Model comparison
Qwen3-Max vs Qwen2.5-Max
- Input
- $1.20 / 1M tokens (0-32K input tier; rises to $2.40 at 32K-128K and $3.00 at 128K-252K)
- Output
- $6.00 / 1M tokens (0-32K tier; up to $15.00 at higher tiers)
- Context
- 262K
- Released
- 2025-09
- Input
- $1.60 / 1M tokens
- Output
- $6.40 / 1M tokens
- Context
- ~32K tokens
- Released
- 2025-01-29
Qwen3-Max is cheaper on input tokens ($1.2 vs $1.6 per 1M, 1.3×); Qwen3-Max has the larger context window (262K vs 32K).
Specs and pricing side by side
| Spec | Qwen3-Max | Qwen2.5-Max |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Alibaba (Qwen) | Alibaba (Qwen)same |
| Released | 2025-09 | 2025-01-29 |
| Context window | 262K | ~32K tokens |
| Max output | 32K | Not officially disclosed |
| Input price | $1.20 / 1M tokens (0-32K input tier; rises to $2.40 at 32K-128K and $3.00 at 128K-252K) | $1.60 / 1M tokens |
| Output price | $6.00 / 1M tokens (0-32K tier; up to $15.00 at higher tiers) | $6.40 / 1M tokens |
| Parameters | Over 1 trillion (MoE, sparse activation) | Not disclosed (Mixture-of-Experts; total parameter count never published by Alibaba) |
| License | Proprietary (closed weights), API access via Alibaba Cloud Model Studio | Proprietary (closed weights). Unlike the smaller Apache-2.0 open-weight Qwen2.5 models, the Max tier is API-only. |
| Weights | API only | API onlysame |
| Modalities | Text | text input, text output |
| Knowledge cutoff | Not officially disclosed | Not officially disclosedsame |
Benchmarks both models report
These two models have no benchmark in common in our registry, so there is no like-for-like score to compare. See each model’s own results: Qwen3-Max, Qwen2.5-Max.
Which one should you pick?
Pick Qwen3-Max if…
- Cost matters: input tokens cost 1.3× less ($1.2 vs $1.6 per 1M).
- You need the longer context (262K vs 32K).
- You need Text input, which Qwen2.5-Max lacks.
- Your use case is: agentic workflows and multi-tool orchestration.
Pick Qwen2.5-Max if…
- You need text input / text output input, which Qwen3-Max lacks.
- Your use case is: general-purpose chat assistants and Q&A in English and Chinese.
FAQ
Which is better, Qwen3-Max or Qwen2.5-Max?
Qwen3-Max is cheaper on input tokens ($1.2 vs $1.6 per 1M, 1.3×); Qwen3-Max has the larger context window (262K vs 32K). The better pick depends on whether you value benchmark scores, price per token, context length or openness for your workload.
How much cheaper is Qwen3-Max?
Qwen3-Max: $1.20 / 1M tokens (0-32K input tier; rises to $2.40 at 32K-128K and $3.00 at 128K-252K) input, $6.00 / 1M tokens (0-32K tier; up to $15.00 at higher tiers) output. Qwen2.5-Max: $1.60 / 1M tokens input, $6.40 / 1M tokens output (list API prices as published by each maker).
What are the context windows of Qwen3-Max and Qwen2.5-Max?
Qwen3-Max offers 262K with up to 32K output; Qwen2.5-Max offers ~32K tokens with up to Not officially disclosed output.
Is Qwen3-Max newer than Qwen2.5-Max?
Qwen3-Max was released 2025-09; Qwen2.5-Max was released 2025-01-29.