# Qwen vs DeepSeek API pricing, compared model by model

On 25 September 2026 the cheapest Qwen model costs $0.03 per million input tokens against $0.0482 for the cheapest DeepSeek model, and the typical DeepSeek model is the cheaper of the two.

Prices checked 25 September 2026 at 06.00 UTC . Source OpenRouter public model list . US dollars per million tokens

## At a glance

|  | Qwen (Alibaba) | DeepSeek (DeepSeek) |
|---|---|---|
| Models listed | 53 | 15 |
| Cheapest model | Qwen3.7 Flash, $0.03 in, $0.13 out | DeepSeek V4 Flash 0423, $0.0482 in, $0.0963 out |
| Most expensive model | Qwen3.8 Max Prime, $4.00 in, $12.00 out | R1, $0.70 in, $2.50 out |
| Median input price | $0.21 | $0.27 |
| Median output price | $1.12 | $0.89 |
| Largest context | 1.04858M, Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B | 1.31072M, DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 |
| Newest model | Qwen3.8 Max Prime, 2026-09-23 | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, 2026-09-10 |
| Models with a batch price | 0 | 1 |

## Every model, with your monthly cost

Input tokens per call

Output tokens per call

Calls a day

Search models

| Model | Provider | Input | Output | Cached input | Batch in / out | Context | Your month | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qwen3.8 Max Prime | Alibaba | $4.00 | $12.00 | $0.50 |  | 1M | $420.00 | 2026-09-23 |
| Qwen3.8 Omni Flash | Alibaba | $0.15 | $0.47 | $0.016 |  | 1M | $16.05 | 2026-09-21 |
| DeepSeek V4.1 Flash | DeepSeek | $0.075 | $0.30 | $0.0015 | $0.112 / $0.336 | 1.04858M | $9.00 | 2026-09-10 |
| Qwen3.8 Max (0902) | Alibaba | $2.00 | $6.00 | $0.25 |  | 1M | $210.00 | 2026-09-03 |
| Qwen3.8 Flash | Alibaba | $0.15 | $0.47 | $0.016 |  | 1M | $16.05 | 2026-08-26 |
| DeepSeek V4 Flash Vision Exp | DeepSeek | $0.22 | $0.66 | $0.007 |  | 1.04858M | $23.10 | 2026-08-21 |
| Qwen3.8 27B free tier on OpenRouter | Alibaba | $0.42 | $3.00 | $0.085 |  | 1M | $70.20 | 2026-08-14 |
| Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B | Alibaba | $2.00 | $6.00 | $0.25 |  | 1.04858M | $210.00 | 2026-08-12 |
| DeepSeek V4 Pro 0813 | DeepSeek | $0.3458 | $1.04 | $0.0115 |  | 1.04858M | $36.31 | 2026-08-12 |
| DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 | DeepSeek | $0.03 | $0.32 | $0.016 |  | 1.31072M | $6.60 | 2026-07-31 |
| Qwen3.7 Flash | Alibaba | $0.03 | $0.13 | $0.006 |  | 1M | $3.75 | 2026-07-27 |
| Qwen3.7 Plus | Alibaba | $0.32 | $1.28 | $0.064 |  | 1M | $38.40 | 2026-06-03 |
| Qwen3.7 Max | Alibaba | $1.48 | $4.42 | $0.295 |  | 1M | $154.88 | 2026-05-21 |
| Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 | Alibaba | $0.30 | $1.80 |  |  | 1M | $45.00 | 2026-04-27 |
| Qwen3.6 Flash | Alibaba | $0.1875 | $1.12 |  |  | 1M | $28.12 | 2026-04-27 |
| Qwen3.6 35B A3B | Alibaba | $0.15 | $1.00 | $0.05 |  | 262K | $24.00 | 2026-04-27 |
| Qwen3.6 Max Preview retiring 2026-10-09 | Alibaba | $1.03 | $6.16 |  |  | 262K | $154.05 | 2026-04-27 |
| Qwen3.6 27B | Alibaba | $0.32 | $2.70 | $0.15 |  | 262K | $59.70 | 2026-04-27 |
| DeepSeek V4 Pro 0423 | DeepSeek | $0.7129 | $1.43 | $0.0594 |  | 1.04858M | $64.16 | 2026-04-24 |
| DeepSeek V4 Flash 0423 | DeepSeek | $0.0482 | $0.0963 | $0.0096 |  | 1.04858M | $4.33 | 2026-04-24 |
| Qwen3.6 Plus | Alibaba | $0.325 | $1.95 |  |  | 1M | $48.75 | 2026-04-02 |
| Qwen3.5-9B | Alibaba | $0.10 | $0.15 |  |  | 262K | $8.25 | 2026-03-10 |
| Qwen3.5-35B-A3B | Alibaba | $0.3125 | $1.25 | $0.1562 |  | 262K | $37.50 | 2026-02-25 |
| Qwen3.5-27B | Alibaba | $0.195 | $1.56 |  |  | 262K | $35.10 | 2026-02-25 |
| Qwen3.5-122B-A10B | Alibaba | $0.26 | $2.08 |  |  | 262K | $46.80 | 2026-02-25 |
| Qwen3.5-Flash | Alibaba | $0.065 | $0.26 |  |  | 1M | $7.80 | 2026-02-25 |
| Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15 | Alibaba | $0.26 | $1.56 |  |  | 1M | $39.00 | 2026-02-16 |
| Qwen3.5 397B A17B | Alibaba | $0.55 | $3.50 | $0.225 |  | 262K | $85.50 | 2026-02-16 |
| Qwen3 Max Thinking retiring 2026-10-09 | Alibaba | $0.78 | $3.90 |  |  | 262K | $105.30 | 2026-02-09 |
