Grok 4 vs Qwen3.6 Max Preview
Grok 4 (2025) and Qwen3.6 Max Preview (2026) are frontier-tier reasoning models from xAI and Alibaba. Grok 4 ships a 256k-token context window, while Qwen3.6 Max Preview ships a 256k-token context window. On MMLU PRO, Qwen3.6 Max Preview leads by 1.5 pts. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads.
Qwen3.6 Max Preview is safer overall; choose Grok 4 when coding workflow support matters.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Grok 4 | Qwen3.6 Max Preview |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | reasoning-heavy apps, multimodal apps, and tool-calling agents | reasoning-heavy apps, multimodal apps, and tool-calling agents |
| Decision fit | Coding, RAG, and Agents | Coding, RAG, and Agents |
| Context window | 256k | 256k |
| Cheapest output | $2.50/1M tokens | $6.24/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 4 tracked | 3 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 5 shared | MMLU PRO leader |
Decision tradeoffs
- Grok 4 holds a shared-benchmark lead on Google-Proof Q&A, ahead by 1.5 points.
- Grok 4 has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $2.50/1M tokens.
- Grok 4 has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and route flexibility.
- Grok 4 uniquely exposes Code execution in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Grok 4 for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
- Qwen3.6 Max Preview holds a shared-benchmark lead on MMLU PRO, ahead by 1.5 points.
- Local decision data tags Qwen3.6 Max Preview 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.
Grok 4
$1,625
Cheapest tracked route/tier: xAI Console
Qwen3.6 Max Preview
$2,392
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter
Estimated monthly gap: $767. 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.
- Qwen3.6 Max Preview is $3.74/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Check replacement coverage for Code execution before moving production traffic.
- Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Grok 4 is $3.74/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Grok 4 adds Code execution in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2025-07-09 | 2026-04-20 |
| Context window | 256k | 256k |
| Parameters | — | — |
| Architecture | Decoder Only | Mixture of Experts |
| License | Proprietary | Apache 2.0OSI-approved |
| Openness | Proprietary | Open source |
| Weights | Not released | Unknown |
| Code | Unknown | Unknown |
| Commercial use | Commercial use: conditional | Commercial use: permitted |
| Knowledge cutoff | - | - |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Grok 4 | Qwen3.6 Max Preview |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $1.25/1M tokens |
|
| Output price | $2.50/1M tokens |
|
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Grok 4 | Qwen3.6 Max Preview |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | Yes | Yes |
| Multimodal | Yes | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes |
| JSON / 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 | Grok 4 | Qwen3.6 Max Preview |
|---|---|---|
| MMLU PRO | 87.0 | 88.5 |
| SWE-bench Verified | 76.7 | 78.8 |
| Google-Proof Q&A | 87.5 | 86.0 |
| LiveCodeBench | 79.0 | 87.1 |
| Humanity's Last Exam | 25.4 | 28.8 |
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Last reviewed: 2026-07-10. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.