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Head-to-head comparison

Qwen3.5-9B vs Qwen3.6 35B A3B

Qwen3.5-9B (Qwen) and Qwen3.6 35B A3B (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, Qwen3.6 35B A3B holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#72 vs #95); and Qwen3.5-9B is 6.7× cheaper per output token ($0.15/1M vs $1.00/1M).

Which should you choose?

Choose Qwen3.5-9B if…

  • API cost matters — $0.15/1M output tokens against $1.00/1M, about 6.7× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.10/1M against $0.15/1M.

Choose Qwen3.6 35B A3B if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #72 against #95 (60.7 vs 54.9 points).
  • you want provider choice — 9 listed API providers against 6.
  • AA Intelligence Index is your yardstick — 18.2 against 11.2.
  • AA Terminal-Bench 2.1 is your yardstick — 44.9% against 29.2%.
  • AA τ²-Bench Telecom is your yardstick — 95.3% against 86.8%.
  • AA Humanity's Last Exam is your yardstick — 22.2% against 14.9%.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Qwen3.6 35B A3B was listed 27 April 2026, Qwen3.5-9B 10 March 2026.

Qwen3.5-9B vs Qwen3.6 35B A3B: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Qwen3.5-9B and Qwen3.6 35B A3B
FieldQwen3.5-9BQwenQwen3.6 35B A3BQwen
ModelCap Index position#95#72
Index score54.960.7
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.10$0.15
Output price / 1M tokens$0.15$1.00
Context window262K tokens262K tokens
Max output tokens33K236K
API providers listed69
Weight accessOpen weightsOpen weights
Input modalitiesText, Image, VideoText, Image, Video
First listed10 March 202627 April 2026
PublisherQwenQwen

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

Benchmark scores: Qwen3.5-9B vs Qwen3.6 35B A3B

Public benchmark boards where Qwen3.5-9B or Qwen3.6 35B A3B has a published result
BoardQwen3.5-9BQwen3.6 35B A3BLeads
AA Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis11.2Reasoning18.2ReasoningQwen3.6 35B A3B
AA Terminal-Bench 2.1Artificial Analysis29.2%Reasoning44.9%ReasoningQwen3.6 35B A3B
AA τ²-Bench TelecomArtificial Analysis86.8%Reasoning95.3%ReasoningQwen3.6 35B A3B
AA Humanity's Last ExamArtificial Analysis14.9%Reasoning22.2%ReasoningQwen3.6 35B A3B

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.

Qwen3.5-9B vs Qwen3.6 35B A3B: common questions

Is Qwen3.5-9B better than Qwen3.6 35B A3B?

Qwen3.6 35B A3B ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 1 October 2026: #72 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 Qwen3.5-9B cheaper than Qwen3.6 35B A3B?

Qwen3.5-9B is cheaper on output tokens: $0.15/1M against $1.00/1M. Input tokens are $0.10/1M for Qwen3.5-9B and $0.15/1M for Qwen3.6 35B A3B. 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 $0.27 for Qwen3.5-9B versus $0.80 for Qwen3.6 35B A3B. Qwen3.5-9B costs 65.6% 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, Qwen3.5-9B or Qwen3.6 35B A3B?

Both publish a 262K-token context window.

Which is better for coding, Qwen3.5-9B or Qwen3.6 35B A3B?

AA Terminal-Bench 2.1: Qwen3.5-9B 29.2%, Qwen3.6 35B A3B 44.9% — Qwen3.6 35B A3B leads.

Are Qwen3.5-9B and Qwen3.6 35B A3B open-weight models?

Qwen3.5-9B: Open weights. Qwen3.6 35B A3B: 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 Qwen3.5-9B and Qwen3.6 35B A3B?

ModelCap currently lists 6 API providers for Qwen3.5-9B and 9 for Qwen3.6 35B A3B, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this Qwen3.5-9B vs Qwen3.6 35B A3B 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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