GPT-6 Luna Max vs Qwen3.8 Max 0902: which is cheaper?

Qwen3.8 Max 0902 leads the intelligence index 33.7 to 27.9. GPT-6 Luna Max costs 93% less on blended price. Compare price, speed, latency and a clear verdict.

Metric	GPT-6 Luna (Max)	Qwen3.8 Max (0902)
Intelligence Index	27.9	33.7
Input price (per 1M tokens)	$0.10	$2.00
Output price (per 1M tokens)	$0.50	$6.00
Output speed (tokens/s)	121	38
Time to first token	2.0 min	3.2s
Release date	2026-09-22	2026-09-02

Metric

GPT-6 Luna (Max)

Qwen3.8 Max (0902)

Intelligence Index

27.9

33.7

Input price (per 1M tokens)

$0.10

$2.00

Output price (per 1M tokens)

$0.50

$6.00

Output speed (tokens/s)

121

Time to first token

2.0 min

3.2s

Release date

2026-09-22

2026-09-02

GPT-6 Luna (Max) from OpenAI and Qwen3.8 Max (0902) from Alibaba are both tracked in Franklin AI's benchmark catalogue. No hands-on testing went into this write-up; it summarises the recorded benchmark, price and speed data for both models. The clearest gap is on the bill: Qwen3.8 Max 0902 is 15 times the blended price of GPT-6 Luna Max.

What they cost

The list prices are $0.10 in and $0.50 out for GPT-6 Luna Max, and $2.00 in and $6.00 out for Qwen3.8 Max 0902, per million tokens. For output tokens, Qwen3.8 Max 0902 is 12 times the price of GPT-6 Luna Max.

Take 1 million input tokens and 200,000 output tokens: that comes to $0.20 on GPT-6 Luna Max and $3.20 on Qwen3.8 Max 0902. For a month of coding-assistant traffic at 30 million input and 3 million output tokens, GPT-6 Luna Max would come in 94% lower: $4.50 for GPT-6 Luna Max against $78.00 for Qwen3.8 Max 0902. Blended at three input tokens per output token, the effective rates are $0.20 for GPT-6 Luna Max and $3.00 for Qwen3.8 Max 0902.

Benchmark scores

GPT-6 Luna Max records 27.9 on the intelligence index and Qwen3.8 Max 0902 records 33.7. A lead of this size is hard to dismiss as noise. Put another way, GPT-6 Luna Max would need 21% more on this index to draw level.

Across the 109 active models with an intelligence score in the catalogue, GPT-6 Luna Max ranks 62nd and Qwen3.8 Max 0902 ranks 44th.

Specialist coding and math indexes are missing for both, so treat the overall score as the only capability signal here.

Is the price in proportion?

Dividing the blended price by the intelligence index gives a rough cost per point: $0.0072 for GPT-6 Luna Max and $0.089 for Qwen3.8 Max 0902, per million tokens. So Qwen3.8 Max 0902 buys its higher score at a premium, while GPT-6 Luna Max is the value pick, paying 92% less per point.

Speed and latency

GPT-6 Luna Max generates about 121 tokens per second and Qwen3.8 Max 0902 about 38 tokens per second. GPT-6 Luna Max is ahead by 217% on throughput. The wait for the first token averages 2.0 minutes on GPT-6 Luna Max against 3.2 seconds on Qwen3.8 Max 0902. That is a genuine trade-off: Qwen3.8 Max 0902 starts sooner, while GPT-6 Luna Max finishes first once outputs run beyond about 6,600 tokens. Waits that long are felt on every chat-style request, though they matter less for batch jobs.

For a 1,000-token response, first token plus generation comes to roughly 2.2 minutes on GPT-6 Luna Max and 29 seconds on Qwen3.8 Max 0902.

Which is newer

Qwen3.8 Max 0902 came first, on September 2, 2026; GPT-6 Luna Max followed on September 22, 2026. That is close enough to count them as the same generation.

Quick answers

Is GPT-6 Luna Max better than Qwen3.8 Max 0902?

Neither wins everywhere: Qwen3.8 Max 0902 scores higher on the intelligence index, 33.7 to 27.9; GPT-6 Luna Max is 93% cheaper on blended price; GPT-6 Luna Max streams output 3.2 times as fast; and Qwen3.8 Max 0902 reaches its first token sooner.

Does GPT-6 Luna Max respond faster than Qwen3.8 Max 0902?

GPT-6 Luna Max generates output faster, at 121 tokens per second against 38 tokens per second. Qwen3.8 Max 0902 reaches its first token sooner (3.2 seconds against 2.0 minutes). Counting the first-token wait, Qwen3.8 Max 0902 finishes short replies first and GPT-6 Luna Max pulls ahead beyond about 6,600 tokens.

Who makes GPT-6 Luna Max and Qwen3.8 Max 0902?

GPT-6 Luna Max is made by OpenAI and Qwen3.8 Max 0902 by Alibaba. GPT-6 Luna Max was released on September 22, 2026 and Qwen3.8 Max 0902 on September 2, 2026.

How much do GPT-6 Luna Max and Qwen3.8 Max 0902 cost?

GPT-6 Luna Max is cheaper on a blended basis. GPT-6 Luna Max lists $0.10 per million input tokens and $0.50 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 $0.20 against $3.20.

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.

Final whistle

In one line: on balance the numbers favour GPT-6 Luna Max, though Qwen3.8 Max 0902 keeps a case of its own. Pick Qwen3.8 Max 0902 if users are waiting on the first word and you need the higher overall score (33.7 against 27.9). Pick GPT-6 Luna Max if cost matters ($0.50 against $6.00 per million output tokens) and your outputs often run past about 6,600 tokens.

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-6 Luna (Max) and Qwen3.8 Max (0902) pages. The AI Benchmark methodology explains how that data is collected and shown.