GPT-5.6 Terra Max vs Qwen3.8 Max 0902 compared

Qwen3.8 Max 0902 leads the intelligence index 33.7 to 32.3. Qwen3.8 Max 0902 costs 33% less on blended price. Benchmarks, sample bills, speed and a verdict.

Metric	GPT-5.6 Terra (Max)	Qwen3.8 Max (0902)
Intelligence Index	32.3	33.7
Input price (per 1M tokens)	$2.00	$2.00
Output price (per 1M tokens)	$12.00	$6.00
Output speed (tokens/s)	116	38
Time to first token	3.4 min	3.2s
Release date	2026-07-09	2026-09-02

Metric

GPT-5.6 Terra (Max)

Qwen3.8 Max (0902)

Intelligence Index

32.3

33.7

Input price (per 1M tokens)

$2.00

Output price (per 1M tokens)

$12.00

$6.00

Output speed (tokens/s)

116

Time to first token

3.4 min

3.2s

Release date

2026-07-09

2026-09-02

If you only looked at the intelligence index, GPT-5.6 Terra (Max) and Qwen3.8 Max (0902) would be hard to tell apart. No hands-on testing went into this write-up; it summarises the recorded benchmark, price and speed data for both models. What separates them most is responsiveness; GPT-5.6 Terra Max takes 3.4 minutes to produce its first token, Qwen3.8 Max 0902 3.2 seconds.

GPT-5.6 Terra Max is the faster writer

Measured output speed is 116 tokens per second for GPT-5.6 Terra Max and 38 tokens per second for Qwen3.8 Max 0902. That makes GPT-5.6 Terra Max roughly 3 times as fast at writing. Before any text appears, GPT-5.6 Terra Max takes 3.4 minutes and Qwen3.8 Max 0902 3.2 seconds. The faster writer, GPT-5.6 Terra Max, gives away too much at the start to win on time: counting the first-token wait, Qwen3.8 Max 0902 finishes first for any reply shorter than about 11,000 tokens. A first-token wait of that length suits background work better than live conversation.

For a 600-token response, first token plus generation comes to roughly 3.5 minutes on GPT-5.6 Terra Max and 19 seconds on Qwen3.8 Max 0902.

Running costs

The list prices are $2.00 in and $12.00 out for GPT-5.6 Terra Max, and $2.00 in and $6.00 out for Qwen3.8 Max 0902, per million tokens. GPT-5.6 Terra Max costs twice as much per output token.

A reference job of 1 million input tokens and 200,000 output tokens costs $4.40 with GPT-5.6 Terra Max and $3.20 with Qwen3.8 Max 0902, so Qwen3.8 Max 0902 saves $1.20. Scale it up to a support assistant answering 10,000 conversations of 2,000 input and 500 output tokens each and the bill is $100 for GPT-5.6 Terra Max against $70.00 for Qwen3.8 Max 0902.

Reasoning and overall scores

Qwen3.8 Max 0902 comes out ahead on the intelligence index, 33.7 to 32.3. The lead is visible but narrow, so it should not decide the choice on its own. In relative terms, Qwen3.8 Max 0902 scores 4% higher.

Among 109 active scored models, GPT-5.6 Terra Max sits 46th and Qwen3.8 Max 0902 44th.

There are no coding or math index scores for either model in the catalogue, which keeps this comparison at the aggregate level.

Cost per point of intelligence

Per point of intelligence index, GPT-5.6 Terra Max costs $0.14 of blended price per million tokens and Qwen3.8 Max 0902 $0.089. With the higher score and the lower cost per point, Qwen3.8 Max 0902 is the better value per point on these numbers.

Generation gap

The release dates are July 9, 2026 for GPT-5.6 Terra Max and September 2, 2026 for Qwen3.8 Max 0902, about 2 months apart.

FAQ

Is Qwen3.8 Max 0902 better than GPT-5.6 Terra Max?

Not across the board: Qwen3.8 Max 0902 scores higher on the intelligence index, 33.7 to 32.3; Qwen3.8 Max 0902 is 33% cheaper on blended price; GPT-5.6 Terra Max streams output 3 times as fast; and Qwen3.8 Max 0902 reaches its first token sooner.

When were GPT-5.6 Terra Max and Qwen3.8 Max 0902 released?

Qwen3.8 Max 0902 is newer. It was released on September 2, 2026, about 2 months after GPT-5.6 Terra Max (July 9, 2026).

Was this comparison tested by hand?

The figures are the recorded benchmark, price and speed data in Franklin AI's model catalogue. This page is written from that data automatically; neither model was tested by hand for it.

Are GPT-5.6 Terra Max and Qwen3.8 Max 0902 from the same company?

GPT-5.6 Terra Max is made by OpenAI and Qwen3.8 Max 0902 by Alibaba. GPT-5.6 Terra Max was released on July 9, 2026 and Qwen3.8 Max 0902 on September 2, 2026.

How much do GPT-5.6 Terra Max and Qwen3.8 Max 0902 cost?

Qwen3.8 Max 0902 is cheaper on a blended basis. GPT-5.6 Terra Max lists $2.00 per million input tokens and $12.00 per million output tokens; Qwen3.8 Max 0902 lists $2.00 and $6.00. For 1 million input and 200,000 output tokens that is $4.40 against $3.20.

Final whistle

The verdict: Qwen3.8 Max 0902 is the stronger all-round pick on this data, while GPT-5.6 Terra Max makes sense in narrower cases. Pick GPT-5.6 Terra Max if you generate very long outputs, beyond about 11,000 tokens. Pick Qwen3.8 Max 0902 if users are waiting on the first word and replies need to finish sooner at typical lengths.

Where the numbers come from

The scores, speed and prices in this comparison come from independent third-party model evaluations that Franklin AI syncs each day, and the article was written from a snapshot of them. For the latest results, open the GPT-5.6 Terra (Max) and Qwen3.8 Max (0902) pages. The AI Benchmark methodology explains how that data is collected and shown.

GPT-5.6 Terra Max vs Qwen3.8 Max 0902: which responds faster?

Pick it for GPT-5.6 Terra · Max

Pick it for Qwen3.8 Max · 0902

By the numbers