Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 16, 2026
In this head-to-head showdown, Qwen3 235B delivers higher overall intelligence and human-preferred responses (Elo 1,440 vs 1,438), while Qwen3 235B leads in SWE-bench software engineering benchmarks (59.4%), while Qwen3 235B is more budget-friendly at $0.88/1M per 1M output tokens, while Claude Haiku 4.5 provides faster response streaming (175 tok/s). 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
Anthropic cheap/fast Claude SKU. Official Claude Platform list price $1/$5 per 1M tokens (Anthropic Haiku page).
Open-weight Qwen3 mixture-of-experts.
Currently comparing Claude Haiku 4.5 vs Qwen3 235B. Alternative family tiers available.
Δ 2 Arena Elo pts
175 tok/s
$0.88 / 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 | Claude Haiku 4.5 | Qwen3 235B | Advantage Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preference Elo | +2 | ||
| Coding Elo | — | — | |
| LiveBench | +1.1% | ||
| SWE-bench | +1.2% | ||
| GPQA Diamond | +2.8% | ||
| Time to first token | +225 ms | ||
| Output speed | 175 tok/s | 74 tok/s | +101 tok/s |
| Input price | $0.22/1M | +$0.78/1M | |
| Output price | $0.88/1M | +$4.12/1M | |
| Context window | +69k |
Simulate monthly production API costs in USD (US Dollar).
Qwen3 235B is estimated to save $89.10/month ($1,069/year).
Higher SWE-bench (59.4%).
Lower output list price ($0.88/1M).
Lower TTFT (95 ms).
Larger window (200k).
Claude Haiku 4.5 is the side marked multimodal in the catalog.
| Target Workload | Recommended Pick | Evaluation Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Repo / coding agents | Qwen3 235B | Higher SWE-bench (59.4%). |
| High-volume chat | Qwen3 235B | Lower output list price ($0.88/1M). |
| Voice / low-latency UI | Claude Haiku 4.5 | Lower TTFT (95 ms). |
| Long-document RAG | Claude Haiku 4.5 | Larger window (200k). |
| Screenshots / vision | Claude Haiku 4.5 | Claude Haiku 4.5 is the side marked multimodal in the catalog. |
$1/$5 hosted Claude vs a cheap long-context open sibling. The alternative-to-Sonnet pair that is honest.
Huge window, cheap hosted lists. The Haiku alternative that is actually open-weight.
Official Anthropic list $1/$5. This is the SKU behind “cheapest Claude alternative” that is still Claude.
Sep 2025 open-weight mixture-of-experts. Self-host path. Don’t confuse it with Qwen 3 Max.
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Verified Head-to-Head Telemetry
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