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Head-to-head comparison

Qwen3.8 27B vs Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct

Qwen3.8 27B (Qwen) and Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct (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 #98); Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct is 2.7× cheaper per output token ($1.10/1M vs $3.00/1M); and Qwen3.8 27B offers the longer context window (1M vs 262K tokens).

Which should you choose?

Choose Qwen3.8 27B if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #39 against #98 (68.9 vs 54.7 points).
  • you need the longer context window — 1M tokens against 262K.
  • you want provider choice — 17 listed API providers against 5.
  • Arena text is your yardstick — 1439 against 1399.
  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1505 against 1444.
  • AA Humanity's Last Exam is your yardstick — 33.9% against 7.6%.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Qwen3.8 27B was listed 14 August 2026, Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct 11 September 2025.

Choose Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct if…

  • API cost matters — $1.10/1M output tokens against $3.00/1M, about 2.7× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.10/1M against $0.42/1M.

Qwen3.8 27B vs Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Qwen3.8 27B and Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct
FieldQwen3.8 27BQwenQwen3 Next 80B A3B InstructQwen
ModelCap Index position#39#98
Index score68.954.7
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.42$0.10
Output price / 1M tokens$3.00$1.10
Context window1M tokens262K tokens
Max output tokens131K236K
API providers listed175
Weight accessOpen weightsOpen weights
Input modalitiesText, Image, VideoText
First listed14 August 202611 September 2025
PublisherQwenQwen

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

Benchmark scores: Qwen3.8 27B vs Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct

Public benchmark boards where Qwen3.8 27B or Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct has a published result
BoardQwen3.8 27BQwen3 Next 80B A3B InstructLeads
Arena textArena (LMArena)14391433–1444Not reported13991394–1404Not reportedQwen3.8 27B
Arena codingArena (LMArena)15051496–151414441435–1453Qwen3.8 27B
ARC-AGI-2ARC Prize Foundation42.4%X-High—Only one result
AA Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis33.7X-High—Only one result
AA Terminal-Bench 2.1Artificial Analysis79.8%X-High—Only one result
AA τ²-Bench TelecomArtificial Analysis—21.6%Non-reasoningOnly one result
AA Humanity's Last ExamArtificial Analysis33.9%X-High7.6%Non-reasoningQwen3.8 27B
WildClawBench OpenClawWildClawBench48.0—Only 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.

Qwen3.8 27B vs Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct: common questions

Is Qwen3.8 27B better than Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct?

Qwen3.8 27B ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 1 October 2026: #39 against #98. 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 Qwen3.8 27B cheaper than Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct?

Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct is cheaper on output tokens: $1.10/1M against $3.00/1M. Input tokens are $0.42/1M for Qwen3.8 27B and $0.10/1M for Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct. 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 $2.34 for Qwen3.8 27B versus $0.75 for Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct. Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct costs 67.9% 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, Qwen3.8 27B or Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct?

Qwen3.8 27B has the larger context window: 1M tokens against 262K.

Which is better for coding, Qwen3.8 27B or Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct?

Arena coding: Qwen3.8 27B 1505, Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct 1444 — Qwen3.8 27B leads.

Are Qwen3.8 27B and Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct open-weight models?

Qwen3.8 27B: Open weights. Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct: 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 Qwen3.8 27B and Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct?

ModelCap currently lists 17 API providers for Qwen3.8 27B and 5 for Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this Qwen3.8 27B vs Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct 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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