Grok 4.6 vs Qwen3.8 27B
API pricing, context window and capabilities for Grok 4.6 and Qwen3.8 27B, side by side. Prices are the cheapest listed serving route per 1M tokens, from LiteLLM and OpenRouter.
Verdict
computed from the published numbersGrok 4.6 wins on Terminal-Bench, on intelligence and on context window. Qwen3.8 27B wins on price.
Price
Qwen3.8 27B
Terminal-Bench
Grok 4.6
Intelligence
Grok 4.6
Context window
Grok 4.6
Key takeaways
who wins on what, from the published numbersGrok 4.6 wins
- Larger context window (524K vs 262K)
- Higher max output (524K vs 33K)
- More serving providers (8 vs 7)
- Has web search
Qwen3.8 27B wins
- Cheaper input ($2.00 vs $0.04 /1M)
- Cheaper output ($6.00 vs $1.49 /1M)
Cheaper overall
Qwen3.8 27B
$0.04 + $1.49 /1M
Larger context
Grok 4.6
524K
More providers
Grok 4.6
8 providers
Pricing & specs
cheapest listed route · per 1M tokensOn-demand listed rates, OpenRouter routed quotes and Vercel reseller quotes. Enterprise commitments can be materially lower. An OpenRouter routed quote is the price of whichever upstream provider OpenRouter prefers today, so it moves day to day.
| Grok 4.6 | Qwen3.8 27B | |
|---|---|---|
| Input $/1M | $2.00via xAI | $0.04OpenRouter routed quote best |
| Output $/1M | $6.00via xAI | $1.49via Cerebras best |
| Context window | 524K best | 262K |
| Max output | 524K best | 33K |
| Serving providers | 8 best | 7 |
| Date | Released Aug 10, 2026 | Released Aug 14, 2026 |
Benchmarks
Benchmark scores, side by side| Grok 4.6 | Qwen3.8 27B | |
|---|---|---|
| Intelligence | 44.3 best | 33.7 |
| Terminal-Bench | 88% best | 80% |
| GPQA Diamond | 95% best | 91% |
| Output speed | 56 t/s best | 45 t/s |
| Latency (TTFT) | 43.86s | 3.83s best |
Cost calculator
choose a serving route for each sideInput tokens / month
Output tokens / month
Grok 4.6
via OpenRouter
$16
Qwen3.8 27B
via OpenRouter
$2.50
Capabilities
feature support, side by side| Feature | Grok 4.6 | Qwen3.8 27B |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | ✓ | ✓ |
| Tool use | ✓ | ✓ |
| Reasoning | ✓ | ✓ |
| Audio | — | — |
| Prompt caching | ✓ | ✓ |
| Structured output | ✓ | ✓ |
| Web search | ✓ | — |
Related comparisons
Frequently asked questions
Which is cheaper, Grok 4.6 or Qwen3.8 27B?
Qwen3.8 27B is cheaper for input ($2.00 vs $0.04 per 1M tokens) as an OpenRouter routed quote. Qwen3.8 27B is cheaper for output ($6.00 vs $1.49 per 1M tokens) from Cerebras.
What is the context window difference between Grok 4.6 and Qwen3.8 27B?
Grok 4.6 has a 524K-token context window and Qwen3.8 27B has 262K tokens, so Grok 4.6 can take a larger prompt.
How do Grok 4.6 and Qwen3.8 27B compare on benchmarks?
On the tracked benchmarks, Grok 4.6 leads on Terminal-Bench, and Grok 4.6 leads on intelligence.
Listed prices from LiteLLM, OpenRouter and Vercel · last checked Oct 14, 2026
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