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Head-to-head comparison

Qwen3 30B A3B vs Qwen3.8 27B

Qwen3 30B A3B (Qwen) and Qwen3.8 27B (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, Qwen3.8 27B holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#39 vs #171); Qwen3 30B A3B is 6× cheaper per output token ($0.50/1M vs $3.00/1M); and Qwen3.8 27B offers the longer context window (1M vs 131K tokens).

Which should you choose?

Choose Qwen3 30B A3B if…

  • API cost matters — $0.50/1M output tokens against $3.00/1M, about 6× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.12/1M against $0.42/1M.

Choose Qwen3.8 27B if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #39 against #171 (68.9 vs 35.7 points).
  • you need the longer context window — 1M tokens against 131K.
  • you want provider choice — 17 listed API providers against 2.
  • Arena text is your yardstick — 1439 against 1327.
  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1505 against 1385.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Qwen3.8 27B was listed 14 August 2026, Qwen3 30B A3B 28 April 2025.

Qwen3 30B A3B vs Qwen3.8 27B: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Qwen3 30B A3B and Qwen3.8 27B
FieldQwen3 30B A3BQwenQwen3.8 27BQwen
ModelCap Index position#171#39
Index score35.768.9
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.12$0.42
Output price / 1M tokens$0.50$3.00
Context window131K tokens1M tokens
Max output tokens16K131K
API providers listed217
Weight accessOpen weightsOpen weights
Input modalitiesTextText, Image, Video
First listed28 April 202514 August 2026
PublisherQwenQwen

Evidence: 2 public benchmark observations across 2 boards · 5 public benchmark observations across 5 boards. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: Qwen3 30B A3B vs Qwen3.8 27B

Public benchmark boards where Qwen3 30B A3B or Qwen3.8 27B has a published result
BoardQwen3 30B A3BQwen3.8 27BLeads
Arena textArena (LMArena)13271322–1331Not reported14391433–1444Not reportedQwen3.8 27B
Arena codingArena (LMArena)13851376–139415051496–1514Qwen3.8 27B
ARC-AGI-2ARC Prize Foundation—42.4%X-HighOnly one result
AA Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis—33.7X-HighOnly one result
AA Terminal-Bench 2.1Artificial Analysis—79.8%X-HighOnly one result
AA Humanity's Last ExamArtificial Analysis—33.9%X-HighOnly one result
WildClawBench OpenClawWildClawBench—48.0Only one result

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 30B A3B vs Qwen3.8 27B: common questions

Is Qwen3 30B A3B better than Qwen3.8 27B?

Qwen3.8 27B ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 1 October 2026: #39 against #171. 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 do not overlap, but the aggregate Index does not predict performance on every task; compare the relevant benchmark configurations before choosing.

Is Qwen3 30B A3B cheaper than Qwen3.8 27B?

Qwen3 30B A3B is cheaper on output tokens: $0.50/1M against $3.00/1M. Input tokens are $0.12/1M for Qwen3 30B A3B and $0.42/1M for Qwen3.8 27B. 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 $0.49 for Qwen3 30B A3B versus $2.34 for Qwen3.8 27B. Qwen3 30B A3B costs 79.1% 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 30B A3B or Qwen3.8 27B?

Qwen3.8 27B has the larger context window: 1M tokens against 131K.

Which is better for coding, Qwen3 30B A3B or Qwen3.8 27B?

Arena coding: Qwen3 30B A3B 1385, Qwen3.8 27B 1505 — Qwen3.8 27B leads.

Are Qwen3 30B A3B and Qwen3.8 27B open-weight models?

Qwen3 30B A3B: Open weights. Qwen3.8 27B: 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 30B A3B and Qwen3.8 27B?

ModelCap currently lists 2 API providers for Qwen3 30B A3B and 17 for Qwen3.8 27B, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this Qwen3 30B A3B vs Qwen3.8 27B 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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