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ModelCap

Head-to-head comparison

Qwen3 235B A22B Instruct 2507 vs Qwen3.5-9B

Qwen3 235B A22B Instruct 2507 (Qwen) 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 1 October 2026

As of 1 October 2026, Qwen3 235B A22B Instruct 2507 holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#64 vs #95); and Qwen3.5-9B is 2.3× cheaper per output token ($0.15/1M vs $0.35/1M).

Which should you choose?

Choose Qwen3 235B A22B Instruct 2507 if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #64 against #95 (62.1 vs 54.9 points).
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.087/1M against $0.10/1M.
  • you want provider choice — 9 listed API providers against 6.

Choose Qwen3.5-9B if…

  • API cost matters — $0.15/1M output tokens against $0.35/1M, about 2.3× cheaper.
  • AA τ²-Bench Telecom is your yardstick — 86.8% against 33.3%.
  • AA Humanity's Last Exam is your yardstick — 14.9% against 11.1%.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Qwen3.5-9B was listed 10 March 2026, Qwen3 235B A22B Instruct 2507 21 July 2025.

Qwen3 235B A22B Instruct 2507 vs Qwen3.5-9B: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Qwen3 235B A22B Instruct 2507 and Qwen3.5-9B
FieldQwen3 235B A22B Instruct 2507QwenQwen3.5-9BQwen
ModelCap Index position#64#95
Index score62.154.9
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.087$0.10
Output price / 1M tokens$0.35$0.15
Context window262K tokens262K tokens
Max output tokens236K33K
API providers listed96
Weight accessOpen weightsOpen weights
Input modalitiesTextText, Image, Video
First listed21 July 202510 March 2026
PublisherQwenQwen

Evidence: 2 public benchmark observations across 2 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: Qwen3 235B A22B Instruct 2507 vs Qwen3.5-9B

Public benchmark boards where Qwen3 235B A22B Instruct 2507 or Qwen3.5-9B has a published result
BoardQwen3 235B A22B Instruct 2507Qwen3.5-9BLeads
Arena textArena (LMArena)14221420–1425Not reported—Only one result
Arena codingArena (LMArena)14721467–1476—Only one result
BFCL V4UC Berkeley (Gorilla)52.2Prompt—Only one result
AA Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis—11.2ReasoningOnly one result
AA Terminal-Bench 2.1Artificial Analysis—29.2%ReasoningOnly one result
AA τ²-Bench TelecomArtificial Analysis33.3%Non-reasoning86.8%ReasoningQwen3.5-9B
AA Humanity's Last ExamArtificial Analysis11.1%Non-reasoning14.9%ReasoningQwen3.5-9B

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.

Qwen3 235B A22B Instruct 2507 vs Qwen3.5-9B: common questions

Is Qwen3 235B A22B Instruct 2507 better than Qwen3.5-9B?

Qwen3 235B A22B Instruct 2507 ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 1 October 2026: #64 against #95. 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. Their published uncertainty intervals overlap, so the rank difference alone does not establish a reliable capability advantage for your workload.

Is Qwen3 235B A22B Instruct 2507 cheaper than Qwen3.5-9B?

Qwen3.5-9B is cheaper on output tokens: $0.15/1M against $0.35/1M. Input tokens are $0.087/1M for Qwen3 235B A22B Instruct 2507 and $0.10/1M for Qwen3.5-9B. Prices are the lowest listed API offer ModelCap observed, in USD per million tokens. For 1,000 requests with 2,000 input and 500 output tokens each (2M input + 0.5M output), the listed-rate estimate is $0.35 for Qwen3 235B A22B Instruct 2507 versus $0.27 for Qwen3.5-9B. Qwen3.5-9B costs 21.4% less in this scenario. This excludes caching, batch discounts, prompt-length tiers, tool charges and retries; verify the selected endpoint before budgeting.

Which has the bigger context window, Qwen3 235B A22B Instruct 2507 or Qwen3.5-9B?

Both publish a 262K-token context window.

Which is better for coding, Qwen3 235B A22B Instruct 2507 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 Qwen3 235B A22B Instruct 2507 and Qwen3.5-9B open-weight models?

Qwen3 235B A22B Instruct 2507: Open weights. 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 Qwen3 235B A22B Instruct 2507 and Qwen3.5-9B?

ModelCap currently lists 9 API providers for Qwen3 235B A22B Instruct 2507 and 6 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 Qwen3 235B A22B Instruct 2507 vs Qwen3.5-9B comparison?

Every figure and ModelCap Index position comes from the same published snapshot dated 1 October 2026. Publication and page updates happen separately; use the snapshot date shown on the page.

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