Is Qwen free? What you get for free in 2026 (and what costs money)

By the ChatGBot Team · Published October 26, 2026

Short answer: yes, Qwen is free to use. Alibaba's Qwen Chat costs nothing, and many Qwen models can be downloaded for free. You only pay if you use the Qwen API as a developer, or if you want Qwen inside a paid all-in-one app. Here is exactly what is free, what is not, and the easiest way to use Qwen next to GPT and Claude.

What is free with Qwen

• Qwen Chat. The official Qwen chat app on web and mobile is free. You can chat, upload files and images, and use web search without a subscription.
• Open-weight models. Many Qwen models are published on Hugging Face, a large share under the Apache 2.0 license. You can download them, run them on your own hardware and even use them commercially.
• Self-hosting. If you run Qwen yourself there is no API bill. You only pay for the computer or cloud server it runs on.

What costs money

• The Qwen API. Developers pay per token through Alibaba Cloud Model Studio. Free trial quotas have changed during 2026, so check the current terms before you rely on them.
• The newest flagship models. Alibaba's top models are offered through the API only, without open weights.
• Hardware. Large Qwen models need serious GPUs to run locally, which is often more expensive than an app subscription.

Free Qwen vs paid options at a glance

Is free Qwen enough for you?

For casual chats, translations and quick coding help, free Qwen Chat is a great place to start. It falls short when you want to compare answers: every model has blind spots, and Qwen is no exception. Writing that needs a warm tone is often better with Claude, and GPT is a strong all-rounder. Switching between separate free apps means separate accounts, separate limits and copying text back and forth.

The easier way: Qwen next to GPT and Claude

With ChatGBot you can ask Qwen a question, then send the same question to GPT, Claude, DeepSeek or GLM in the same chat and keep the best answer. You also get image generation, chat with PDFs, web search and voice in one place. If you are new to the model, our guide on how to use Qwen shows the prompts that work best.

Comparing costs for other models too? See is ChatGPT free, is Claude free and is DeepSeek free, or our roundup of the best AI tools this year.

Ready to try it? See how to get the Qwen app on any device.

Frequently asked questions

Is Qwen free to use?

Yes. Qwen Chat, Alibaba's official chat app, is free to use, and many Qwen models have open weights you can download at no cost. The paid part is the API for developers.

Is Qwen open source?

Most of the Qwen family is released with open weights, many under the Apache 2.0 license. The newest flagship models are an exception: they are offered through the API only.

Does the Qwen API cost money?

Yes. The Qwen API is billed per token through Alibaba Cloud. Free trial quotas have changed over time, so check Alibaba Cloud's pricing page before you build on it.

Is Qwen better than ChatGPT?

It depends on the task. Qwen is strong at coding, math and multilingual work, while GPT is a great all-rounder. Many people use both and compare answers.

Can I use Qwen with GPT and Claude in one app?

Yes. ChatGBot gives you Qwen, GPT, Claude, DeepSeek and GLM in one chat with one subscription, so you can switch models without juggling accounts.

Ready to try it yourself?

Free Qwen is a great start. When you want more than one model, ChatGBot puts Qwen, GPT, Claude, DeepSeek and GLM in one chat.