Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B vs Qwen3.5-397B-A17B
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B (2025) and Qwen3.5-397B-A17B (2026) are general-purpose language models from Alibaba. Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B ships a not-yet-sourced context window, while Qwen3.5-397B-A17B ships a 262K-token context window. On pricing, Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B costs $0.1/1M input tokens versus $0.39/1M for the alternative. This comparison covers specs, pricing, capabilities, benchmarks, provider availability, and production fit. It focuses on practical selection signals rather than broad model-family marketing. The goal is to make the tradeoff clear before deeper testing.
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B is ~300% cheaper at $0.1/1M; pay for Qwen3.5-397B-A17B only for provider fit.
Specs
| Released | 2025-12-01 | 2026-02-16 |
| Context window | — | 262K |
| Parameters | — | 397B |
| Architecture | - | MoE |
| License | Proprietary | Apache 2.0 |
| Knowledge cutoff | - | - |
Pricing and availability
| Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B | Qwen3.5-397B-A17B | |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.1/1M tokens | $0.39/1M tokens |
| Output price | $0.78/1M tokens | $2.34/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B | Qwen3.5-397B-A17B | |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | ||
| Multimodal | ||
| Reasoning | ||
| Function calling | ||
| Tool use | ||
| Structured outputs | ||
| Code execution |
Benchmarks
No shared benchmark rows are currently sourced for this pair.
Deep dive
The capability footprint differs most on multimodal input: Qwen3.5-397B-A17B. Both models share 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, Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B lists $0.1/1M input and $0.78/1M output tokens, 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 Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B lower by about $0.67 per million blended tokens. Availability is 2 providers versus 1, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B when provider fit, lower input-token cost, and broader provider choice are central to the workload. Choose Qwen3.5-397B-A17B when provider fit 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. For teams standardizing a stack, that distinction is often the difference between a benchmark win and a reliable deployment.
FAQ
Which is cheaper, Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B or Qwen3.5-397B-A17B?
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B is cheaper on tracked token pricing. Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B costs $0.1/1M input and $0.78/1M 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 Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B or Qwen3.5-397B-A17B open source?
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B 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 multimodal input, Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B 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.
Which is better for structured outputs, Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B or Qwen3.5-397B-A17B?
Both Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B and Qwen3.5-397B-A17B expose structured outputs. 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 Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B and Qwen3.5-397B-A17B?
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B is available on AWS Bedrock and OpenRouter. Qwen3.5-397B-A17B is available on OpenRouter. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options. Use this as a quick comparison signal, then confirm the provider-specific limits before committing to production.
When should I pick Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B over Qwen3.5-397B-A17B?
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B is ~300% cheaper at $0.1/1M; pay for Qwen3.5-397B-A17B only for provider fit. If your workload also depends on provider fit, start with Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B; if it depends on provider fit, run the same evaluation with Qwen3.5-397B-A17B.
Continue comparing
Last reviewed: 2026-04-24. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.