Qwen 3.8
Qwen 3.8 is Alibaba Qwen's 2.4-trillion-parameter model family. The hosted `qwen3.8-max` remains the multimodal API model with vision, non-thinking support, built-in tools, a default 1M-token context window, and published pricing. Qwen released the separate `Qwen3.8-2.4T-A95B` and FP8 checkpoints on August 12, 2026 under the Qwen3.8-Max License; the open checkpoint is text-only, always uses thinking mode, and has 2.4T total parameters with 95B activated per token.
The release removes the old weight-availability uncertainty but creates a more important selection boundary. Teams can use the managed multimodal API for vision and built-in services, or evaluate the open text checkpoint through their own inference stack. The open model is not a downloadable copy of every hosted capability, and its scale plus custom license make deployment and commercial review material decisions.
Qwen's official Hugging Face model cards and repository metadata confirm the August 12 open-weight release, checkpoint IDs, custom license, architecture, context limits, text-only modality, mandatory thinking behavior, and serving recipes. QwenCloud and Alibaba Cloud Model Studio remain the sources for the distinct hosted `qwen3.8-max` API. Qwen's benchmark table is vendor-reported; Hacker News and Reddit are used only for demand and reader questions about hardware, modality differences, licensing, and the later 27B release.
- Evaluate long-context reasoning, text, image, video, and coding-agent tasks through the stable API.
- Budget hosted inference using the published input, cached-input, and output prices.
- Evaluate the open text checkpoint with SGLang, vLLM, or TokenSpeed on suitably provisioned infrastructure.
- Review the Qwen3.8-Max License before commercial hosting, fine-tuning, or product integration.
- Compare hosted quality with other frontier models using the same harness and acceptance tests.
QwenCloud and Alibaba Cloud Model Studio now list `qwen3.8-max` as a production model rather than a preview-only ID. It accepts image, text, and video input and returns text. QwenCloud documents a 1M-token context window, up to 991K input tokens in non-thinking mode, up to 983K input tokens in thinking mode, a 131K output limit, and up to 262K reasoning tokens.
- Stable request model ID: `qwen3.8-max`.
- QwenCloud price: $2 input, $0.25 implicit-cache input, and $6 output per 1 million tokens.
- Documented API features include function calling, structured output, batches, web search, prompt caching, and fine-tuning.
Qwen now publishes `Qwen/Qwen3.8-2.4T-A95B` and an official FP8 variant. The model card describes 2.4T total parameters, 95B activated per token, 262,144 tokens of native context, and extension up to 1,010,000 tokens. Unlike hosted Qwen3.8-Max, the open checkpoint is text-only, requires thinking mode, and does not include hosted vision, non-thinking mode, or official built-in tools. Qwen3.8-27B remains a later release until its own checkpoint and model card are live.
The weights use the custom Qwen3.8-Max License, not Apache 2.0. It broadly permits use, modification, distribution, hosting, and fine-tuning, while adding model-name display conditions for very large commercial products and a separate-license condition for qualifying Model-as-a-Service or AI Work Assistant businesses above the stated revenue threshold. Read the full license and obtain legal advice for your use case. Qwen provides current recipes for SGLang, vLLM, and TokenSpeed, but a 2.4T checkpoint is multi-node infrastructure rather than an ordinary workstation download.
Alibaba describes Qwen3.8-Max as a 2.4T mixture-of-experts model and publishes launch positioning around reasoning, coding, agent, and multimodal performance. Treat those results as vendor-reported until independent evaluators reproduce them. Compare Qwen 3.8 with Kimi K3, GPT-5.6, or other models using the same prompts, tools, budgets, and human review criteria.
Another 2026 large-model launch with immediate API access and a separate open-weight timeline.
An OpenAI frontier-model family relevant to coding, reasoning, access, and cost comparisons.
A current multimodal reasoning model with published API details for a more concrete provider comparison.
Source confidence
Qwen
QwenCloud
Alibaba Cloud Model Studio
Qwen on Hugging Face
Qwen on Hugging Face
Hacker News
Reddit r/LocalLLaMA
Qwen 3.8 FAQ
Common questions about Qwen 3.8.
Is Qwen 3.8 released?+
Yes for hosted API use. QwenCloud and Alibaba Cloud Model Studio now list the stable `qwen3.8-max` model with documented modalities, token limits, prices, and API access. The separate open-weight release is not available yet.
Is Qwen 3.8 open weight?+
Yes. Qwen released `Qwen3.8-2.4T-A95B` and an official FP8 checkpoint under the custom Qwen3.8-Max License on August 12, 2026. The open model is text-only and always uses thinking mode; hosted `qwen3.8-max` remains a different product surface with vision and non-thinking support.
Can Qwen 3.8 run locally?+
The official checkpoint can be self-hosted, but “local” is misleading for most personal computers: it contains 2.4T total parameters with 95B activated per token and is designed for distributed serving. Qwen publishes SGLang, vLLM, and TokenSpeed paths; size infrastructure from the exact checkpoint format, context target, concurrency, and framework rather than the active-parameter number alone.
Is the open Qwen 3.8 model multimodal?+
No. The official `Qwen3.8-2.4T-A95B` model card says the open checkpoint is text-only and requires thinking mode. Hosted `qwen3.8-max` adds vision input, non-thinking support, built-in tools, and a default 1M-token context window.
What license does Qwen 3.8 use?+
The open checkpoint uses the custom Qwen3.8-Max License, not Apache 2.0. It grants broad use and modification rights but adds conditions for very large commercial products and certain high-revenue Model-as-a-Service or AI Work Assistant businesses. Review the full license for your exact use case.
How can I try Qwen3.8-Max?+
Use the stable `qwen3.8-max` model ID through QwenCloud or a supported Alibaba Cloud Model Studio regional endpoint. The official QwenCloud page includes an OpenAI-compatible example and documents current context, rate, and pricing limits.
Is Qwen 3.8 better than Fable 5 or GPT-5.6?+
That is not established for every workload. Alibaba publishes favorable launch positioning, but independent Qwen 3.8 evaluations are not yet mature. Compare the stable API on the same real tasks, tools, budgets, latency targets, and review criteria before choosing one.