| Qwen3 Coder Next | Alibaba | $0.12 | $0.80 | $0.07 |  | 262K | $19.20 | 2026-02-04 |
| DeepSeek V3.2 retiring 2026-09-28 | DeepSeek | $0.269 | $0.40 | $0.1345 |  | 164K | $22.14 | 2025-12-01 |
| Qwen3 VL 32B Instruct retiring 2026-10-09 | Alibaba | $0.104 | $0.416 |  |  | 131K | $12.48 | 2025-10-23 |
| Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking retiring 2026-10-09 | Alibaba | $0.18 | $2.10 |  |  | 131K | $42.30 | 2025-10-14 |
| Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct retiring 2026-10-09 | Alibaba | $0.117 | $0.455 |  |  | 262K | $13.85 | 2025-10-14 |
| Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking retiring 2026-10-09 | Alibaba | $0.20 | $2.40 |  |  | 262K | $48.00 | 2025-10-06 |
| Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Instruct | Alibaba | $0.15 | $0.60 |  |  | 262K | $18.00 | 2025-10-06 |
| DeepSeek V3.2 Exp retiring 2026-09-28 | DeepSeek | $0.27 | $0.41 |  |  | 164K | $22.35 | 2025-09-29 |
| Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking retiring 2026-10-09 | Alibaba | $0.40 | $4.00 |  |  | 131K | $84.00 | 2025-09-23 |
| Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct | Alibaba | $0.21 | $1.90 | $0.10 |  | 262K | $41.10 | 2025-09-23 |
| Qwen3 Max retiring 2026-10-09 | Alibaba | $0.78 | $3.90 | $0.156 |  | 262K | $105.30 | 2025-09-23 |
| Qwen3 Coder Plus retiring 2026-10-09 | Alibaba | $0.65 | $3.25 | $0.13 |  | 1M | $87.75 | 2025-09-23 |
| DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus retiring 2026-09-28 | DeepSeek | $0.27 | $1.00 | $0.135 |  | 164K | $31.20 | 2025-09-22 |
| Qwen3 Coder Flash | Alibaba | $0.195 | $0.975 | $0.039 |  | 1M | $26.32 | 2025-09-17 |
| Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Thinking | Alibaba | $0.15 | $1.20 |  |  | 262K | $27.00 | 2025-09-11 |
| Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct | Alibaba | $0.10 | $1.10 | $0.07 |  | 262K | $22.50 | 2025-09-11 |
| Qwen Plus 0728 retiring 2026-10-09 | Alibaba | $0.26 | $0.78 |  |  | 1M | $27.30 | 2025-09-08 |
| Qwen3 30B A3B Thinking 2507 retiring 2026-10-09 | Alibaba | $0.20 | $2.40 |  |  | 82K | $48.00 | 2025-08-28 |
| DeepSeek V3.1 | DeepSeek | $0.25 | $0.95 | $0.13 |  | 164K | $29.25 | 2025-08-21 |
| Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | Alibaba | $0.07 | $0.28 |  |  | 262K | $8.40 | 2025-07-31 |
| Qwen3 30B A3B Instruct 2507 | Alibaba | $0.10 | $0.30 |  |  | 262K | $10.50 | 2025-07-29 |
| Qwen3 235B A22B Thinking 2507 retiring 2026-10-09 | Alibaba | $0.23 | $2.30 |  |  | 131K | $48.30 | 2025-07-25 |
| Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B | Alibaba | $0.30 | $1.00 | $0.10 |  | 262K | $33.00 | 2025-07-23 |
| Qwen3 235B A22B Instruct 2507 | Alibaba | $0.0875 | $0.35 | $0.0175 |  | 262K | $10.50 | 2025-07-21 |
| R1 0528 | DeepSeek | $0.50 | $2.15 | $0.35 |  | 164K | $62.25 | 2025-05-28 |
| Qwen3 30B A3B | Alibaba | $0.12 | $0.50 |  |  | 131K | $14.70 | 2025-04-28 |
| Qwen3 8B retiring 2026-10-09 | Alibaba | $0.117 | $0.455 |  |  | 131K | $13.85 | 2025-04-28 |
| Qwen3 14B | Alibaba | $0.12 | $0.24 |  |  | 131K | $10.80 | 2025-04-28 |
| Qwen3 32B | Alibaba | $0.08 | $0.28 |  |  | 131K | $9.00 | 2025-04-28 |
| Qwen3 235B A22B retiring 2026-10-09 | Alibaba | $0.455 | $1.82 |  |  | 131K | $54.60 | 2025-04-28 |
| DeepSeek V3 0324 | DeepSeek | $0.25 | $1.00 |  |  | 164K | $30.00 | 2025-03-24 |
| Qwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct | Alibaba | $0.80 | $1.00 | $0.40 |  | 128K | $63.00 | 2025-02-01 |
| Qwen-Plus | Alibaba | $0.26 | $0.78 | $0.052 |  | 1M | $27.30 | 2025-02-01 |
| R1 Distill Llama 70B retiring 2026-09-28 | DeepSeek | $0.80 | $0.80 |  |  | 8K | $60.00 | 2025-01-23 |
| R1 | DeepSeek | $0.70 | $2.50 |  |  | 64K | $79.50 | 2025-01-20 |
| DeepSeek V3 | DeepSeek | $0.32 | $0.89 |  |  | 164K | $32.55 | 2024-12-26 |
| Qwen2.5 Coder 32B Instruct | Alibaba | $0.66 | $1.00 |  |  | 33K | $54.60 | 2024-11-11 |
| Qwen2.5 7B Instruct | Alibaba | $0.10 | $0.20 |  |  | 33K | $9.00 | 2024-10-16 |
| Qwen2.5 72B Instruct | Alibaba | $0.36 | $0.40 |  |  | 33K | $27.60 | 2024-09-19 |

