High-volume, cost-sensitive work
Choose Qwen3.8 Max Prime
Qwen3.8 Max Prime costs 47% less on a typical mix of three input tokens for every output token ($6.00 against $11.25 per million tokens).
Chat Latest vs Qwen3.8 Max Prime: price, context and capabilities
Choose Qwen3.8 Max Prime for high-volume, cost-sensitive work, writing and code generation, very long inputs and the latest release; on the other points the two are level or the data is missing.
In short
- Qwen3.8 Max Prime is 47% cheaper than Chat Latest at the headline price ($6.00 / 1M tokens vs $11.25 / 1M tokens).
- Qwen3.8 Max Prime reads more per request: 1M tokens against 400k.
- Qwen3.8 Max Prime is the newer model (Sep 23, 2026, against May 5, 2026).
- Only Chat Latest offers batch api.
- Only Qwen3.8 Max Prime offers reasoning.
Which should you choose?
Each answer below comes straight from the published prices, specifications and independent benchmark results.
Writing and code generation
Choose Qwen3.8 Max Prime
Qwen3.8 Max Prime charges $12.00 per million output tokens, against $30.00 for Chat Latest. Output dominates the bill when answers are long.
Very long inputs
Choose Qwen3.8 Max Prime
Qwen3.8 Max Prime reads up to 1M tokens per request, against 400k for Chat Latest.
Latest release
Choose Qwen3.8 Max Prime
Qwen3.8 Max Prime is the newer release (Sep 23, 2026, against May 5, 2026 for Chat Latest).
Monthly cost at three volumes
| Volume | Chat Latest | Qwen3.8 Max Prime | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prototype: 1M input, 250K output tokens | $12.50 | $7.00 | Qwen3.8 Max Prime, $5.50 less |
| Production: 20M input, 5M output tokens | $250.00 | $140.00 | Qwen3.8 Max Prime, $110.00 less |
| Scale: 500M input, 100M output tokens | $5,500 | $3,200 | Qwen3.8 Max Prime, $2,300 less |
Standard rates, without caching or batch discounts. Volumes are per month.
Specifications side by side
| Chat Latest | Qwen3.8 Max Prime | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | OpenAI | Alibaba Cloud (Qwen) |
| Category | Language models | Language models |
| Status | Generally available | Generally available |
| Headline price | $11.25 / 1M tokens | $6.00 / 1M tokens |
| Input | $5.00 / 1M tokens | $4.00 / 1M tokens |
| Output | $30.00 / 1M tokens | $12.00 / 1M tokens |
| Cached input | $0.50 / 1M tokens | $0.50 / 1M tokens |
| Context window | 400k | 1M |
| Max output | 128k | 131k |
| Released | May 5, 2026 | Sep 23, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | April 2026 | No data |
| Licence | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Capabilities | Vision, Tool calling, Structured output, Prompt caching, Batch API | Vision, Reasoning, Tool calling, Structured output, Prompt caching |
| API model id | chat-latest | qwen3.8-max-prime |
Frequently asked questions
Should I choose Chat Latest or Qwen3.8 Max Prime?
Choose Qwen3.8 Max Prime for high-volume, cost-sensitive work, writing and code generation, very long inputs and the latest release; on the other points the two are level or the data is missing.
Which is cheaper, Chat Latest or Qwen3.8 Max Prime?
Qwen3.8 Max Prime is 47% cheaper than Chat Latest at the headline price ($6.00 / 1M tokens vs $11.25 / 1M tokens).
Which has the larger context window, Chat Latest or Qwen3.8 Max Prime?
Qwen3.8 Max Prime reads more per request: 1M tokens against 400k.
What is the difference between Chat Latest and Qwen3.8 Max Prime?
Chat Latest is made by OpenAI and Qwen3.8 Max Prime by Alibaba Cloud (Qwen). Qwen3.8 Max Prime is 47% cheaper than Chat Latest at the headline price ($6.00 / 1M tokens vs $11.25 / 1M tokens). Qwen3.8 Max Prime reads more per request: 1M tokens against 400k. Qwen3.8 Max Prime is the newer model (Sep 23, 2026, against May 5, 2026). Only Chat Latest offers batch api. Only Qwen3.8 Max Prime offers reasoning.
How much do Chat Latest and Qwen3.8 Max Prime cost per month?
At 20 million input and 5 million output tokens a month, Chat Latest costs $250.00 and Qwen3.8 Max Prime costs $140.00, at standard rates.
Which is newer, Chat Latest or Qwen3.8 Max Prime?
Qwen3.8 Max Prime was released on Sep 23, 2026 and Chat Latest on May 5, 2026.