High-volume, cost-sensitive work
Choose Qwen3.8 27B
Qwen3.8 27B costs 9% less on a typical mix of three input tokens for every output token ($0.78 against $0.85 per million tokens).
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite vs Qwen3.8 27B: price, context and capabilities
Choose Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite for reused prompts and documents (RAG, agents). Choose Qwen3.8 27B for high-volume, cost-sensitive work and the latest release.
In short
- Qwen3.8 27B is 9% cheaper than Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite at the headline price ($0.775 / 1M tokens vs $0.85 / 1M tokens).
- Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite reads more per request: 1.05M tokens against 1M.
- Qwen3.8 27B is the newer model (Aug 14, 2026, against July 2026).
- Only Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite offers batch api.
Which should you choose?
Each answer below comes straight from the published prices, specifications and independent benchmark results.
Reused prompts and documents (RAG, agents)
Choose Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite charges $0.03 per million cached input tokens, against $0.09 for Qwen3.8 27B.
Latest release
Choose Qwen3.8 27B
Qwen3.8 27B is the newer release (Aug 14, 2026, against July 2026 for Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite).
Monthly cost at three volumes
| Volume | Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite | Qwen3.8 27B | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prototype: 1M input, 250K output tokens | $0.93 | $0.83 | Qwen3.8 27B, $0.10 less |
| Production: 20M input, 5M output tokens | $18.50 | $16.50 | Qwen3.8 27B, $2.00 less |
| Scale: 500M input, 100M output tokens | $400.00 | $350.00 | Qwen3.8 27B, $50.00 less |
Standard rates, without caching or batch discounts. Volumes are per month.
Specifications side by side
| Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite | Qwen3.8 27B | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Alibaba Cloud (Qwen) | |
| Category | Language models | Language models |
| Status | Generally available | Generally available |
| Headline price | $0.85 / 1M tokens | $0.775 / 1M tokens |
| Input | $0.30 / 1M tokens | $0.20 / 1M tokens |
| Output | $2.50 / 1M tokens | $2.50 / 1M tokens |
| Cached input | $0.03 / 1M tokens | $0.09 / 1M tokens |
| Context window | 1.05M | 1M |
| Max output | 66k | 236k |
| Released | July 2026 | Aug 14, 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 | gemini-3.5-flash-lite | qwen3.8-27b |
Benchmarks side by side
Leader in bold.
| Benchmark | Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite | Qwen3.8 27B |
|---|---|---|
| Intelligence Index | 22.2 | No data |
| SciCode | 41.3% | No data |
| GPQA Diamond | 83.8% | No data |
| Humanity's Last Exam | 18.8% | No data |
| MMMU-Pro (visual reasoning) | 79% | No data |
| Long-context reasoning (AA-LCR) | 76% | No data |
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 Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite or Qwen3.8 27B?
Choose Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite for reused prompts and documents (RAG, agents). Choose Qwen3.8 27B for high-volume, cost-sensitive work and the latest release.
Which is cheaper, Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite or Qwen3.8 27B?
Qwen3.8 27B is 9% cheaper than Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite at the headline price ($0.775 / 1M tokens vs $0.85 / 1M tokens).
Which has the larger context window, Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite or Qwen3.8 27B?
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite reads more per request: 1.05M tokens against 1M.
What is the difference between Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite and Qwen3.8 27B?
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is made by Google and Qwen3.8 27B by Alibaba Cloud (Qwen). Qwen3.8 27B is 9% cheaper than Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite at the headline price ($0.775 / 1M tokens vs $0.85 / 1M tokens). Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite reads more per request: 1.05M tokens against 1M. Qwen3.8 27B is the newer model (Aug 14, 2026, against July 2026). Only Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite offers batch api.
How much do Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite and Qwen3.8 27B cost per month?
At 20 million input and 5 million output tokens a month, Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite costs $18.50 and Qwen3.8 27B costs $16.50, at standard rates.
Which is newer, Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite or Qwen3.8 27B?
Qwen3.8 27B was released on Aug 14, 2026 and Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite on July 2026.