Claude Haiku 4.5 vs Qwen3.5-35B-A3B
Claude Haiku 4.5 (2025) and Qwen3.5-35B-A3B (2026) are frontier reasoning models from Anthropic and Alibaba. Claude Haiku 4.5 ships a 200k-token context window, while Qwen3.5-35B-A3B ships a 262k-token context window. On SWE-bench Verified, Claude Haiku 4.5 leads by 4.1 pts. On pricing, Qwen3.5-35B-A3B costs $0.14/1M input tokens versus $0.80/1M for the alternative. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads.
Qwen3.5-35B-A3B is ~476% cheaper at $0.14/1M; pay for Claude Haiku 4.5 only for coding workflow support.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Claude Haiku 4.5 | Qwen3.5-35B-A3B |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | multimodal apps, tool-calling agents, and provider-routed production | reasoning-heavy apps, tool-calling agents, and provider-routed production |
| Decision fit | Coding, RAG, and Agents | Coding, RAG, and Agents |
| Context window | 200k | 262k |
| Cheapest output | $4/1M tokens | $1/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 8 tracked | 2 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | SWE-bench Verified leader | 1 rows |
Decision tradeoffs
- Claude Haiku 4.5 holds a shared-benchmark lead on SWE-bench Verified, ahead by 4.1 points.
- Claude Haiku 4.5 has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and procurement flexibility.
- Claude Haiku 4.5 uniquely exposes Vision, Multimodal, and Code execution in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Claude Haiku 4.5 for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
- Qwen3.5-35B-A3B has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Qwen3.5-35B-A3B has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $1/1M tokens.
- Qwen3.5-35B-A3B uniquely exposes Reasoning in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Qwen3.5-35B-A3B for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.
Claude Haiku 4.5
$1,640
Cheapest tracked route/tier: AWS Bedrock
Qwen3.5-35B-A3B
$361
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter
Estimated monthly gap: $1,279. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Qwen3.5-35B-A3B is $3/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Check replacement coverage for Vision, Multimodal, and Code execution before moving production traffic.
- Qwen3.5-35B-A3B adds Reasoning in local capability data.
- Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Claude Haiku 4.5 is $3/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Check replacement coverage for Reasoning before moving production traffic.
- Claude Haiku 4.5 adds Vision, Multimodal, and Code execution in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2025-10-01 | 2026-02-24 |
| Context window | 200k | 262k |
| Parameters | — | 35B |
| Architecture | decoder only | mixture of experts |
| License | Proprietary | Apache 2.0(OSI) |
| Openness | Proprietary | Open source |
| Commercial use | Commercial use with conditions | Commercial use allowed |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2025-02 | - |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Claude Haiku 4.5 | Qwen3.5-35B-A3B |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.80/1M tokens | $0.14/1M tokens |
| Output price | $4/1M tokens | $1/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Claude Haiku 4.5 | Qwen3.5-35B-A3B |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | Yes | No |
| Multimodal | Yes | No |
| Reasoning | No | Yes |
| Function calling | Yes | Yes |
| Tool use | Yes | Yes |
| Structured outputs | Yes | Yes |
| Code execution | Yes | No |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | Claude Haiku 4.5 | Qwen3.5-35B-A3B |
|---|---|---|
| SWE-bench Verified | 73.3 | 69.2 |
Deep dive
On shared benchmark coverage, SWE-bench Verified has Claude Haiku 4.5 at 73.3 and Qwen3.5-35B-A3B at 69.2, with Claude Haiku 4.5 ahead by 4.1 points. The largest visible gap is 4.1 points on SWE-bench Verified, which matters most when that benchmark mirrors your workload. Treat isolated benchmark wins as directional, because provider routing, prompt style, and tool access can move real application results.
The capability footprint differs most on vision: Claude Haiku 4.5, multimodal input: Claude Haiku 4.5, reasoning mode: Qwen3.5-35B-A3B, and code execution: Claude Haiku 4.5. Both models share function calling, tool use, and structured outputs, so the practical split is not just feature count. Use those differences to decide whether the page is about raw model quality, agentic coding support, multimodal ingestion, or predictable structured API behavior.
For cost, Claude Haiku 4.5 lists $0.80/1M input and $4/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider, while Qwen3.5-35B-A3B lists $0.14/1M input and $1/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts Qwen3.5-35B-A3B lower by about $1.36 per million blended tokens. Availability is 8 providers versus 2, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose Claude Haiku 4.5 when coding workflow support and broader provider choice are central to the workload. Choose Qwen3.5-35B-A3B when reasoning depth, larger context windows, and lower input-token cost are more important. For production, rerun your own prompts through the exact provider, region, and tool stack you plan to ship.
FAQ
Which has a larger context window, Claude Haiku 4.5 or Qwen3.5-35B-A3B?
Qwen3.5-35B-A3B supports 262k tokens, while Claude Haiku 4.5 supports 200k tokens. That gap matters most for long documents, large codebases, retrieval-heavy agents, and conversations where earlier context must remain visible.
Which is cheaper, Claude Haiku 4.5 or Qwen3.5-35B-A3B?
Qwen3.5-35B-A3B is cheaper on tracked token pricing. Claude Haiku 4.5 costs $0.80/1M input and $4/1M output tokens. Qwen3.5-35B-A3B costs $0.14/1M input and $1/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.
Is Claude Haiku 4.5 or Qwen3.5-35B-A3B open source?
Claude Haiku 4.5 is listed under Proprietary. Qwen3.5-35B-A3B is listed under Apache 2.0. License labels affect whether you can self-host, redistribute weights, or rely only on hosted APIs, so confirm the upstream license before deployment.
Which is better for vision, Claude Haiku 4.5 or Qwen3.5-35B-A3B?
Claude Haiku 4.5 has the clearer documented vision signal in this comparison. If vision is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Which is better for multimodal input, Claude Haiku 4.5 or Qwen3.5-35B-A3B?
Claude Haiku 4.5 has the clearer documented multimodal input signal in this comparison. If multimodal input is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Where can I run Claude Haiku 4.5 and Qwen3.5-35B-A3B?
Claude Haiku 4.5 is available on Microsoft Foundry, Anthropic, Snowflake Cortex, AWS Bedrock, and GCP Vertex AI. Qwen3.5-35B-A3B is available on OpenRouter and Novita AI. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
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Last reviewed: 2026-05-25. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.