open-source
Qwen Max vs Claude Sonnet 4 5
Side-by-side pricing, context window, features, and per-use-case verdict. Data sourced from LiteLLM, updated regularly.
Specifications
| Feature | Qwen Max | Claude Sonnet 4 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | dashscope | anthropic |
| Model ID | dashscope/qwen-max | claude-sonnet-4-5 |
| Input / 1M tokens | $1.60 (47% cheaper) | $3.00 |
| Output / 1M tokens | $6.40 (57% cheaper) | $15.00 |
| Cached input / 1M | — | $0.30 |
| Context window | 31kk tokens | 200kk tokens |
| Max output | 8kk tokens | 64kk 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 | Qwen Max | Claude Sonnet 4 5 | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small 1M in / 0.2M out | $2.88 | $6.00 | Qwen Max saves 52% |
| Medium 10M in / 2M out | $28.80 | $60.00 | Qwen Max saves 52% |
| Large 100M in / 20M out | $288 | $600 | 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 5
200kk tokens · 551% larger window
More features
Claude Sonnet 4 5
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 5
Short interactions & high-throughput APIs
$6.40/M output — 57% cheaper on output at scale
Qwen Max
Long-document processing & large codebases
200k context window vs 31k — 551% larger context
Claude Sonnet 4 5
Agentic workflows & tool use
Supports 4 of 5 tracked capabilities (vision, function calling, caching, web search, JSON schema)
Claude Sonnet 4 5
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.