Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 17, 2026
In this head-to-head showdown, Seed 2.1 Turbo delivers higher overall intelligence and human-preferred responses (Elo 1,472 vs 1,398), while Seed 2.1 Turbo leads in SWE-bench software engineering benchmarks (63.2%), while Seed 2.1 Turbo is more budget-friendly at $2.5/1M 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.
ByteDance Seed 2.1 Turbo, listed on public model timelines as an Aug 10 2026 API drop.
Currently comparing Qwen3.8 27B vs Seed 2.1 Turbo. Alternative family tiers available.
Δ 74 Arena Elo pts
160 tok/s
$2.5 / 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 | Qwen3.8 27B | Seed 2.1 Turbo | Advantage Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preference Elo | +74 | ||
| Coding Elo | +58 | ||
| LiveBench | +4.2% | ||
| SWE-bench | +4.4% | ||
| GPQA Diamond | +3.4% | ||
| Time to first token | +20 ms | ||
| Output speed | 152 tok/s | 160 tok/s | +8 tok/s |
| Input price | $0.45/1M | $0.5/1M | +$0.05/1M |
| Output price | $3.2/1M | $2.5/1M | +$0.7/1M |
| Context window | — |
Simulate monthly production API costs in USD (US Dollar).
Seed 2.1 Turbo is estimated to save $8.75/month ($105/year).
Higher SWE-bench (63.2%).
Lower output list price ($2.5/1M).
Lower TTFT (120 ms).
Larger window (262k).
Seed 2.1 Turbo is the side marked multimodal in the catalog.
| Target Workload | Recommended Pick | Evaluation Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Repo / coding agents | Seed 2.1 Turbo | Higher SWE-bench (63.2%). |
| High-volume chat | Seed 2.1 Turbo | Lower output list price ($2.5/1M). |
| Voice / low-latency UI | Seed 2.1 Turbo | Lower TTFT (120 ms). |
| Long-document RAG | Qwen3.8 27B | Larger window (262k). |
| Screenshots / vision | Seed 2.1 Turbo | Seed 2.1 Turbo 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.
Listed on public model timelines as an Aug 10 2026 API drop. Preview-quality story, indexable because we have a full snapshot.
No comments posted on this matchup yet. Be the first to share an evaluation note!
Dynamic OpenGraph banner generated at /compare/qwen-3-8-27b-vs-seed-2-1-turbo/opengraph-image
Verified Head-to-Head Telemetry
