Qwen (Alibaba) pricing & review
Alibaba's Qwen family — Flash from $0.15/1M, Max at $2/$6, and Token Plan from $8/mo.
Last checked September 10, 2026
Overview
Qwen is Alibaba Cloud's model family, with Qwen3.8 Max as the flagship at $2.00 per million input tokens and $6.00 output — with a 1M context window and open-weight variant at the same price. Qwen3.8 Flash costs just $0.15/$0.47, making it one of the cheapest capable models available. Qwen-Plus sits in the middle at $0.40/$1.60 (promo rate). The Token Plan subscription starts at $8/mo (Lite) for flat-rate access across text, image, video, and coding models. New accounts get 1M free tokens per model for 90 days. No peak/off-peak billing — rates hold 24/7.
Feature highlights
- 1M free tokens per model (90 days)
- Flash at $0.15/1M input
- Max with 1M context at $2/$6
- Open-weight variants
- Token Plan from $8/mo
- No peak/off-peak billing
Pros and cons
Pros
- Extremely cheap Flash tier
- No time-of-day billing
- Open-weight flagship at same price
- Works with Claude Code, Cursor
Cons
- Free quota expires after 90 days
- Promo rates may revert
- Regional pricing differences
- Many model versions to track
Best for
Qwen (Alibaba) is best suited to developers who want cheap, capable models with no peak/off-peak complexity. If that matches your needs, the free plan is a low-risk way to try it.
Qwen (Alibaba) comparisons
Qwen (Alibaba) FAQ
Does Qwen (Alibaba) have a free plan?
Yes. 1M free tokens per model for 90 days. Flash models are extremely cheap ($0.15/1M input).
How much does Qwen (Alibaba) cost?
Qwen (Alibaba) starts at Free (1M tokens/90 days). 1M free tokens per model for 90 days. Flash $0.15/$0.47, Plus $0.40/$1.60 (promo), Max $2/$6 per 1M tokens. Token Plan: Lite $8/mo, Standard $25/mo, Pro $80/mo. Batch API 50% off. The highest known plan is $80/mo (Token Plan Pro).
Who is Qwen (Alibaba) best for?
Qwen (Alibaba) is best for developers who want cheap, capable models with no peak/off-peak complexity.
Does Qwen (Alibaba) offer an API?
Yes, Qwen (Alibaba) provides API access for developers.
Qwen (Alibaba) alternatives
ChatGPT
AI Chat Assistants
The most widely used AI assistant, with GPT-5-class models, voice, vision, and DALL-E image generation.
Claude
AI Chat Assistants
Anthropic's assistant, known for writing quality, long documents, and the Claude Code developer tool.
DeepSeek
AI Chat Assistants
China's most popular AI assistant with frontier V4.1 models, free web chat, and peak/off-peak API pricing from $0.15/1M.