Gemma 4 31B (free) vs Qwen3.5 397B A17B
| Signal | Gemma 4 31B (free) | Delta | Qwen3.5 397B A17B |
|---|---|---|---|
Capabilities | 83 | -- | |
Benchmarks | 86 | +6 | |
Pricing | 100 | +2 | |
Context window size | 86 | -- | |
Recency | 100 | +1 | |
Output Capacity | 75 | -5 | |
| Overall Result | 3 wins | of 6 | 1 wins |
Score History
80.5
current score
Gemma 4 31B (free)
right now
79.4
current score
Gemma 4 31B (free)
Qwen3.5 397B A17B
Alibaba
Gemma 4 31B (free) saves you $156.00/month
That's $1872.00/year compared to Qwen3.5 397B A17B at your current usage level of 100K calls/month.
| Metric | Gemma 4 31B (free) | Qwen3.5 397B A17B | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 81 | 79 | Gemma 4 31B (free) |
| Rank | #90 | #91 | Gemma 4 31B (free) |
| Quality Rank | #90 | #91 | Gemma 4 31B (free) |
| Adoption Rank | #90 | #91 | Gemma 4 31B (free) |
| Parameters | 31B | 397B | -- |
| Context Window | 262K | 262K | -- |
| Pricing | Free | $0.39/$2.34/M | -- |
| Signal Scores | |||
| Capabilities | 83 | 83 | Gemma 4 31B (free) |
| Benchmarks | 86 | 80 | Gemma 4 31B (free) |
| Pricing | 100 | 98 | Gemma 4 31B (free) |
| Context window size | 86 | 86 | Gemma 4 31B (free) |
| Recency | 100 | 99 | Gemma 4 31B (free) |
| Output Capacity | 75 | 80 | Qwen3.5 397B A17B |
Our score (0-100) is driven by benchmark performance (90%) from Arena Elo ratings, MMLU, GPQA, HumanEval, SWE-bench, and 15+ standardized evaluations. Capabilities and context window serve as tiebreakers (10%). Learn more about our methodology.
Scores 81/100 (rank #90), placing it in the top 69% of all 290 models tracked.
Scores 79/100 (rank #91), placing it in the top 69% of all 290 models tracked.
With only a 1-point gap, these models are in the same performance tier. The practical difference in output quality is minimal - your choice should depend on pricing, latency requirements, and specific feature needs.
Choose Gemma 4 31B (free) when you need:
- High-volume production workloads where API costs must be minimized
- Step-by-step reasoning and chain-of-thought problem solving
- Self-hosted deployments where you need full control over the model
Choose Qwen3.5 397B A17B when you need:
- Step-by-step reasoning and chain-of-thought problem solving
- Self-hosted deployments where you need full control over the model
Compare the cost per quality point to find the best value for your specific workload.
Both models have comparable response speeds. For most applications, the latency difference is negligible.
When latency matters most: Interactive chatbots, IDE code completion, real-time translation, and user-facing applications where response time directly impacts experience. For batch processing, background summarization, or offline analysis, latency is less critical.
Code generation & review
Based on overall model capabilities and architecture for coding tasks like generating functions, debugging, and refactoring
Customer support chatbot
Suitable for user-facing chat with competitive response times. Gemma 4 31B (free) also offers lower per-token costs for high-volume support
Long document analysis
Larger context window (262K tokens) can process longer documents, contracts, and research papers in a single pass
Batch data extraction
Lower output pricing ($0.00/M) reduces costs when processing thousands of records daily
Creative writing & content
Higher overall composite score (81/100) correlates with better nuance, coherence, and style in long-form content
Image understanding & OCR
Supports vision input - can analyze screenshots, diagrams, photos, and scanned documents directly
Gemma 4 31B (free) and Qwen3.5 397B A17B are extremely close in overall performance (only 1.0999999999999943 points apart). Your best choice depends entirely on which specific strengths matter most for your use case.
By Use Case
Best for Quality
Gemma 4 31B (free)
Marginally better benchmark scores; both are excellent
Best for Cost
Gemma 4 31B (free)
100% lower pricing; better value at scale
Best for Reliability
Gemma 4 31B (free)
Higher uptime and faster response speeds
Best for Prototyping
Gemma 4 31B (free)
Stronger community support and better developer experience
Best for Production
Gemma 4 31B (free)
Wider enterprise adoption and proven at scale
by Google
- Choose for Quality - Marginally better benchmark scores; both are excellent
- Choose for Cost - 100% lower pricing; better value at scale
- Choose for Reliability - Higher uptime and faster response speeds
- Choose for Prototyping - Stronger community support and better developer experience
- Choose for Production - Wider enterprise adoption and proven at scale
| Capability | Gemma 4 31B (free) | Qwen3.5 397B A17B |
|---|---|---|
| Vision (Image Input) | ||
| Function Calling | ||
| Streaming | ||
| JSON Mode | ||
| Reasoning | ||
| Web Search | ||
| Image Output |
Gemma 4 31B (free)
Qwen3.5 397B A17B
Alibaba
Gemma 4 31B (free) saves you $3.51/month
That's 100% cheaper than Qwen3.5 397B A17B at 1,000 tokens/request and 100 requests/day.
Assumes 60% input / 40% output token ratio per request. Actual costs may vary based on your usage pattern.
| Parameter | Gemma 4 31B (free) | Qwen3.5 397B A17B |
|---|---|---|
| Context Window | 262K | 262K |
| Max Output Tokens | 32,768 | 65,536 |
| Open Source | Yes | Yes |
| Created | Apr 2, 2026 | Feb 16, 2026 |