Models / Alibaba Cloud
Qwen logo for the Qwen Plus API model page
Qwen API

Qwen API Access

Use Alibaba Qwen models for multilingual chat, structured output, tool calling and broad application workloads.

Alibaba Qwen model family
Multilingual applications
Tool and JSON workflows
OpenAI-compatible examples

5 min

to first call

USD

token pricing

128K

context window

SSE

streaming

Qwen application route

OpenAI-compatible model gateway

General-purpose

Client

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Your App

SDK, backend, agent or workflow.

SmarToken

Unified API Gateway

qwen-plus

AuthBudgetRoute
SSE stream

Provider

Qwen Plus

Alibaba Cloud route via admin pool.

01

Your app

Send a standard Chat Completions request with your SmarToken key.

02

SmarToken gateway

Validate the key, model scope, daily budget and monthly budget.

03

Model route pool

Choose an enabled upstream route by priority, weight and fallback.

04

Alibaba Cloud

Call qwen-plus, stream the response and record usage.

Response Preview

200 OK
{
  "model": "qwen-plus",
  "choices": [{
    "message": {
      "role": "assistant",
      "content": "Qwen is a flexible default for multilingual apps, structured extraction and product copilots."
    }
  }],
  "usage": { "tracked": true, "currency": "USD" }
}

Fast Deployment

Generate a key and run the Playground in minutes.

Global Access

Use one endpoint for configured China-first routes.

Unified Billing

Track USD token usage and wallet debits together.

Easy Migration

Keep OpenAI SDK shape, change baseURL and model.

Developer Friendly

Copy-ready cURL, Python and TypeScript examples.

Model fit

Why use Qwen?

A focused page for evaluating this model as an API route, not just reading a catalog row.

Broad model family

Alibaba's Qwen ecosystem covers general language, multimodal and developer-focused model variants.

Structured output

A practical choice for extraction, JSON-like responses and tool-use prototypes.

Multilingual coverage

Useful when one product needs English, Chinese and cross-border support flows.

Route fit

Qwen route-fit checks

Treat qwen-plus as a route to test against a workload, not just a catalog name.

When Qwen is a strong fit

Qwen Plus is strongest for Multilingual apps, structured output. Validate it with real prompts before making it a default route.

When to compare alternatives

If your workload depends more on long context, structured output or lowest cost, compare Qwen Plus with neighboring model families.

Pre-production check

Specific Qwen variants can have different modalities and prices.

Why SmarToken

Why not direct vendor accounts?

Direct accounts can work once region, billing, model IDs and credentials are settled. SmarToken is built for faster overseas evaluation and safer early production.

Unified key

One console key reaches mainstream Chinese model routes including DeepSeek, Kimi, Qwen, Hunyuan, MiniMax and Spark.

English docs

Model IDs, SDK samples and error semantics are written for overseas teams.

Budget control

Daily, monthly and model-family limits keep experiments predictable.

Route visibility

Usage logs connect model, API key, token estimate, latency and wallet debit.

Code sample

Copy-ready API examples

Open in Playground

curl

curl -s "https://thesmartoken.com/v1/chat/completions" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_SMARTOKEN_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "model": "qwen-plus",
    "stream": true,
    "messages": [
      { "role": "user", "content": "Explain the best use case for this model." }
    ]
  }'

python

from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    api_key="YOUR_SMARTOKEN_KEY",
    base_url="https://thesmartoken.com/v1",
)

stream = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="qwen-plus",
    stream=True,
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Explain the best use case for this model."}],
)

for chunk in stream:
    print(chunk.choices[0].delta.content or "", end="")

typescript

import OpenAI from "openai";

const client = new OpenAI({
  apiKey: process.env.SMTOKEN_API_KEY,
  baseURL: "https://thesmartoken.com/v1",
});

const stream = await client.chat.completions.create({
  model: "qwen-plus",
  stream: true,
  messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Explain the best use case for this model." }],
});

for await (const chunk of stream) {
  process.stdout.write(chunk.choices[0]?.delta?.content ?? "");
}

Comparison

How Qwen compares

Position Chinese model families by context, pricing and workload fit before you lock in a default route.

