Compare / Qwen3.6-Max-Preview vs Qwen3-Max
Qwen3.6-Max-Preview vs Qwen3-Max
Which is cheaper, which is more capable, and which does better at each kind of work, from 15 results on 4 sources that measured both models.
Of the 15 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).
Qwen3.6-Max-Preview or Qwen3-Max? The short answer
Pick Qwen3.6-Max-Preview if quality matters most: it scores higher (Intelligence Index 28.4 against 15.6). Pick Qwen3-Max if cost matters more: it costs 32% less per token.
- Qwen3-Max is cheaper: $1.56 against $2.31 per million tokens, 32% less.
- Qwen3.6-Max-Preview scores higher on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index: 28.4 against 15.6.
- Qwen3.6-Max-Preview is newer: released 20 Apr 2026, against 24 Sep 2025 for Qwen3-Max.
- On third-party benchmarks, on the results both models have: Qwen3.6-Max-Preview does better for agents and tool use, reasoning and knowledge, writing and sticking to the facts.
Head to head
Every fact side by side
| Qwen3.6-Max-Preview | Qwen3-Max | |
|---|---|---|
| Price per million tokens | $1.03 in · $6.16 out | $0.78 in · $3.90 out |
| Blended (3 in : 1 out) | $2.31 | $1.56 |
| Cheapest host, blended | – | – |
| Intelligence Index | 28.4 | 15.6 |
| Spring Prompt overall | – | – |
| Output speed, tokens a second | – | – |
| Context window | 262,144 tokens | 262,144 tokens |
| Released | 20 Apr 2026 (newer) | 24 Sep 2025 |
| 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 | Qwen3.6-Max-Preview | Qwen3-Max |
|---|---|---|
| Arena (formerly LMArena) reported by Arena (formerly LMArena) · 3 results | ||
| Overall · TextArena rating, higher is better 51 · 108 of 387 measured | 1,460 | 1,423 |
| Business, management and finance · TextArena rating, higher is better 64 · 110 of 380 measured | 1,451 | 1,419 |
| Creative writing · TextArena rating, higher is better 50 · 105 of 385 measured | 1,437 | 1,393 |
| Artificial Analysis reported by Artificial Analysis · 3 results | ||
| Artificial Analysis Intelligence Indexindex score, higher is better 57 · 123 of 243 measured | 28.4 | 15.6 |
| GPQA Diamond% of questions, higher is better 55 · 132 of 231 measured | 88.8% | 76.4% |
| Humanity's Last Exam% of questions, higher is better 70 · 140 of 242 measured | 30.8% | 11.9% |
| SimpleQA Verified (Epoch AI) reported by SimpleQA Verified (Epoch AI) · 1 result | ||
| Correct answers% of questions, higher is better 21 · 27 of 76 measured | 52.0% | 48.7% |
| Vending-Bench 2 reported by Vending-Bench 2 · 1 result | ||
| Money after a yearUS dollars, higher is better 31 · 52 of 58 measured | $4,254 | $71.57 |
Show all 15 results (7 more)
| Measure | Qwen3.6-Max-Preview | Qwen3-Max |
|---|---|---|
| Arena (formerly LMArena) reported by Arena (formerly LMArena) · 3 results | ||
| Expert prompts · TextArena rating, higher is better 36 · 137 of 338 measured | 1,500 | 1,417 |
| Instruction following · TextArena rating, higher is better 56 · 106 of 387 measured | 1,450 | 1,413 |
| Writing, literature and language · TextArena rating, higher is better 50 · 101 of 386 measured | 1,446 | 1,405 |
| Artificial Analysis reported by Artificial Analysis · 4 results | ||
| IFBench% of instructions, higher is better 14 · 118 of 195 measured | 76.6% | 44.2% |
| Long-context reasoning (AA-LCR)% of questions, higher is better 33 · 154 of 233 measured | 80.7% | 50.0% |
| Terminal-Bench Hard% of tasks, higher is better 23 · 91 of 190 measured | 43.9% | 20.5% |
| τ²-bench telecom% of tasks, higher is better 12 · 79 of 193 measured | 95.9% | 74.3% |
Quick answers
Is Qwen3.6-Max-Preview better than Qwen3-Max?
Pick Qwen3.6-Max-Preview if quality matters most: it scores higher (Intelligence Index 28.4 against 15.6). Pick Qwen3-Max if cost matters more: it costs 32% less per token.
Which is cheaper, Qwen3.6-Max-Preview or Qwen3-Max?
Qwen3-Max is cheaper: $1.56 against $2.31 per million tokens, 32% less.
Which is better for agents and tool use, Qwen3.6-Max-Preview or Qwen3-Max?
Qwen3.6-Max-Preview ranks 81 of 164 models on sale for multi-step tasks with tools: support desks, coding agents, function calls, against 154 for Qwen3-Max.
Which is better for reasoning and knowledge, Qwen3.6-Max-Preview or Qwen3-Max?
Qwen3.6-Max-Preview ranks 59 of 198 models on sale for hard questions across science, maths and general knowledge, against 121 for Qwen3-Max.
Which is better for writing, Qwen3.6-Max-Preview or Qwen3-Max?
Qwen3.6-Max-Preview ranks 41 of 188 models on sale for what people prefer in blind comparisons, and judged writing quality, against 99 for Qwen3-Max.
Which is better for sticking to the facts, Qwen3.6-Max-Preview or Qwen3-Max?
Qwen3.6-Max-Preview ranks 45 of 152 models on sale for summarising without inventing things, and factual answers, against 50 for Qwen3-Max.
Run Qwen3.6-Max-Preview and Qwen3-Max on your own prompt
Benchmarks aren't your data. Try both side by side in the playground, with the cost of every answer.