Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 16, 2026
In this head-to-head showdown, Grok 4 delivers higher overall intelligence and human-preferred responses (Elo 1,488 vs 1,398), while Qwen3.8 27B leads in SWE-bench software engineering benchmarks (58.8%), while Qwen3.8 27B is more budget-friendly at $0.4/1M per 1M output tokens. Review the complete breakdown below to determine which model best fits your performance and budget requirements.
9 direct benchmark disciplines evaluated across capability, speed, and cost
Alibaba open-weight 27B drop dated Aug 14 2026. Dense enough to self-host; not a frontier MoE.
Currently comparing Grok 4 vs Qwen3.8 27B. Alternative family tiers available.
Δ 90 Arena Elo pts
152 tok/s
$0.4 / 1M output
Relative percentile scores computed across all active models in the benchmark catalog.
Comparing top Western standard models with China's leading frontier rival across 6 skill dimensions. Tap any spoke or dot to inspect.
Category wins across reasoning intelligence, generation speed, and token cost.
Preference Elo, Coding proficiency, SWE-bench & LiveBench accuracy
Generation throughput and time to first token responsiveness
Cost per million tokens and max context window length
| Benchmark | Grok 4 | Qwen3.8 27B | Advantage Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preference Elo | +90 | ||
| Coding Elo | — | — | |
| LiveBench | +3.5% | ||
| SWE-bench | +0.2% | ||
| GPQA Diamond | +5.6% | ||
| Time to first token | +90 ms | ||
| Output speed | 98 tok/s | 152 tok/s | +54 tok/s |
| Input price | +$2.9/1M | ||
| Output price | +$14.6/1M | ||
| Context window | +125k |
Simulate monthly production API costs in USD (US Dollar).
Qwen3.8 27B is estimated to save $320.50/month ($3,846/year).
Higher SWE-bench (58.8%).
Lower output list price ($0.4/1M).
Lower TTFT (140 ms).
Larger window (256k).
Grok 4 is the side marked multimodal in the catalog.
| Target Workload | Recommended Pick | Evaluation Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Repo / coding agents | Qwen3.8 27B | Higher SWE-bench (58.8%). |
| High-volume chat | Qwen3.8 27B | Lower output list price ($0.4/1M). |
| Voice / low-latency UI | Qwen3.8 27B | Lower TTFT (140 ms). |
| Long-document RAG | Grok 4 | Larger window (256k). |
| Screenshots / vision | Grok 4 | Grok 4 is the side marked multimodal in the catalog. |
Alibaba open-weight 27B drop. Local/open-weight lists should see it. It will not win frontier-agents.
2025-07 row. 4.6 is the buy. We keep 4 so upgrade pairs and old inbound links resolve.
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Verified Head-to-Head Telemetry
