workhorse
Claude Sonnet 4 6 vs Qwen Max
Side-by-side pricing, context window, features, and per-use-case verdict. Data sourced from LiteLLM, updated regularly.
Specifications
| Feature | Claude Sonnet 4 6 | Qwen Max |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | anthropic | dashscope |
| Model ID | claude-sonnet-4-6 | dashscope/qwen-max |
| Input / 1M tokens | $3.00 | $1.60 (47% cheaper) |
| Output / 1M tokens | $15.00 | $6.40 (57% cheaper) |
| Cached input / 1M | $0.30 | — |
| Context window | 1000kk tokens | 31kk tokens |
| Max output | 64kk tokens | 8kk tokens |
| Vision | ✅ | ⬜ |
| Function calling | ✅ | ✅ |
| Prompt caching | ✅ | ⬜ |
| Web search | ⬜ | ⬜ |
| JSON schema | ✅ | ⬜ |
Monthly cost comparison
No cache discount applied — pure token costs at three usage scales.
| Scale | Claude Sonnet 4 6 | Qwen Max | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small 1M in / 0.2M out | $6.00 | $2.88 | Qwen Max saves 52% |
| Medium 10M in / 2M out | $60.00 | $28.80 | Qwen Max saves 52% |
| Large 100M in / 20M out | $600 | $288 | Qwen Max saves 52% |
Category winners
Cheapest input
Qwen Max
$1.60/M
· 47% less than the other
Cheapest output
Qwen Max
$6.40/M
· 57% less than the other
Larger context
Claude Sonnet 4 6
1000kk tokens · 3155% larger window
More features
Claude Sonnet 4 6
4 / 5 capabilities
Better for…
High-volume RAG & repeated context
$0.30/M cached input — prompt caching makes repeated context retrieval significantly cheaper
Claude Sonnet 4 6
Short interactions & high-throughput APIs
$6.40/M output — 57% cheaper on output at scale
Qwen Max
Long-document processing & large codebases
1000k context window vs 31k — 3155% larger context
Claude Sonnet 4 6
Agentic workflows & tool use
Supports 4 of 5 tracked capabilities (vision, function calling, caching, web search, JSON schema)
Claude Sonnet 4 6
Deep-dive on each model
Pricing data sourced from LiteLLM and refreshed regularly. Always verify with each provider's official pricing page before making business decisions.