LongCat-2.5 vs Qwen 3.6 Plus
Meituan · China | Alibaba · China · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
Pick LongCat-2.5 for native multimodal upgrade to longcat-2.0 - 1.6t total parameters, about 48b active per token or limited-time api price of $0.30/$1.20 per million tokens (cached input $0.006). Pick Qwen 3.6 Plus for strong gpqa diamond science reasoning or open-weight and budget-friendly. On a tight budget at scale, LongCat-2.5 is the value pick.
LongCat-2.5 (Meituan) and Qwen 3.6 Plus (Alibaba) are two of the models people most often weigh against each other in 2026. LongCat-2.5 is meituan's November 2, 2026 natively multimodal successor to LongCat-2.0 - 1.6T parameters and 1M context at $0.30/$1.20, with open weights planned but undated. Qwen 3.6 Plus is alibaba's open-weight contender — surprising benchmark wins at a budget price. Their biggest split is price, and the breakdown below shows exactly how that plays out for your workload.
Key differences at a glance
- ▸Price: nearly identical — $0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens vs $0.325/$1.95 per 1M tokens. Cost will not be the deciding factor here.
- ▸Context window: both advertise 1M tokens (~1,500 pages). Tie on paper — test on your own long inputs, since usable recall varies by model.
- ▸Recency: LongCat-2.5 is the newer model by about 7 months (released November 2, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | LongCat-2.5 | Qwen 3.6 Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Meituan (China) | Alibaba (China) |
| Released | November 2, 2026 | April 2, 2026 |
| Context window | 1M tokens (~1,500 pages) | 1M (~1,500 pages) |
| Price (in/out) | $0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens | $0.325/$1.95 per 1M tokens |
| Open weight? | No — API only | No — API only |
| Modalities | text, image, code | text, image, code |
| SWE-Bench Verified | Not published | 78.8% |
| MRCR v2 @ 1M | Not published | Not published |
Who wins what
Native multimodal upgrade to LongCat-2.0 - 1.6T total parameters, about 48B active per token
LongCat-2.5
Meituan's November 2, 2026 natively multimodal successor to LongCat-2.0 - 1.6T parameters and 1M context at $0.30/$1.20, with open weights planned but undated — and it runs cheaper at $0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens.
Limited-time API price of $0.30/$1.20 per million tokens (cached input $0.006)
LongCat-2.5
At $0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens it undercuts Qwen 3.6 Plus ($0.325/$1.95 per 1M tokens), and that gap compounds at volume.
Meituan-reported Terminal-Bench v2.1 of 88.4, up from 70.8 for LongCat-2.0
LongCat-2.5
Qwen 3.6 Plus is comparatively weak here — benchmark coverage still maturing
Strong GPQA Diamond science reasoning
Qwen 3.6 Plus
Qwen 3.6 Plus lists strong GPQA Diamond science reasoning among its strengths; LongCat-2.5 does not.
Open-weight and budget-friendly
Qwen 3.6 Plus
Qwen 3.6 Plus lists open-weight and budget-friendly among its strengths; LongCat-2.5 does not.
1M context
Qwen 3.6 Plus
Qwen 3.6 Plus lists 1M context among its strengths; LongCat-2.5 does not.
Lowest cost at scale
LongCat-2.5
At $0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens, it is the cheaper of the two — the gap dominates the bill on high-volume workloads.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume
→ LongCat-2.5
At $0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens it undercuts Qwen 3.6 Plus, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Anyone whose priority is native multimodal upgrade to longcat-2.0 - 1.6t total parameters, about 48b active per token
→ LongCat-2.5
It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is strong gpqa diamond science reasoning
→ Qwen 3.6 Plus
That is its strongest area.
LongCat-2.5: where it fits
Meituan's November 2, 2026 natively multimodal successor to LongCat-2.0 - 1.6T parameters and 1M context at $0.30/$1.20, with open weights planned but undated. Released November 2, 2026 by Meituan, it is built for native multimodal upgrade to LongCat-2.0 - 1.6T total parameters, about 48B active per token, limited-time API price of $0.30/$1.20 per million tokens (cached input $0.006), meituan-reported Terminal-Bench v2.1 of 88.4, up from 70.8 for LongCat-2.0, and openAI- and Anthropic-compatible API endpoints with a 1M-token context window.
Its trade-offs are real: aPI-only for now - GitHub and Hugging Face releases are planned but undated, and the license is unconfirmed (LongCat-2.0 is MIT), the $0.30/$1.20 rate is labeled limited-time, and Meituan says prices are subject to change, and benchmarks are Meituan's own, and sources found no independent score at launch. At $0.3 in / $1.2 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget price band.
Qwen 3.6 Plus: where it fits
Alibaba's open-weight contender — surprising benchmark wins at a budget price. Released April 2, 2026 by Alibaba, it is built for strong GPQA Diamond science reasoning, open-weight and budget-friendly, 1M context, and multilingual coverage.
Its trade-offs: less Western ecosystem tooling, and benchmark coverage still maturing. At $0.325 in / $1.95 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget price band.
The bottom line for this matchup
LongCat-2.5 and Qwen 3.6 Plus overlap enough that the right pick depends on your specific job. LongCat-2.5 costs less per token; and each leads in its own area — LongCat-2.5 for native multimodal upgrade to longcat-2.0 - 1.6t total parameters, about 48b active per token, Qwen 3.6 Plus for strong gpqa diamond science reasoning. Rather than crowning one, run the same hard task through both once and let the results decide.
Want both LongCat-2.5 and Qwen 3.6 Plus without two subscriptions? LumiChats gives you these plus 40+ models under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day) — draft with one, cross-check with the other.
See pricingFrequently asked questions
Is LongCat-2.5 or Qwen 3.6 Plus better for coding?
Public SWE-Bench figures are not available for LongCat-2.5, so the honest test is your own repository — run an identical real bug through both. By design, LongCat-2.5 leans toward native multimodal upgrade to longcat-2.0 - 1.6t total parameters, about 48b active per token while Qwen 3.6 Plus leans toward strong gpqa diamond science reasoning, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, LongCat-2.5 or Qwen 3.6 Plus?
LongCat-2.5 is cheaper — $0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens vs $0.325/$1.95 per 1M tokens, roughly 1.1× apart on input.
Which has the bigger context window?
Both advertise 1M tokens (~1,500 pages). Remember advertised ≠ usable: recall typically degrades before the ceiling.
Can I use both LongCat-2.5 and Qwen 3.6 Plus together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you LongCat-2.5, Qwen 3.6 Plus and 40+ others under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day), so you can draft with one and cross-check with the other instead of buying two subscriptions.
Which is newer, LongCat-2.5 or Qwen 3.6 Plus?
LongCat-2.5 — released November 2, 2026, about 7 months after Qwen 3.6 Plus.
Related comparisons
Specifications and benchmarks reflect publicly reported figures as of June 2026 and may change as providers release updates. Always verify on your own workload.