[All Qwen prices](https://shurco.ai/tools/llm-api-pricing/qwen/) . [All DeepSeek prices](https://shurco.ai/tools/llm-api-pricing/deepseek/) . [Every provider](https://shurco.ai/tools/llm-api-pricing/)

## Common questions

### Is Qwen cheaper than DeepSeek?

On 25 September 2026, the median Qwen model on this list costs $0.21 per million input tokens and $1.12 per million output tokens, against $0.27 and $0.89 for DeepSeek. By that measure DeepSeek is cheaper, but compare the specific models you would use, since both providers sell models at very different price points.

### What is the cheapest Qwen model compared with the cheapest DeepSeek model?

The cheapest Qwen model is Qwen3.7 Flash at $0.03 in and $0.13 out per million tokens. The cheapest DeepSeek model is DeepSeek V4 Flash 0423 at $0.0482 in and $0.0963 out.

### Which has the larger context window, Qwen or DeepSeek?

The largest Qwen context on this list is 1.04858M tokens (Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B) and the largest DeepSeek context is 1.31072M tokens (DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731).

### How should I choose between Qwen and DeepSeek for a production agent?

Price per token is one input. Run both on a set of your own real cases, count how often each needs a retry or a human check, and compare the total cost of a correct answer rather than the cost of a token.

## Choosing a model for a production agent

Price is one input. Quality on your own cases, latency and the cost of retries decide the rest. [Tell me what you are building.](https://shurco.ai/#contact)

Web version https://shurco.ai/tools/llm-api-pricing/compare/qwen-vs-deepseek/