Qwen3 Max (Preview) vs Qwen3 Max Thinking

Comparing 2 AI models · 5 benchmarks · Alibaba

Most Affordable
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Qwen3 Max (Preview)
$1.20/1M
Highest Intelligence
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Qwen3 Max Thinking
77.6% GPQA
Best for Coding
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Qwen3 Max (Preview)
40.2 Coding Index
Price Difference
1.0x
input cost range

Composite Indices

Intelligence, Coding, Math

Standard Benchmarks

Academic and industry benchmarks

Benchmark Winners

5 tests
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Qwen3 Max (Preview)

2
  • MMLU Pro
  • LiveCodeBench
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Qwen3 Max Thinking

3
  • GPQA
  • HLE
  • AIME 2025
Metric
Alibaba logo Qwen3 Max (Preview)
Alibaba
Alibaba logo Qwen3 Max Thinking
Alibaba
Pricing
Per 1M tokens
Input Cost $1.20/1M $1.20/1M
Output Cost $6.00/1M $6.00/1M
Blended Cost 3:1 input/output ratio
$2.40/1M $2.40/1M
Specifications
Organization Model creator
Alibaba Alibaba
Release Date Launch date
Sep 5, 2025 Nov 3, 2025
Performance & Speed
Throughput Output speed
30.7 tok/s 40.3 tok/s
Time to First Token (TTFT) Initial response delay
1843ms 1709ms
Latency Time to first answer token
1843ms 51383ms
Composite Indices
Intelligence Index Overall reasoning capability
48.5 55.8
Coding Index Programming ability
40.2 36.2
Math Index Mathematical reasoning
75.0 82.3
Standard Benchmarks
GPQA Graduate-level reasoning
76.4% 77.6%
MMLU Pro Advanced knowledge
83.8% 82.4%
HLE Hard language evaluation
9.3% 12.0%
LiveCodeBench Real-world coding tasks
65.1% 53.5%
MATH 500 Mathematical problems
AIME 2025 Advanced math competition
75.0% 82.3%
AIME (Original) Math olympiad problems
SciCode Scientific code generation
37.0% 38.7%
LCR Code review capability
39.7% 57.7%
IFBench Instruction-following
48.0% 53.8%
TAU-bench v2 Tool use & agentic tasks
32.7% 83.6%
TerminalBench Hard CLI command generation
18.4% 16.3%

Key Takeaways

Qwen3 Max (Preview) offers the best value at $1.20/1M, making it ideal for high-volume applications and cost-conscious projects.

Qwen3 Max Thinking leads in reasoning capabilities with a 77.6% GPQA score, excelling at complex analytical tasks and problem-solving.

Qwen3 Max (Preview) achieves a 40.2 coding index, making it the top choice for software development and code generation tasks.

All models support context windows of ∞+ tokens, suitable for processing lengthy documents and maintaining extended conversations.

When to Choose Each Model

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Qwen3 Max (Preview)

  • Cost-sensitive applications
  • High-volume processing
  • Code generation
  • Software development
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Qwen3 Max Thinking

  • Complex reasoning tasks
  • Research & analysis

Cost Calculator

Alibaba logo Qwen3 Max (Preview)
$0.00
per month
Alibaba logo Qwen3 Max Thinking
$0.00
per month

Costs are estimates based on API pricing. Actual costs may vary based on caching, batch processing, and volume discounts.

AI Model Comparison Guide

Compare large language models (LLMs) side-by-side with detailed benchmark scores, pricing, and performance metrics. Our interactive comparison tool helps you evaluate AI models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta, DeepSeek, and other leading providers. Use our AI model leaderboard to discover more models to compare.

Understanding Composite Indices

  • Intelligence Index: Aggregated score combining MMLU-Pro, GPQA, and HLE benchmarks - measures overall reasoning and knowledge capabilities
  • Coding Index: Composite metric from LiveCodeBench, SciCode, and LiveCodeBench Review - evaluates programming proficiency across multiple languages
  • Math Index: Combined score from AIME, AIME 2025, and MATH-500 benchmarks - assesses mathematical reasoning from high school to competition level

Key Comparison Metrics

  • Benchmark Scores: Standardized tests measuring intelligence, coding, math, and specialized capabilities - higher percentages indicate better performance
  • Pricing Analysis: Compare input and output token costs across models - critical for budgeting API usage and scaling applications
  • Performance Metrics: Throughput (tokens/second) and latency measurements for real-time application planning
  • Context Windows: Maximum token capacity for processing documents and maintaining conversation history

How to Compare AI Models Effectively

Performance vs Cost

Balance benchmark scores against token pricing - flagship models offer 10-15% better performance but cost 5-10x more than smaller alternatives

Task-Specific Selection

Prioritize relevant indices: coding index for development tasks, math index for STEM applications, intelligence index for general reasoning

Real-World Testing

Use our free AI chat interface to test models with your specific prompts before committing to API integration

All benchmark scores, pricing data, and performance metrics are sourced from Artificial Analysis and updated daily. Compare models by intelligence, coding ability, math performance, speed, cost, or release date using our comprehensive AI model leaderboard.