ModelContextInput / 1MOutput / 1MReasoningCodingBest for
DeepSeek128K$0.50$1.505/55/5Reasoning, coding, research
Kimi256K$0.60$2.504/54/5Long context, agents, research
Qwen128K$1.20$4.804/54/5Multilingual apps, structured output
GLM128K$0.80$3.204/54/5Enterprise tools, business workflows
Doubao128K$0.70$2.803/53/5Consumer chat, content workflows
ERNIE128K$0.90$3.604/53/5Chinese knowledge, enterprise search
Hunyuan128K$0.80$3.204/54/5Enterprise assistants, Tencent Cloud routes
MiniMax128K$0.30$1.204/55/5Coding agents, developer automation
StepFun128K$0.50$2.004/54/5Coding tools, planning agents
Baichuan32K$1.50$1.504/53/5Domain QA, bilingual writing
Spark64K$0.70$2.804/54/5Chinese reasoning, education
SenseNova128K$0.80$3.204/53/5Multimodal enterprise workflows
Pangu32K$1.00$4.004/53/5Industry NLP, private routes
360 Zhinao32K$0.40$1.004/53/5Security assistants, Chinese QA
Yi32K$0.90$0.904/54/5Bilingual writing, structured output
InternLM200K$0.20$0.804/54/5Self-hosted evals, research
LongCat128K$0.40$1.604/54/5Open model evals, multimodal prototypes

DeepSeek vs Qwen vs Kimi for coding: which should I start with?

Start with DeepSeek for cost-effective coding, Kimi for long-context repository reading, and Qwen when multilingual and structured app behavior matter.

How do I call Qwen from an OpenAI-compatible client?

Set baseURL to https://thesmartoken.com/v1 and send model: qwen-plus with your SmarToken API key.

Use cases

Popular use cases

Start with a clear workload, then compare routes in Playground before moving traffic into production.

Product copilot

Power multilingual assistants for SaaS and internal tools.

Data extraction

Convert messy text into structured records and summaries.

Tool-use agent

Route planning, classification and response drafting through one model ID.

International support

Handle English and Chinese content in the same customer workflow.

Migration

From your current AI gateway

The integration path stays familiar: same Chat Completions shape, one new baseURL and a China-first model ID.

Switch path

From OpenAI

Keep the SDK. Change baseURL to SmarToken and switch the model ID.

Switch path

From OpenRouter

Move from broad routing into a focused Chinese-model console with budgets.

Switch path

From Together.ai

Keep Chat Completions while adding China-first model pages and route control.

FAQ

Questions developers ask

How do I call Qwen with the OpenAI SDK?

Use the standard OpenAI SDK, set baseURL to https://thesmartoken.com/v1, authenticate with your SmarToken key, and pass model: qwen-plus.

What is Qwen best for?

Qwen is a good candidate for multilingual applications, structured output and tool-use agents. Test it in the Playground before routing production traffic.

How does Qwen compare with DeepSeek, Kimi and GLM?

Use the comparison table as a starting point, then run your own prompts because coding, reasoning, latency and cost can vary by upstream route.

Is this API compatible with the OpenAI SDK?

Yes. Use your SmarToken key, set baseURL to https://thesmartoken.com/v1, and pass the model ID shown on this page.

How is billing calculated?

Input and output tokens are priced separately in USD per 1M tokens. Final usage is recorded after the provider returns a response or a stream finishes.

Where do I get an API key?

Create an account, open the console, generate an API key, then copy the cURL, Python or TypeScript example from the Playground.

Can I restrict one key to this model family?

Yes. Console API keys can be limited by allowed model family plus daily and monthly USD budgets.

Start now

Start building with Chinese AI models in minutes

One smart key for DeepSeek, Kimi, Qwen, GLM, Doubao, ERNIE and other configured routes.

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