Compare / Qwen3.5-Flash vs Qwen3.6-Max-Preview
Qwen3.5-Flash vs Qwen3.6-Max-Preview
Which is cheaper, which is more capable, and which does better at each kind of work, from 9 results on 3 sources that measured both models.
Of the 9 results both models have, the better value on each. Results whose reported ranges overlap are too close to call.
Results as of 9 October 2026 (catalogue release 2026-10-09-dd620e778ac5).
Qwen3.5-Flash or Qwen3.6-Max-Preview? The short answer
They score about the same, so pick Qwen3.5-Flash: it costs 20 times less per token.
- Qwen3.5-Flash is cheaper: $0.11 against $2.31 per million tokens, 20 times less.
- On third-party benchmarks, on the results both models have: Qwen3.6-Max-Preview does better for agents and tool use, writing and sticking to the facts.
Head to head
Every fact side by side
| Qwen3.5-Flash | Qwen3.6-Max-Preview | |
|---|---|---|
| Price per million tokens | $0.065 in · $0.26 out | $1.03 in · $6.16 out |
| Blended (3 in : 1 out) | $0.11 | $2.31 |
| Cheapest host, blended | – | – |
| Intelligence Index | – | 28.4 |
| Spring Prompt overall | – | – |
| Output speed, tokens a second | – | – |
| Context window | 1,000,000 tokens | 262,144 tokens |
| Released | – | 20 Apr 2026 |
| Weights | Closed | Closed |
| Developer based in | China | China |
Prices are the developer's list price where we have read it, otherwise the typical host on OpenRouter; see every model's price. Intelligence and speed from Artificial Analysis.
Which is better for what
Each model's rank among the models on sale today, for each kind of work, from our own benchmarks and licensed sources. Further right is better; the better rank is in green.
Every shared result
Each model's best result on every measure both have, grouped by benchmark, with the setting that produced it. Under each measure, every model that benchmark has measured is a grey tick, best to the right, so you can see where the two sit in the field. The headline measures of each benchmark come first; the rest are under "Show all". Green marks the better value; where a source reports ranges that overlap, neither is marked.
| Measure | Qwen3.5-Flash | Qwen3.6-Max-Preview |
|---|---|---|
| Arena (formerly LMArena) reported by Arena (formerly LMArena) · 3 results | ||
| Overall · TextArena rating, higher is better 142 · 51 of 387 measured | 1,396 | 1,460 |
| Overall · Text factualityArena rating, higher is better 123 · 51 of 163 measured | 1,414 | 1,453 |
| Business, management and finance · TextArena rating, higher is better 137 · 64 of 380 measured | 1,403 | 1,451 |
| SimpleQA Verified (Epoch AI) reported by SimpleQA Verified (Epoch AI) · 1 result | ||
| Correct answers% of questions, higher is better 64 · 21 of 76 measured | 20.3% | 52.0% |
| Vending-Bench 2 reported by Vending-Bench 2 · 1 result | ||
| Money after a yearUS dollars, higher is better 48 · 31 of 58 measured | $462.69 | $4,254 |
Show all 9 results (4 more)
| Measure | Qwen3.5-Flash | Qwen3.6-Max-Preview |
|---|---|---|
| Arena (formerly LMArena) reported by Arena (formerly LMArena) · 4 results | ||
| Creative writing · TextArena rating, higher is better 167 · 50 of 385 measured | 1,337 | 1,437 |
| Expert prompts · TextArena rating, higher is better 135 · 36 of 338 measured | 1,419 | 1,500 |
| Instruction following · TextArena rating, higher is better 148 · 56 of 387 measured | 1,381 | 1,450 |
| Writing, literature and language · TextArena rating, higher is better 149 · 50 of 386 measured | 1,367 | 1,446 |
Quick answers
Is Qwen3.5-Flash better than Qwen3.6-Max-Preview?
They score about the same, so pick Qwen3.5-Flash: it costs 20 times less per token.
Which is cheaper, Qwen3.5-Flash or Qwen3.6-Max-Preview?
Qwen3.5-Flash is cheaper: $0.11 against $2.31 per million tokens, 20 times less.
Which is better for agents and tool use, Qwen3.5-Flash or Qwen3.6-Max-Preview?
Qwen3.6-Max-Preview ranks 81 of 164 models on sale for multi-step tasks with tools: support desks, coding agents, function calls, against 143 for Qwen3.5-Flash.
Which is better for writing, Qwen3.5-Flash or Qwen3.6-Max-Preview?
Qwen3.6-Max-Preview ranks 41 of 188 models on sale for what people prefer in blind comparisons, and judged writing quality, against 115 for Qwen3.5-Flash.
Which is better for sticking to the facts, Qwen3.5-Flash or Qwen3.6-Max-Preview?
Qwen3.6-Max-Preview ranks 45 of 152 models on sale for summarising without inventing things, and factual answers, against 119 for Qwen3.5-Flash.
Which has the bigger context window, Qwen3.5-Flash or Qwen3.6-Max-Preview?
Qwen3.5-Flash: 1,000,000 tokens, against 262,144 for Qwen3.6-Max-Preview.
Run Qwen3.5-Flash and Qwen3.6-Max-Preview on your own prompt
Benchmarks aren't your data. Try both side by side in the playground, with the cost of every answer.