Alternatives

# Cheaper Qwen Alternatives in October 2026

> The strongest lower-cost alternative to Qwen as of October 2026 is GPT-6 Luna from OpenAI: 3.5 points behind Qwen3.8 Max, 15.0× cheaper per token. Compared against Qwen3.8 Max, Qwen's current top model.
- Canonical page: https://noometry.com/alternatives/qwen/cheaper
- Last updated: 2026-10-10
- Title: Cheaper Qwen Alternatives (October 2026) | Noometry

The strongest lower-cost alternative to Qwen as of October 2026 is GPT-6 Luna from OpenAI: 3.5 points behind Qwen3.8 Max, 15.0× cheaper per token. Compared against Qwen3.8 Max, Qwen's current top model.

Last verified October 10, 2026

1.  ## [GPT-6 Luna](https://noometry.com/models/gpt-6-luna) OpenAI
    
    3.5 points behind Qwen3.8 Max, 15.0× cheaper per token.
    
    Score 53.3, $0.20 per M tokens blended.[Compare with Qwen3.8 Max](https://noometry.com/compare/gpt-6-luna-vs-qwen3-8-max)
    
2.  ## [Claude Haiku 5.5](https://noometry.com/models/claude-haiku-5-5) Anthropic
    
    7.3 points behind Qwen3.8 Max, 15.0× cheaper per token.
    
    Score 49.5, $0.20 per M tokens blended.[Compare with Qwen3.8 Max](https://noometry.com/compare/claude-haiku-5-5-vs-qwen3-8-max)
    
3.  ## [GLM-5.3-Flash](https://noometry.com/models/glm-5-3-flash) Z.ai (Zhipu)
    
    4.9 points behind Qwen3.8 Max, 12.6× cheaper per token; open weights.
    
    Score 51.8, $0.24 per M tokens blended.[Compare with Qwen3.8 Max](https://noometry.com/compare/glm-5-3-flash-vs-qwen3-8-max)
    
4.  ## [DeepSeek V4 Flash](https://noometry.com/models/deepseek-v4-flash) DeepSeek
    
    3.1 points behind Qwen3.8 Max, 11.4× cheaper per token; open weights.
    
    Score 53.6, $0.26 per M tokens blended.[Compare with Qwen3.8 Max](https://noometry.com/compare/deepseek-v4-flash-vs-qwen3-8-max)
    
5.  ## [MiMo-V2.6-Pro](https://noometry.com/models/mimo-v2-6-pro) Xiaomi
    
    6.5 points behind Qwen3.8 Max, 5.5× cheaper per token; open weights.
    
    Score 50.3, $0.54 per M tokens blended.[Compare with Qwen3.8 Max](https://noometry.com/compare/mimo-v2-6-pro-vs-qwen3-8-max)
    
6.  ## [Gemini 3 Flash Preview](https://noometry.com/models/gemini-3-flash-preview) Google
    
    4.5 points behind Qwen3.8 Max, 2.7× cheaper per token.
    
    Score 52.3, $1.13 per M tokens blended.[Compare with Qwen3.8 Max](https://noometry.com/compare/gemini-3-flash-preview-vs-qwen3-8-max)
    
7.  ## [Muse Spark 1.3](https://noometry.com/models/muse-spark-1-3) Meta
    
    2.0 points behind Qwen3.8 Max, 1.5× cheaper per token.
    
    Score 54.8, $2 per M tokens blended.[Compare with Qwen3.8 Max](https://noometry.com/compare/muse-spark-1-3-vs-qwen3-8-max)
    

More: [All alternatives](https://noometry.com/alternatives/qwen), [Open-source](https://noometry.com/alternatives/qwen/open-source), [For coding](https://noometry.com/alternatives/qwen/coding)

## Frequently asked questions

### What is the best alternative to Qwen?

The strongest lower-cost alternative to Qwen as of October 2026 is GPT-6 Luna from OpenAI: 3.5 points behind Qwen3.8 Max, 15.0× cheaper per token. Compared against Qwen3.8 Max, Qwen's current top model.

### How were these alternatives chosen?

Each is the highest-ranked model from a different provider that costs less per token and scores within 8 points, compared on the Noometry Index against Qwen3.8 Max.