3.8-27B charges 17% less than Qwen3.6-27B for output ($3 vs $3.60 per 1M tokens). Qwen3.6-27B has a 262,144-token context window and Qwen3.8-27B 1,000,000 tokens; max output is 65,536 and 131,072 tokens per response. Qwen3.6-27B was released on April 22, 2026 and Qwen3.8-27B on August 17, 2026. Both publish open weights.
Last verified from each provider's pricing page. All sources
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | Qwen3.6-27B | Qwen3.8-27B |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Alibaba Cloud (Qwen) | Alibaba Cloud (Qwen) |
| Input / 1M tokens | $0.60 | $0.50 |
| Output / 1M tokens | $3.60 | $3 |
| Cache read / 1M | - | $0.05 |
| Cache write / 1M | - | $0.625 |
| Context window | 262,144 | 1,000,000 |
| Max output | 65,536 | 131,072 |
| Release date | ||
| Weights | Open | Open |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| API model id | qwen3.6-27b | qwen3.8-27b |
| AI Gateway id | alibaba/qwen3.6-27b | alibaba/qwen3.8-27b |
| Last verified |
Prices in USD per 1M tokens at each provider's standard first-party rate. A dash means the provider does not bill that item separately or no primary page states it.
What each costs in practice
The same three workloads every model page uses, worked from each model's standard list rates. Swap in your own token counts with the math on each model's page.
| Workload | Qwen3.6-27B | Qwen3.8-27B |
|---|---|---|
| One agent session1M input tokens and 100K output tokens, no caching. | $0.96 | $0.80 |
| A chat app10,000 requests a day at 2K input and 500 output tokens each. | $30.00$900.00 per 30-day month | $25.00$750.00 per 30-day month |
| The same session at a 90% cache hit90% of the input is read from the prompt cache. The one-time cache write premium is not included. | - | $0.395 |
Show the math
Qwen3.6-27B
- One agent sessionInput: 1M x $0.60 = $0.60Output: 0.1M x $3.60 = $0.36
- A chat appInput: 20M x $0.60 = $12.00Output: 5M x $3.60 = $18.00
Qwen3.8-27B
- One agent sessionInput: 1M x $0.50 = $0.50Output: 0.1M x $3 = $0.30
- A chat appInput: 20M x $0.50 = $10.00Output: 5M x $3 = $15.00
- The same session at a 90% cache hitCached input: 0.9M x $0.05 = $0.045Uncached input: 0.1M x $0.50 = $0.05Output: 0.1M x $3 = $0.30
A dash in the cached row means that model's pricing page lists no cache read price.
Benchmarks under the same setting
No board in the benchmark directory lists both Qwen3.6-27B and Qwen3.8-27B under the same setting, so there is no like-for-like score to show here.
Model pages
FAQ
How do Qwen3.6-27B and Qwen3.8-27B compare on price?
On list price, Qwen3.8-27B charges 17% less than Qwen3.6-27B for input ($0.50 vs $0.60 per 1M tokens), and Qwen3.8-27B charges 17% less than Qwen3.6-27B for output ($3 vs $3.60 per 1M tokens). For one agent session of 1M input and 100K output tokens with no caching, that is $0.96 on Qwen3.6-27B and $0.80 on Qwen3.8-27B. Prices are each provider's first-party list rates, verified October 17, 2026 and October 17, 2026.
What are the context windows of Qwen3.6-27B and Qwen3.8-27B?
Qwen3.6-27B has a 262,144-token context window and Qwen3.8-27B 1,000,000 tokens; max output is 65,536 and 131,072 tokens per response.
Are Qwen3.6-27B and Qwen3.8-27B open weights?
Qwen3.6-27B's weights are published at huggingface.co under the Apache-2.0. Qwen3.8-27B's weights are published at huggingface.co under the Apache-2.0.
Sources
Qwen3.6-27B verified from alibabacloud.com; Qwen3.8-27B verified from alibabacloud.com. This page is as current as the older of the two: .
- https://www.alibabacloud.com/help/en/model-studio/model-pricing
- https://modelstudio.console.alibabacloud.com/ap-southeast-1/model/market/detail/qwen3.6-27b
- https://www.alibabacloud.com/help/en/model-studio/newly-released-models
- https://huggingface.co/Qwen/Qwen3.6-27B
- https://modelstudio.console.alibabacloud.com/ap-southeast-1/model/market/detail/qwen3.8-27b
- https://www.alibabacloud.com/help/en/model-studio/context-cache
- https://huggingface.co/Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
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