← comparisons · head to head
Qwen 3.8 Max vs DeepSeek V4 Pro
Qwen 3.8 Max scores higher than DeepSeek V4 Pro on all 4 public leaderboards that rate both. On the ArtificialWatch Index, which takes the median of each model's percentile across the boards that score it, Qwen 3.8 Max is at 55.6 and DeepSeek V4 Pro at 19.9 (out of 100). On each maker's API, Qwen 3.8 Max costs $2 / $6 per 1M tokens (input / output) and DeepSeek V4 Pro $0.66 / $1.98.
Scores as published by each board; table composed November 8, 2026.
Get the next launch alert, free →
Leaderboard by leaderboard
| Board | Qwen 3.8 Max | DeepSeek V4 Pro | Higher |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena Elo (community votes) | 1,677.1 | 1,581.6 | Qwen 3.8 Max |
| SimpleBench AVG@5 % (private set) | 62.5 | 50.9 | Qwen 3.8 Max |
| Vals AI Vals Index accuracy % · weighted finance + coding tasks | 59 | 53 | Qwen 3.8 Max |
| Artificial Analysis intelligence index · measured runs only | 33.6 | 23.1 | Qwen 3.8 Max |
Raw scores are each board's own scale, so compare within a row, not across rows. Full table: the bench index.
For coding
On the ArtificialWatch coding index, Qwen 3.8 Max is at 38.3 (#28 of 45) and DeepSeek V4 Pro at 40 (#27). Qwen 3.8 Max scores higher on 1 of the 2 coding boards that rate both and DeepSeek V4 Pro on 1.
| Coding board | Qwen 3.8 Max | DeepSeek V4 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena · Coding | 1,502.2 | 1,469.1 |
| Vals Vibe Code Bench | 77.1 | 82.3 |
Qwen 3.8 Max at a glance
- Developer
- Alibaba
- Status
- Live since August 1, 2026
- API price
- $2 input / $6 output per 1M tokens · Alibaba, qwen3.8-max
- Context window
- 1M tokens
Live - flagship since Aug 1 · 2.4T tier listed Aug 12.
Qwen3.8-Max quietly lost its preview label — Alibaba is now serving it as the flagship
2026-08-03 · Alibaba is serving Qwen3.8-Max on chat.qwen.ai under the plain id `qwen3.8-max`. The preview suffix is gone.
DeepSeek V4 Pro at a glance
- Developer
- DeepSeek
- Status
- Live since April 24, 2026
- API price
- $0.66 input / $1.98 output per 1M tokens · DeepSeek, deepseek-v4-pro
- Context window
- 1.05M tokens
Live · open weights · superseded by V4.1 Flash — per DeepSeek's own changelog rather than our own reading, deepseek-v4-flash routes to V4.1 Flash; the matching deepseek-v4-pro cutover set for 04:00 UTC Sep 14 was reversed on its eve and V4 Pro is still served at unchanged billing, which is search-grade too — but our own bench refresh still scored deepseek-v4-pro-0813 as a separate model on Sep 16 · our sweep read the bare deepseek-flash alias on Sep 10 at $0.15/$0.60 per 1M, 1M ctx.
DeepSeek V4-Pro lands at $0.435/$0.87 — and "model names remain unchanged" hides a 2.7x price fork
2026-08-13 · DeepSeek launched V4-Pro today on app, web and API. The headline features are agent upgrades, selectable reasoning effort across V4-Pro and V4-Flash, and native OpenAI Responses API support optimised for Codex. The line worth reading twice is the quiet one: "Model names remain unchanged."
Qwen 3.8 Max vs DeepSeek V4 Pro: quick answers
Which is better, Qwen 3.8 Max or DeepSeek V4 Pro?
It depends on what you measure. Qwen 3.8 Max scores higher than DeepSeek V4 Pro on all 4 public leaderboards that rate both. Qwen 3.8 Max's widest lead is on Artificial Analysis. On the ArtificialWatch Index, which takes the median of each model's percentile across the boards that score it, Qwen 3.8 Max is at 55.6 and DeepSeek V4 Pro at 19.9 (out of 100).
Which is newer, Qwen 3.8 Max or DeepSeek V4 Pro?
Qwen 3.8 Max. It went live on August 1, 2026, 99 days after DeepSeek V4 Pro (April 24, 2026).
Which is cheaper, Qwen 3.8 Max or DeepSeek V4 Pro?
DeepSeek V4 Pro is cheaper on both input and output. On each vendor's own API, Qwen 3.8 Max is $2 input / $6 output per million tokens and DeepSeek V4 Pro is $0.66 input / $1.98 output per million tokens. Prices as published in the models.dev catalog, as of 2026-11-08.
Which has the bigger context window, Qwen 3.8 Max or DeepSeek V4 Pro?
DeepSeek V4 Pro, at 1.05M tokens against Qwen 3.8 Max's 1M, as each vendor lists it.
How do Qwen 3.8 Max and DeepSeek V4 Pro compare for coding?
On the ArtificialWatch coding index, Qwen 3.8 Max is at 38.3 (#28 of 45) and DeepSeek V4 Pro at 40 (#27). Qwen 3.8 Max scores higher on 1 of the 2 coding boards that rate both and DeepSeek V4 Pro on 1.
Who makes Qwen 3.8 Max and DeepSeek V4 Pro?
Qwen 3.8 Max is from Alibaba; DeepSeek V4 Pro is from DeepSeek.
Where do these numbers come from?
Each score is the leaderboard's own published figure, read by ArtificialWatch (table composed November 8, 2026). Boards measure different things, so raw scores are only comparable within a row.
More comparisons
Hear when the next one drops. Free.
Free: a Chrome push and an email about 15 minutes after a new model answers on a public API. Members get a text or a phone call the moment a launch is confirmed.
- Free forever
- No card
- Unsubscribe in one click
Also: the bench index · API pricing · what a workload costs on each · the wire