Head-to-head list prices

Qwen3.8 Flash vs GPT-6 Luna API Pricing

Compare verified published API prices for Qwen3.8 Flash and GPT-6 Luna. This page compares price, not output quality.

Last verified Oct 28, 2026 · How we verify

Quick answer

Verified Oct 28, 2026, Qwen3.8 Flash lists input at $0.15 and output at $0.47 per 1M tokens, while GPT-6 Luna lists $0.10 input and $0.50 output. GPT-6 Luna is 33.3% cheaper for input, while Qwen3.8 Flash is 6% cheaper for output; costs meet at 0.6 input tokens per output token, and this does not compare output quality.

ModelInput $/1MCached input $/1MOutput $/1MSourceLast verified How we verify
Qwen3.8 Flash$0.15$0.016$0.47Official sourceOct 28, 2026
GPT-6 Luna$0.10$0.01$0.50Official sourceOct 21, 2026

Prices from official provider pages, verified on the date shown.

Published rates

Side-by-side API pricing

FieldQwen3.8 FlashGPT-6 Luna
ProviderAlibabaOpenAI
Input / 1M$0.15$0.10
Cached input / 1M$0.016$0.01
Output / 1M$0.47$0.50
Batch input / 1MNot listed$0.05
Batch output / 1MNot listed$0.25
Context window1M1050K
Release dateNot listedSep 22, 2026
Official source
How we verify
Alibaba pricing ↗
Last verified Oct 28, 2026
OpenAI pricing ↗
Last verified Oct 21, 2026

Standard token prices

Which is cheaper depends on your input:output ratio

Costs below allocate 1M total tokens across each input:output ratio. They use standard prices only, without cache or Batch discounts.

Input:output ratioQwen3.8 FlashGPT-6 LunaCheaper published price
10:1 (RAG / long context)$0.179$0.136GPT-6 Luna by 23.9%
3:1 (chat)$0.23$0.20GPT-6 Luna by 13%
1:1$0.31$0.30GPT-6 Luna by 3.2%
1:3 (long generation)$0.39$0.40Qwen3.8 Flash by 2.5%

The standard prices break even at exactly 0.6 input tokens per output token. On either side of that mix, the model with the lower weighted list price changes.

Computed examples

Monthly cost for real workloads

WorkloadAssumed volumeQwen3.8 FlashGPT-6 LunaDifference
Side project10,000 requests/month
8,000,000 input + 3,000,000 output tokens
$2.61$2.30GPT-6 Luna by $0.31 (11.9%)
Customer support chatbot10,000 conversations/month
121,650,000 input + 10,800,000 output tokens
$23.32$17.57GPT-6 Luna by $5.76 (24.7%)
Agent task1,000 tasks/month
12,000,000 input + 3,200,000 output tokens
$3.30$2.80GPT-6 Luna by $0.504 (15.3%)

Assumptions

  • Side project: 10,000 requests per month, with 800 input and 300 output tokens per request.
  • Customer support chatbot: 10,000 conversations, with 6 replies per conversation, 600 system tokens, 90 user-message tokens, 1,000 retrieved-context tokens, 180 output tokens per reply, and 50% history carry.
  • Agent task: 1,000 tasks, with 8 calls per task and 1,500 input plus 400 output tokens per call.
  • All three rows use standard non-cached, non-batch prices and exclude retries, tools, storage, and taxes.

Provider conditions

Pricing rules that can change the answer

Verified changes

Price history

  1. First observed on Oct 28, 2026; Alibaba Qwen did not publish an effective date. Alibaba Qwen added Qwen3.8 Flash with published input $0.15 and output $0.47 per 1M tokens.

    View this update in the price monitor
  2. On Sep 22, 2026, OpenAI replaced GPT-5.6 Luna with GPT-6 Luna: input $0.20 → $0.10 (−50%) and output $1.20 → $0.50 (−58.3%) per 1M tokens.

    View this update in the price monitor

Operational costs

Cheaper per token is not always cheaper per task

Retries, failed calls, fallback requests, and longer outputs can raise the cost of completing a task even when the published token price is lower. Model the effect with the LLM Retry & Fallback Cost Calculator, read the cost-per-successful-task guide, or estimate a migration with the Model Switch Cost Calculator.

Primary evidence and next steps

Common questions

Frequently asked questions

Is Qwen3.8 Flash cheaper than GPT-6 Luna?

GPT-6 Luna is 33.3% cheaper on input. Qwen3.8 Flash is 6% cheaper on output. This compares published list prices, not output quality.

How much do Qwen3.8 Flash and GPT-6 Luna cost for 10,000 requests a month?

At 800 input and 300 output tokens per request, Qwen3.8 Flash costs about $2.61 and GPT-6 Luna costs about $2.30 at standard list prices.

Which is cheaper for input-heavy workloads like RAG?

At a 10:1 input-to-output token ratio, Qwen3.8 Flash costs $0.179 and GPT-6 Luna costs $0.136 per 1M total tokens. GPT-6 Luna by 23.9%.

Where do these prices come from?

The prices come from Alibaba and OpenAI official pricing sources, verified on Oct 28, 2026 and Oct 21, 2026, respectively.

See the pricing verification methodology and AI API pricing dataset.