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ModelCap

Head-to-head comparison

Qwen3.5 397B A17B vs Qwen3.5-9B

Qwen3.5 397B A17B (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, Qwen3.5 397B A17B holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#43 vs #95); and Qwen3.5-9B is 23.3× cheaper per output token ($0.15/1M vs $3.50/1M).

Which should you choose?

Choose Qwen3.5 397B A17B if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #43 against #95 (68.0 vs 54.9 points).
  • you want provider choice — 10 listed API providers against 6.
  • AA Intelligence Index is your yardstick — 18.4 against 11.2.
  • AA Terminal-Bench 2.1 is your yardstick — 51.3% against 29.2%.
  • AA τ²-Bench Telecom is your yardstick — 95.6% against 86.8%.
  • AA Humanity's Last Exam is your yardstick — 29.0% against 14.9%.

Choose Qwen3.5-9B if…

  • API cost matters — $0.15/1M output tokens against $3.50/1M, about 23.3× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.10/1M against $0.55/1M.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Qwen3.5-9B was listed 10 March 2026, Qwen3.5 397B A17B 16 February 2026.

Qwen3.5 397B A17B vs Qwen3.5-9B: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Qwen3.5 397B A17B and Qwen3.5-9B
FieldQwen3.5 397B A17BQwenQwen3.5-9BQwen
ModelCap Index position#43#95
Index score68.054.9
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.55$0.10
Output price / 1M tokens$3.50$0.15
Context window262K tokens262K tokens
Max output tokens236K33K
API providers listed106
Weight accessOpen weightsOpen weights
Input modalitiesText, Image, VideoText, Image, Video
First listed16 February 202610 March 2026
PublisherQwenQwen

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: Qwen3.5 397B A17B vs Qwen3.5-9B

Public benchmark boards where Qwen3.5 397B A17B or Qwen3.5-9B has a published result
BoardQwen3.5 397B A17BQwen3.5-9BLeads
Arena textArena (LMArena)14421438–1445Not reported—Only one result
Arena codingArena (LMArena)14911486–1496—Only one result
AA Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis18.4Reasoning11.2ReasoningQwen3.5 397B A17B
AA Terminal-Bench 2.1Artificial Analysis51.3%Reasoning29.2%ReasoningQwen3.5 397B A17B
AA τ²-Bench TelecomArtificial Analysis95.6%Reasoning86.8%ReasoningQwen3.5 397B A17B
AA Humanity's Last ExamArtificial Analysis29.0%Reasoning14.9%ReasoningQwen3.5 397B A17B

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.

Qwen3.5 397B A17B vs Qwen3.5-9B: common questions

Is Qwen3.5 397B A17B better than Qwen3.5-9B?

Qwen3.5 397B A17B ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 1 October 2026: #43 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 Qwen3.5 397B A17B cheaper than Qwen3.5-9B?

Qwen3.5-9B is cheaper on output tokens: $0.15/1M against $3.50/1M. Input tokens are $0.55/1M for Qwen3.5 397B A17B 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 $2.85 for Qwen3.5 397B A17B versus $0.27 for Qwen3.5-9B. Qwen3.5-9B costs 90.4% 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, Qwen3.5 397B A17B or Qwen3.5-9B?

Both publish a 262K-token context window.

Which is better for coding, Qwen3.5 397B A17B or Qwen3.5-9B?

AA Terminal-Bench 2.1: Qwen3.5 397B A17B 51.3%, Qwen3.5-9B 29.2% — Qwen3.5 397B A17B leads.

Are Qwen3.5 397B A17B and Qwen3.5-9B open-weight models?

Qwen3.5 397B A17B: 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 Qwen3.5 397B A17B and Qwen3.5-9B?

ModelCap currently lists 10 API providers for Qwen3.5 397B A17B 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 Qwen3.5 397B A17B 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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