Very long inputs
Choose Qwen3.8 Max Prime
Qwen3.8 Max Prime reads up to 1M tokens per request, against 200k for Claude Sonnet 4.
Claude Sonnet 4 vs Qwen3.8 Max Prime: price, context and capabilities
Choose Qwen3.8 Max Prime for very long inputs and the latest release; on the other points the two are level or the data is missing.
In short
- Claude Sonnet 4 has been retired; Qwen3.8 Max Prime is the one you can still call.
- A price comparison is not possible: one of them has no comparable published price.
- Qwen3.8 Max Prime reads more per request: 1M tokens against 200k.
- Qwen3.8 Max Prime is the newer model (Sep 23, 2026, against May 2025).
- Only Claude Sonnet 4 offers batch api.
Which should you choose?
Each answer below comes straight from the published prices, specifications and independent benchmark results.
Latest release
Choose Qwen3.8 Max Prime
Qwen3.8 Max Prime is the newer release (Sep 23, 2026, against May 2025 for Claude Sonnet 4).
Specifications side by side
| Claude Sonnet 4 | Qwen3.8 Max Prime | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Anthropic | Alibaba Cloud (Qwen) |
| Category | Language models | Language models |
| Status | Retired | Generally available |
| Headline price | $6.00 / 1M tokens | $6.00 / 1M tokens |
| Input | $3.00 / 1M tokens | $4.00 / 1M tokens |
| Output | $15.00 / 1M tokens | $12.00 / 1M tokens |
| Cached input | $0.30 / 1M tokens | $0.50 / 1M tokens |
| Context window | 200k | 1M |
| Max output | No data | 131k |
| Released | May 2025 | Sep 23, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | No data | No data |
| Licence | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Capabilities | Vision, Reasoning, Tool calling, Structured output, Prompt caching, Batch API | Vision, Reasoning, Tool calling, Structured output, Prompt caching |
| API model id | claude-sonnet-4-20250514 | qwen3.8-max-prime |
Frequently asked questions
Should I choose Claude Sonnet 4 or Qwen3.8 Max Prime?
Choose Qwen3.8 Max Prime for very long inputs and the latest release; on the other points the two are level or the data is missing.
Which is cheaper, Claude Sonnet 4 or Qwen3.8 Max Prime?
A price comparison is not possible: one of them has no comparable published price.
Which has the larger context window, Claude Sonnet 4 or Qwen3.8 Max Prime?
Qwen3.8 Max Prime reads more per request: 1M tokens against 200k.
What is the difference between Claude Sonnet 4 and Qwen3.8 Max Prime?
Claude Sonnet 4 is made by Anthropic and Qwen3.8 Max Prime by Alibaba Cloud (Qwen). Claude Sonnet 4 has been retired; Qwen3.8 Max Prime is the one you can still call. A price comparison is not possible: one of them has no comparable published price. Qwen3.8 Max Prime reads more per request: 1M tokens against 200k. Qwen3.8 Max Prime is the newer model (Sep 23, 2026, against May 2025). Only Claude Sonnet 4 offers batch api.
Which is newer, Claude Sonnet 4 or Qwen3.8 Max Prime?
Qwen3.8 Max Prime was released on Sep 23, 2026 and Claude Sonnet 4 on May 2025.