Alibaba API Pricing & Model Comparison
We track 6 Alibaba models, with input pricing from $0.03 to $2.00 per million tokens. The line-up's blended rate runs 72% below the catalog average. Below: price, context, speed and value compared across the range.
For cost, Alibaba's cheapest option is qwen3.5-flash ($0.03 input / $0.13 output); the quality ceiling is qwen3.8-max at a quality score of 94. On a 50,000-turn-per-month support workload that is $6.25 versus $350 — the spread inside a single provider is often wider than the spread between providers.
On value (quality score ÷ output price) the pick of the Alibaba range is qwen3.5-flash. The largest context window is 1000K, shared by 5 models in the range, and the fastest output is qwen-turbo at 240 tok/s. Modalities across the line-up: Text, Vision.
Models and pricing
Sorted by blended rate, cheapest first (3:1 input-to-output mix). Follow a model name for full specs and monthly cost estimates.
| Model | Input /1M | Output /1M | Blended /1M | Quality | Context | Speed | Value | Use cases |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| qwen3.5-flash | $0.03 | $0.13 | $0.055 | 82 | 1000K | 200 tok/s | 630.8 | ChatbotAffordableFastLong Context |
| qwen-turbo | $0.05 | $0.20 | $0.088 | 74 | 1000K | 240 tok/s | 370.0 | ChatbotAffordableFast |
| qwen3.5 | $0.10 | $0.15 | $0.11 | 91 | 1000K | 85 tok/s | 606.7 | CodingReasoningLong Context |
| qwen-plus | $0.26 | $0.78 | $0.39 | 84 | 131K | 110 tok/s | 107.7 | ChatbotCodingAffordable |
| qwen3.5-plus | $0.40 | $2.40 | $0.90 | 89 | 1000K | 100 tok/s | 37.1 | ChatbotCodingLong Context |
| qwen3.8-max | $2.00 | $6.00 | $3.00 | 94 | 1000K | 70 tok/s | 15.7 | ReasoningCodingLong Context |
Frequently asked questions
Which Alibaba model is cheapest?
qwen3.5-flash, at $0.03 input and $0.13 output per million tokens, with a quality score of 82.
What is Alibaba's flagship model?
By quality score it is qwen3.8-max (94), priced at $2.00 input / $6.00 output with a 1000K context window.
Does Alibaba pricing change?
Yes. llmprice.app runs a daily collection job and refreshes these figures, but there can be a lag after a provider re-prices — confirm against Alibaba's official pricing page before committing.
Prices and specs are collected daily by llmprice.app. Confirm against the official pricing page before production use.