Grok 4 vs Qwen3.5-9B
Grok 4 (2025) and Qwen3.5-9B (2026) are frontier reasoning models from xAI and Alibaba. Grok 4 ships a 256K-token context window, while Qwen3.5-9B ships a 262K-token context window. On MMLU PRO, Grok 4 leads by 4.5 pts. On pricing, Qwen3.5-9B costs $0.1/1M input tokens versus $1.25/1M for the alternative. This comparison covers specs, pricing, capabilities, benchmarks, provider availability, and production fit.
Qwen3.5-9B is ~1150% cheaper at $0.1/1M; pay for Grok 4 only for coding workflow support.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Grok 4 | Qwen3.5-9B |
|---|---|---|
| Decision fit | Coding, RAG, and Agents | RAG, Agents, and Long context |
| Context window | 256K | 262K |
| Cheapest output | $2.5/1M tokens | $0.15/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 4 tracked | 3 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | MMLU PRO leader | 1 rows |
Decision tradeoffs
- Grok 4 leads the largest shared benchmark signal on MMLU PRO by 4.5 points.
- Grok 4 has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and procurement flexibility.
- Grok 4 uniquely exposes Reasoning and Code execution in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Grok 4 for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
- Qwen3.5-9B has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Qwen3.5-9B has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.15/1M tokens.
- Local decision data tags Qwen3.5-9B for RAG, Agents, and Long context.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output prices on this page.
Grok 4
$1,625
Cheapest tracked route: xAI Console
Qwen3.5-9B
$118
Cheapest tracked route: Together AI
Estimated monthly gap: $1,508. Batch, cache, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Qwen3.5-9B is $2.35/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Check replacement coverage for Reasoning and Code execution before moving production traffic.
- Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Grok 4 is $2.35/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Grok 4 adds Reasoning and Code execution in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2025-07-09 | 2026-03-02 |
| Context window | 256K | 262K |
| Parameters | — | 9B |
| Architecture | decoder only | decoder only |
| License | Proprietary | Apache 2.0 |
| Knowledge cutoff | - | - |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Grok 4 | Qwen3.5-9B |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $1.25/1M tokens | $0.1/1M tokens |
| Output price | $2.5/1M tokens | $0.15/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Grok 4 | Qwen3.5-9B |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | Yes | Yes |
| Multimodal | Yes | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yes | No |
| Function calling | Yes | Yes |
| Tool use | Yes | Yes |
| Structured outputs | Yes | Yes |
| Code execution | Yes | No |
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | Grok 4 | Qwen3.5-9B |
|---|---|---|
| MMLU PRO | 87.0 | 82.5 |
Deep dive
On shared benchmark coverage, MMLU PRO has Grok 4 at 87 and Qwen3.5-9B at 82.5, with Grok 4 ahead by 4.5 points. The largest visible gap is 4.5 points on MMLU PRO, 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 reasoning mode: Grok 4 and code execution: Grok 4. Both models share vision, multimodal input, function calling, and tool use, 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, Grok 4 lists $1.25/1M input and $2.5/1M output tokens, while Qwen3.5-9B lists $0.1/1M input and $0.15/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts Qwen3.5-9B lower by about $1.51 per million blended tokens. Availability is 4 providers versus 3, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose Grok 4 when coding workflow support and broader provider choice are central to the workload. Choose Qwen3.5-9B when long-context analysis, 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, Grok 4 or Qwen3.5-9B?
Qwen3.5-9B supports 262K tokens, while Grok 4 supports 256K tokens. That gap matters most for long documents, large codebases, retrieval-heavy agents, and conversations where earlier context must remain visible. Use this as a quick comparison signal, then confirm the provider-specific limits before committing to production.
Which is cheaper, Grok 4 or Qwen3.5-9B?
Qwen3.5-9B is cheaper on tracked token pricing. Grok 4 costs $1.25/1M input and $2.5/1M output tokens. Qwen3.5-9B costs $0.1/1M input and $0.15/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.
Is Grok 4 or Qwen3.5-9B open source?
Grok 4 is listed under Proprietary. Qwen3.5-9B 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, Grok 4 or Qwen3.5-9B?
Both Grok 4 and Qwen3.5-9B expose vision. The better choice depends on benchmark fit, context budget, pricing, and whether your provider route exposes the same capability surface. Use this as a quick comparison signal, then confirm the provider-specific limits before committing to production.
Which is better for multimodal input, Grok 4 or Qwen3.5-9B?
Both Grok 4 and Qwen3.5-9B expose multimodal input. The better choice depends on benchmark fit, context budget, pricing, and whether your provider route exposes the same capability surface. Use this as a quick comparison signal, then confirm the provider-specific limits before committing to production.
Where can I run Grok 4 and Qwen3.5-9B?
Grok 4 is available on Microsoft Foundry, OpenRouter, Replicate API, and xAI Console. Qwen3.5-9B is available on Together AI, OpenRouter, and Alibaba Cloud PAI-EAS. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
Continue comparing
Last reviewed: 2026-05-20. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.