Doubao Pro 256K vs Qwen3.5-397B-A17B
Doubao Pro 256K (2024) and Qwen3.5-397B-A17B (2026) are frontier reasoning models from ByteDance and Alibaba. Doubao Pro 256K ships a 256k-token context window, while Qwen3.5-397B-A17B ships a 262k-token context window. On pricing, Qwen3.5-397B-A17B costs $0.39/1M input tokens versus $0.73/1M 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.
Qwen3.5-397B-A17B is ~88% cheaper at $0.39/1M; pay for Doubao Pro 256K only for provider fit.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Doubao Pro 256K | Qwen3.5-397B-A17B |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | general production evaluation | reasoning-heavy apps, multimodal apps, and tool-calling agents |
| Decision fit | Long context | Coding, RAG, and Agents |
| Context window | 256k | 262k |
| Cheapest output | $1.32/1M tokens | $2.34/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 1 tracked | 4 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 0 shared | 0 shared |
Decision tradeoffs
- Doubao Pro 256K has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $1.32/1M tokens.
- Local decision data tags Doubao Pro 256K for Long context.
- Qwen3.5-397B-A17B has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Qwen3.5-397B-A17B has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and procurement flexibility.
- Qwen3.5-397B-A17B uniquely exposes Vision, Multimodal, and Reasoning in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Qwen3.5-397B-A17B 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.
Doubao Pro 256K
$919
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Volcengine
Qwen3.5-397B-A17B
$897
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter
Estimated monthly gap: $22.00. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Doubao Pro 256K and Qwen3.5-397B-A17B; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Qwen3.5-397B-A17B is $1.02/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Qwen3.5-397B-A17B adds Vision, Multimodal, and Reasoning in local capability data.
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Qwen3.5-397B-A17B and Doubao Pro 256K; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Doubao Pro 256K is $1.02/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Check replacement coverage for Vision, Multimodal, and Reasoning before moving production traffic.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2024-05-15 | 2026-02-16 |
| Context window | 256k | 262k |
| Parameters | — | 397B |
| Architecture | Decoder Only | Mixture of Experts |
| License | Proprietary | Apache 2.0OSI-approved |
| Openness | Proprietary | Open source |
| Commercial use | Commercial use: conditional | Commercial use: permitted |
| Knowledge cutoff | - | - |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Doubao Pro 256K | Qwen3.5-397B-A17B |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.73/1M tokens | $0.39/1M tokens |
| Output price | $1.32/1M tokens | $2.34/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Doubao Pro 256K | Qwen3.5-397B-A17B |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | Yes |
| Multimodal | No | Yes |
| Reasoning | No | Yes |
| Function calling | No | Yes |
| Tool use | No | Yes |
| Structured outputs | No | Yes |
| Code execution | No | No |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
No shared benchmark scores are currently available for this pair.
Deep dive
The capability footprint differs most on vision: Qwen3.5-397B-A17B, multimodal input: Qwen3.5-397B-A17B, reasoning mode: Qwen3.5-397B-A17B, function calling: Qwen3.5-397B-A17B, tool use: Qwen3.5-397B-A17B, and structured outputs: Qwen3.5-397B-A17B. Both models share the core language-model surface, 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, Doubao Pro 256K lists $0.73/1M input and $1.32/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider, while Qwen3.5-397B-A17B lists $0.39/1M input and $2.34/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts Doubao Pro 256K lower by about $0.06 per million blended tokens. Availability is 1 providers versus 4, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose Doubao Pro 256K when provider fit are central to the workload. Choose Qwen3.5-397B-A17B 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. This keeps the decision grounded in measurable tradeoffs instead of brand-level assumptions. It also helps separate model capability from provider packaging, which can change cost and latency.
FAQ
Which has a larger context window, Doubao Pro 256K or Qwen3.5-397B-A17B?
Qwen3.5-397B-A17B supports 262k tokens, while Doubao Pro 256K supports 256k tokens. That gap matters most for long documents, large codebases, retrieval-heavy agents, and conversations where earlier context must remain visible.
Which is cheaper, Doubao Pro 256K or Qwen3.5-397B-A17B?
Doubao Pro 256K is cheaper on tracked token pricing. Doubao Pro 256K costs $0.73/1M input and $1.32/1M output tokens. Qwen3.5-397B-A17B costs $0.39/1M input and $2.34/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.
Is Doubao Pro 256K or Qwen3.5-397B-A17B open source?
Doubao Pro 256K is listed under Proprietary. Qwen3.5-397B-A17B 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, Doubao Pro 256K or Qwen3.5-397B-A17B?
Qwen3.5-397B-A17B 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. Use this as a quick comparison signal, then confirm the provider-specific limits before committing to production.
Which is better for multimodal input, Doubao Pro 256K or Qwen3.5-397B-A17B?
Qwen3.5-397B-A17B 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 Doubao Pro 256K and Qwen3.5-397B-A17B?
Doubao Pro 256K is available on Volcengine. Qwen3.5-397B-A17B is available on OpenRouter, Together AI, Alibaba Cloud PAI-EAS, and Novita AI. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
Continue comparing
Last reviewed: 2026-06-15. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.