← comparisons · head to head
Qwen 3.8 Max vs GPT-5.6
Of the 3 public leaderboards that rate both, Qwen 3.8 Max scores higher on 1 and GPT-5.6 on 2. 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 GPT-5.6 at 48.1 (out of 100). On each maker's API, Qwen 3.8 Max costs $2 / $6 per 1M tokens (input / output) and GPT-5.6 $4 / $20.
Scores as published by each board; table composed November 8, 2026.
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Leaderboard by leaderboard
| Board | Qwen 3.8 Max | GPT-5.6 | Higher |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena Elo (community votes) | 1,677.1 | 1,615 | Qwen 3.8 Max |
| LiveBench global average (0-100) | 61.6 | 67.8 | GPT-5.6 |
| SimpleBench AVG@5 % (private set) | 62.5 | 71.7 | GPT-5.6 |
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 GPT-5.6 at 54 (#17). Qwen 3.8 Max scores higher on 1 of the 3 coding boards that rate both and GPT-5.6 on 2.
| Coding board | Qwen 3.8 Max | GPT-5.6 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena · Coding | 1,502.2 | 1,495.7 |
| LiveBench · Coding | 60.3 | 86.2 |
| Vals Vibe Code Bench | 77.1 | 80.5 |
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.
GPT-5.6 at a glance
- Developer
- OpenAI
- Status
- Live since July 9, 2026
- API price
- $4 input / $20 output per 1M tokens · OpenAI, gpt-5.6
- Context window
- 1.05M tokens
Live — Sol · Terra · Luna since Jul 9 · repriced Jul 30: Luna −80%, Terra −20%.
OpenAI Daybreak, explained: Blue vs Red access, GPT-5.6-Cyber, the $1B defender fund, and Sophos's 89-second cases
2026-10-12 · OpenAI Daybreak is OpenAI's program for putting its most cyber-capable models in the hands of approved defenders. On October 9 OpenAI published its first big customer result: Sophos says agents it built on Daybreak cut its average response time on those cases from about 38 minutes to about 89 seconds.
Three ChatGPT leaks in five hours were one release note — and the line none of them quoted is the real change
2026-08-06 · Three separate leaks landed in five hours claiming three separate ChatGPT changes: an upgraded GPT-5.6 Sol for Plus and Pro, a new reasoning slider rolling out, and unlimited chats coming for free users. All three are real.
Qwen 3.8 Max vs GPT-5.6: quick answers
Which is better, Qwen 3.8 Max or GPT-5.6?
It depends on what you measure. Of the 3 public leaderboards that rate both, Qwen 3.8 Max scores higher on 1 and GPT-5.6 on 2. Qwen 3.8 Max's widest lead is on LMArena; GPT-5.6's widest lead is on LiveBench. 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 GPT-5.6 at 48.1 (out of 100).
Which is newer, Qwen 3.8 Max or GPT-5.6?
Qwen 3.8 Max. It went live on August 1, 2026, 23 days after GPT-5.6 (July 9, 2026).
Which is cheaper, Qwen 3.8 Max or GPT-5.6?
Qwen 3.8 Max 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 GPT-5.6 is $4 input / $20 output per million tokens. GPT-5.6's rate rises for prompts over 272K 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 GPT-5.6?
GPT-5.6, at 1.05M tokens against Qwen 3.8 Max's 1M, as each vendor lists it.
How do Qwen 3.8 Max and GPT-5.6 compare for coding?
On the ArtificialWatch coding index, Qwen 3.8 Max is at 38.3 (#28 of 45) and GPT-5.6 at 54 (#17). Qwen 3.8 Max scores higher on 1 of the 3 coding boards that rate both and GPT-5.6 on 2.
Who makes Qwen 3.8 Max and GPT-5.6?
Qwen 3.8 Max is from Alibaba; GPT-5.6 is from OpenAI.
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.
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Also: the bench index · API pricing · what a workload costs on each · the wire