Qwen3 8B

Alibaba Qwenqwen/qwen3-8bProviders: 1
Inputi$0.12per 1M tokens
Outputi$0.46per 1M tokens
Contexti128K131,072 tokens
ReleasedApr 28, 2025Max output: 8K

Where it stands

Quality in independent tests against price, next to 135 other models. Up means more capable, left means cheaper.

100110120130140150160170$0.01$0.03$0.1$0.3$1$3$10$30$100Overall indexPrice per million tokens, log scale (3 parts input to 1 part output)↖ Cheaper and smarterQwen3 8B
Scores: Epoch AI (CC BY 4.0). Prices: OpenRouter. View as a table

About this model

Qwen3 8B is an AI model from Alibaba Qwen, made available through the API on April 28, 2025. It can read up to 131,072 tokens in one request, roughly 246 pages of text, and write up to 8,192 tokens in a single answer.

Through the API it costs $0.12 per million input tokens and $0.46 per million output tokens. Its pricing puts it among the more affordable models we track, which makes it a good fit for high-volume tasks.

It supports extended reasoning: it can "think" step by step before answering, which helps on maths, code and complex questions. It can call tools and functions, so developers can connect it to search, databases or other software. Its weights are openly published (Qwen/Qwen3-8B), so it can also be downloaded and run on your own hardware.

Quality scores

Rankings →
136.2Overall index · #106 of 136
  • GPQA DiamondVery hard multiple-choice questions in biology, physics and chemistry, written by PhD experts. Random guessing scores 25%.56.8%#91 of 116
  • AIME mathCompetition-level math problems in the style of the American Invitational Mathematics Examination. Share solved.56.1%#87 of 112

Benchmark data: Epoch AI, licensed CC BY 4.0

Where to use it

Companies that serve this model through an API: 1. Prices per million tokens, cheapest first.

ProviderInputiOutputiContextiUptime (24 h)i
AlibabaOfficial
$0.12$0.46128K99.6%

Availability and prices come from OpenRouter’s public API and are refreshed daily. Uptime is the share of successful requests over the last 24 hours. Some providers run a compressed version of open models (fp8, int4), which is cheaper but can be slightly less accurate.

Use it in your code

Call Qwen3 8B through OpenRouter’s OpenAI-compatible API: create a key on openrouter.ai, then run one of these examples.

curl https://openrouter.ai/api/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $OPENROUTER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"model": "qwen/qwen3-8b", "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello! What can you do?"}]}'

The same code works with every model on this site: only the model ID changes. Many labs also offer their own API and SDK.

What it costs in practice

  • 1,000 chat replies
    ≈ 500 tokens in, 300 out each
    $0.195
  • Summarise a 100-page document
    ≈ 50,000 tokens in, 1,000 out
    $0.0063
  • An app with 10,000 requests a day for a month
    ≈ 1,000 tokens in, 400 out each
    $89.70

Cost calculator →

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News about Alibaba Qwen

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Frequently asked questions

How much does Qwen3 8B cost?
Qwen3 8B costs $0.12 per million input tokens and $0.46 per million output tokens through the API. For example, 1,000 chat replies of about 500 tokens in and 300 out cost around $0.195.
What is the context window of Qwen3 8B?
Qwen3 8B can read up to 131,072 tokens in one request, about 246 pages of text. It can write up to 8,192 tokens in a single answer.
Is Qwen3 8B open source?
Yes. Its weights are published (Qwen/Qwen3-8B), so you can download it and run it on your own hardware, or use it through one of 1 API providers.
Who makes Qwen3 8B?
Qwen3 8B is made by Alibaba Qwen. It became available through the API on April 28, 2025.
How good is Qwen3 8B?
Qwen3 8B has an overall index of 136.2 in Epoch AI’s independent tests, ranking #106 of 136 models we track.
Can Qwen3 8B read images?
No. Qwen3 8B only accepts text as input.
What are the alternatives to Qwen3 8B?
Models with a similar price from other companies include GLM 4.5 Air, Hy3 and GPT-6 Luna Pro. You can compare them side by side on this page.