Qwen Max vs Codestral
Performance benchmarks + pricing comparison — updated April 2026
Qwen Max
QwenQwen's most powerful model. Strong reasoning and coding capabilities.
| Input | $1.60/M |
| Output | $6.40/M |
| Context | 32K tokens |
| Best For | Complex reasoning, advanced coding |
| Benchmark | 68/100 |
Codestral
MistralMistral's dedicated coding model. Open-weight and highly optimized for code generation and completion.
| Input | $0.300/M |
| Output | $0.900/M |
| Context | 128K tokens |
| Best For | Code completion, code generation, IDE integration |
| Benchmark | 60/100 |
Benchmark Performance Comparison
Third-party benchmark scores — higher is better. Data sourced from SWE-bench, LiveCodeBench, HumanEval, and BigCodeBench.
| Benchmark | Qwen Max | Codestral | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 68 | 60 | Qwen Max leads by 8pts |
| SWE-bench Verified | 62 | 54 | Qwen Max leads by 8pts |
| LiveCodeBench | 70 | 64 | Qwen Max leads by 6pts |
| HumanEval | 86 | 82 | Qwen Max leads by 4pts |
| BigCodeBench | 54 | 44 | Qwen Max leads by 10pts |
Cost Comparison by Scenario
Estimated cost per project with 30% cache hit rate. Actual costs may vary based on usage patterns.
| Scenario | Qwen Max | Codestral | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | $0.25 | $0.04 | Codestral saves $0.21 (85%) |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | $1.84 | $0.29 | Codestral saves $1.56 (85%) |
| Large Project (50K lines) | $9.20 | $1.43 | Codestral saves $7.78 (85%) |
| Code Review (5K lines) | $0.44 | $0.07 | Codestral saves $0.36 (83%) |
Value Analysis (Price per Benchmark Score Point)
Lower is better — how much you pay for each point of benchmark performance.
| Model | Overall Score | Price per Score Point | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qwen Max | 68 | $0.024/pt | Higher cost per point |
| Codestral | 60 | $0.005/pt | Better value |
Codestral delivers the best value at $0.005 per score point.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Qwen Max
- + Strong Chinese language support
- + Good value
- - Less tested on English coding
Codestral
- + Code-specialized
- + Very cheap
- - Narrow focus
Verdict
Codestral is cheaper at $0.300/M, but Qwen Max scores higher on benchmarks (68 vs 60).
Choose Codestral for cost-sensitive projects, Qwen Max when performance matters most.
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