Qwen 3 Max vs Claude Haiku 4.5 for reasoning: which is better in 2026?

A head-to-head look at Qwen 3 Max and Claude Haiku 4.5 for reasoning. Benchmarks via artificialanalysis.ai, pricing as of May 2026. Compare AI models like these inside Admix.

Quick verdict

For reasoning in May 2026, Qwen 3 Max edges out Claude Haiku 4.5 on the intelligenceIndex metric. Strong open-source alternative.

Side-by-side specs

Spec	Qwen	Haiku
Intelligence index	72.1	65.8
Coding index	71.0	66.2
Context window	1M tokens	500K tokens
Speed (tok/s)	130	205
Input $/M	$0.50	$0.80
Output $/M	$2.00	$4.00
Released	Feb 28, 2026	Mar 19, 2026

How they handle reasoning

Qwen 3 Max: Strong open-source alternative. The main caveat is less polished english writing.

Claude Haiku 4.5: Cheap Claude quality for everyday tasks. The main caveat is not as strong as opus on agentic coding.

Cost per 1,000 queries

Assuming 1,500 input and 800 output tokens per query:

Qwen 3 Max: $2.35 per 1,000 queries
Claude Haiku 4.5: $4.40 per 1,000 queries

Verdict by sub-task

Best raw quality on reasoning:
Best price: Qwen 3 Max
Longest context: Qwen 3 Max
Fastest: Claude Haiku 4.5

FAQ

Is Qwen 3 Max better than Claude Haiku 4.5 for reasoning?

On May 2026 benchmarks (artificialanalysis.ai), Qwen 3 Max ranks higher than Claude Haiku 4.5 for reasoning on the intelligenceIndex metric. The gap is small enough that the choice often comes down to price, context length, and tone.

Which is cheaper, Qwen 3 Max or Claude Haiku 4.5?

Qwen 3 Max costs $0.50 input and $2.00 output per million tokens. Claude Haiku 4.5 costs $0.80 input and $4.00 output per million tokens.

Can I use both Qwen and Haiku in one app?

Yes. Admix is a multi model AI chat aggregator that lets you run Qwen 3 Max and Claude Haiku 4.5 side by side under one subscription.

Sources

Benchmarks from artificialanalysis.ai (May 2026).

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