Claude Sonnet 5.5 vs Qwen3.8-Max: price, context and capabilities

Choose Claude Sonnet 5.5 for the hardest reasoning tasks and reasoning over long documents; on the other points the two are level or the data is missing.

In short

  • A price comparison is not possible: one of them has no comparable published price.
  • Only Claude Sonnet 5.5 offers structured output, prompt caching, batch api.

Open in the full comparison table

Which should you choose?

Each answer below comes straight from the published prices, specifications and independent benchmark results.

Hardest reasoning tasks

Choose Claude Sonnet 5.5

Claude Sonnet 5.5 scores 56 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, against 45.4 for Qwen3.8-Max.

Reasoning over long documents

Choose Claude Sonnet 5.5

Claude Sonnet 5.5 scores 82.7% on Long-context reasoning (AA-LCR), against 80.3% for Qwen3.8-Max.

Specifications side by side

Claude Sonnet 5.5Qwen3.8-Max
ProviderAnthropicAlibaba Cloud (Qwen)
CategoryLanguage modelsLanguage models
StatusGenerally availableGenerally available
Headline price$4.00 / 1M tokensNo data
Input$2.00 / 1M tokensNo data
Output$10.00 / 1M tokensNo data
Cached input$0.10 / 1M tokensNo data
Context window1MNo data
Max output128kNo data
ReleasedSeptember 2026Sep 2, 2026
Knowledge cutoffJune 2026No data
LicenceProprietaryProprietary
CapabilitiesVision, Reasoning, Tool calling, Structured output, Prompt caching, Batch APIVision, Reasoning, Tool calling
API model idclaude-sonnet-5-5qwen3.8-max

Benchmarks side by side

Leader in bold.

BenchmarkClaude Sonnet 5.5Qwen3.8-Max
Intelligence Index 56 45.4
SciCode 61% 52.1%
Humanity's Last Exam 55% 43.1%
Long-context reasoning (AA-LCR) 82.7% 80.3%
GPQA Diamond No data 92.8%
MMMU-Pro (visual reasoning) No data 82.8%

Independent evaluations by Artificial Analysis, run the same way for every model, at the reasoning setting shown. Percentages unless marked as an index.

Frequently asked questions

Should I choose Claude Sonnet 5.5 or Qwen3.8-Max?

Choose Claude Sonnet 5.5 for the hardest reasoning tasks and reasoning over long documents; on the other points the two are level or the data is missing.

Which is cheaper, Claude Sonnet 5.5 or Qwen3.8-Max?

A price comparison is not possible: one of them has no comparable published price.

What is the difference between Claude Sonnet 5.5 and Qwen3.8-Max?

Claude Sonnet 5.5 is made by Anthropic and Qwen3.8-Max by Alibaba Cloud (Qwen). A price comparison is not possible: one of them has no comparable published price. Only Claude Sonnet 5.5 offers structured output, prompt caching, batch api.