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Head-to-head comparison

Gemma 3 27B vs Qwen3.5-9B

Gemma 3 27B (Google) and Qwen3.5-9B (Qwen) compared on the ModelCap Index, API price, context window, provider availability, weight access and every public benchmark board they share. Figures are the same ones shown on the live rankings; nothing here is a hidden score.

Snapshot as of 17 August 2026

As of 17 August 2026, Gemma 3 27B holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#81 vs #83); Qwen3.5-9B is 3× cheaper per output token ($0.15/1M vs $0.45/1M); and Qwen3.5-9B ships open weights.

Which should you choose?

Choose Gemma 3 27B if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #81 against #83 (29.9 vs 28.6 points).
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.08/1M against $0.10/1M.

Choose Qwen3.5-9B if…

  • API cost matters — $0.15/1M output tokens against $0.45/1M, about 3× cheaper.
  • you want to self-host: Qwen3.5-9B ships open weights while Gemma 3 27B is gated access.
  • Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index is your yardstick — 21.8 against 7.4.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Qwen3.5-9B was listed 10 March 2026, Gemma 3 27B 12 March 2025.

Gemma 3 27B vs Qwen3.5-9B: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Gemma 3 27B and Qwen3.5-9B
FieldGemma 3 27BGoogleQwen3.5-9BQwen
ModelCap Index position#81#83
Index score29.928.6
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.08$0.10
Output price / 1M tokens$0.45$0.15
Context window262K tokens262K tokens
Max output tokens131K262K
API providers listed55
Weight accessGated accessOpen weights
Input modalitiesText, ImageText, Image, Video
First listed12 March 202510 March 2026
PublisherGoogleQwen

Evidence: 3 public benchmark observations across 3 boards · 1 public benchmark observation across 1 board. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: Gemma 3 27B vs Qwen3.5-9B

Public benchmark boards where Gemma 3 27B or Qwen3.5-9B has a published result
BoardGemma 3 27BQwen3.5-9BLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)13581351–1365—Only one result
BFCL V4UC Berkeley (Gorilla)29.5Prompt—Only one result
Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis7.4intelligence-index21.8intelligence-indexQwen3.5-9B

Scores are the sources' own published figures for each model's best evaluated configuration; ModelCap never re-runs a benchmark.

Want a different pairing? Open the interactive comparison tool to swap either model for any current ranked language model.

Gemma 3 27B vs Qwen3.5-9B: common questions

Is Gemma 3 27B better than Qwen3.5-9B?

Gemma 3 27B ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 17 August 2026: #81 against #83. That is a capability ranking built from public benchmark evidence with published uncertainty; whether it is "better" for you also depends on price, context and where you can run it.

Is Gemma 3 27B cheaper than Qwen3.5-9B?

Qwen3.5-9B is cheaper on output tokens: $0.15/1M against $0.45/1M. Input tokens are $0.08/1M for Gemma 3 27B and $0.10/1M for Qwen3.5-9B. Prices are the lowest listed API offer ModelCap observed, in USD per million tokens.

Which has the bigger context window, Gemma 3 27B or Qwen3.5-9B?

Both publish a 262K-token context window.

Which is better for coding, Gemma 3 27B or Qwen3.5-9B?

The two models do not share a coding benchmark board on ModelCap yet, so no head-to-head coding score is published; the ModelCap Index position is the closest overall signal.

Are Gemma 3 27B and Qwen3.5-9B open-weight models?

Gemma 3 27B: Gated access. Qwen3.5-9B: Open weights. Open weights mean the checkpoint can be downloaded and self-hosted under its licence; API-only models are available solely through hosted endpoints.

Where can I run Gemma 3 27B and Qwen3.5-9B?

ModelCap currently lists 5 API providers for Gemma 3 27B and 5 for Qwen3.5-9B, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this Gemma 3 27B vs Qwen3.5-9B comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 17 August 2026; the page re-renders within a minute of each data refresh, and the ModelCap Index positions are the same ones shown on the live rankings.

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