GOOGLE VS ALIBABA
Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite vs Qwen3 Max
Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite is about 4.3x cheaper than Qwen3 Max on a blended 3:1 input:output rate — the same 10K-in/2K-out request costs $0.0055 vs $0.024. Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite has the larger context window (1,048,576 vs 252,000 tokens).
Pricing verified
API pricing per 1M tokens
| Model | Input / 1M tokens | Output / 1M tokens | Blended (3:1 mix) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite | $0.25 | $1.50 | $0.563 |
| Qwen3 Max | $1.20 | $6.00 | $2.40 |
Rates from official Google pricing and official Alibaba pricing, checked 2026-08-11.
What a real workload costs
Example: one request with 10,000 input tokens and 2,000 output tokens, then that request at 100,000 runs per month.
| Model | Per request (10K in / 2K out) | Per month (100K requests) | Monthly delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite | $0.0055 | $550 | — |
| Qwen3 Max | $0.024 | $2,400 | +$1,850 |
Model your own prompt sizes and volumes in the token cost analyzer, or check caching savings with the prompt caching calculator.
Specs side by side
| Spec | Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite | Qwen3 Max |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Alibaba | |
| Context window | 1,048,576 tokens | 252,000 tokens |
| Model class | General text | Reasoning |
| Tokenizer | Proprietary (counts estimated) | qwen (exact, public) |
Count tokens for each model on its own page: Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite token counter and Qwen3 Max token counter. All Google models are on the Gemini Token Counter. All Alibaba models are on the Qwen Token Counter.
FAQ
Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite vs Qwen3 Max FAQ
Which is cheaper, Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite or Qwen3 Max?
Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite is cheaper. At rates checked 2026-08-11, Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite costs $0.25 input / $1.50 output per 1M tokens, while Qwen3 Max costs $1.20 input / $6.00 output — about a 4.3x difference on a typical 3:1 input-heavy workload.
How much does a real request cost on Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite vs Qwen3 Max?
A request with 10,000 input tokens and 2,000 output tokens costs about $0.0055 on Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite and $0.024 on Qwen3 Max. At 100,000 such requests per month that is $550 vs $2,400 — a difference of $1,850 per month.
Which has the bigger context window, Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite or Qwen3 Max?
Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite. It supports 1,048,576 tokens of context versus 252,000 tokens — roughly 786,000 English words in one request.
Do Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite and Qwen3 Max count tokens the same way?
Not exactly. Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite uses a proprietary tokenizer (counts are estimates) and Qwen3 Max uses the published qwen tokenizer. The same prompt will tokenize differently, which shifts effective cost per word.