Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 16, 2026
In this head-to-head showdown, Llama 4 Scout delivers higher overall intelligence and human-preferred responses (Elo 1,412 vs 1,398), while Qwen3.8 27B leads in SWE-bench software engineering benchmarks (58.8%), while Llama 4 Scout is more budget-friendly at $0.3/1M per 1M output tokens. Review the complete breakdown below to determine which model best fits your performance and budget requirements.
10 direct benchmark disciplines evaluated across capability, speed, and cost
Meta open-weight Llama 4 long-context sibling of Maverick. Common public API lists sit near $0.08–$0.30 / $0.30–$0.70 per 1M; we store a conservative hosted list until OpenRouter overwrites.
Alibaba open-weight 27B drop dated Aug 14 2026. Dense enough to self-host; not a frontier MoE.
Currently comparing Llama 4 Scout vs Qwen3.8 27B. Alternative family tiers available.
Δ 14 Arena Elo pts
155 tok/s
$0.3 / 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 | Llama 4 Scout | Qwen3.8 27B | Advantage Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preference Elo | +14 | ||
| Coding Elo | +24 | ||
| LiveBench | +1% | ||
| SWE-bench | +6.4% | ||
| GPQA Diamond | +2.2% | ||
| Time to first token | +10 ms | ||
| Output speed | 155 tok/s | 152 tok/s | +3 tok/s |
| Input price | $0.08/1M | +$0.02/1M | |
| Output price | +$0.1/1M | ||
| Context window | +9.9M |
Simulate monthly production API costs in USD (US Dollar).
Llama 4 Scout is estimated to save $2.20/month ($26/year).
Higher SWE-bench (58.8%).
Lower output list price ($0.3/1M).
Lower TTFT (130 ms).
Larger window (10M).
Llama 4 Scout 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 | Llama 4 Scout | Lower output list price ($0.3/1M). |
| Voice / low-latency UI | Llama 4 Scout | Lower TTFT (130 ms). |
| Long-document RAG | Llama 4 Scout | Larger window (10M). |
| Screenshots / vision | Llama 4 Scout | Llama 4 Scout is the side marked multimodal in the catalog. |
$1/$5 hosted Claude vs a cheap long-context open sibling. The alternative-to-Sonnet pair that is honest.
Alibaba open-weight 27B drop. Local/open-weight lists should see it. It will not win frontier-agents.
Huge window, cheap hosted lists. The Haiku alternative that is actually open-weight.
No comments posted on this matchup yet. Be the first to share an evaluation note!
Dynamic OpenGraph banner generated at /compare/llama-4-scout-vs-qwen-3-8-27b/opengraph-image
Verified Head-to-Head Telemetry