Model comparison
Qwen3.5-27B vs ZAYA1-8B
Head-to-head evidence from 3 shared benchmark results across 2 categories. Overall scores shown here use the public BenchAlign v5 ranking lane.
Public leaderboard positions: Qwen3.5-27B #45 (Supported); ZAYA1-8B unranked (Not scored). Intervals and evidence labels describe ranking uncertainty, not a guarantee for a specific workload.
Evidence parity. Qwen3.5-27B and ZAYA1-8B share 3 comparable benchmark results. 2 of 8 categories are comparable. 25 results are unique to Qwen3.5-27B; 8 to ZAYA1-8B.
Updated July 23, 2026- Shared results
- 3
- Qwen3.5-27B only
- 25
- ZAYA1-8B only
- 8
- Comparable categories
- 2 / 8
Treat this as a split decision. Qwen3.5-27B makes more sense if instruction following is the priority or you need the larger 262K context window; ZAYA1-8B is the better fit if its strengths line up with your actual workload.
Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 3 shared benchmark results across 2 evidence categories; 2 of 8 categories currently have scoreable aggregates for both models. Treat the verdict as directional until coverage is more balanced.
Why this result
Qwen3.5-27B and ZAYA1-8B finish on the same BenchAlign overall score, so this is less about a single winner and more about where the edge shows up. The BenchAlign headline says tie; the benchmark table is where the real choice happens.
Qwen3.5-27B gives you the larger context window at 262K, compared with 131K for ZAYA1-8B.
Category breakdown
Exact category averages are shown below. Not measured means BenchLM does not have enough sourced public coverage for that model and category.
| Category | Qwen3.5-27B | Δ | ZAYA1-8B |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inst. Following | Qwen3.5-27B95.0 | Margin← 30.9 | ZAYA1-8B64.1 |
| Knowledge | Qwen3.5-27B82.7 | Margin← 9.1 | ZAYA1-8B73.6 |
| Agentic | Qwen3.5-27B52.0 | MarginNo overlap | ZAYA1-8BNot measured |
| Coding | Qwen3.5-27B64.9 | MarginNo overlap | ZAYA1-8BNot measured |
| Reasoning | Qwen3.5-27B60.6 | MarginNo overlap | ZAYA1-8BNot measured |
| Math | Qwen3.5-27BNot measured | MarginNo overlap | ZAYA1-8B80.4 |
| Multilingual | Qwen3.5-27B82.2 | MarginNo overlap | ZAYA1-8BNot measured |
Decisive benchmark drivers
The largest measured benchmark gaps in this matchup, with exact reported values.
More
- Source ↗
GPQA
KnowledgeA 85.5%B 71%Winner: Qwen3.5-27BΔ 14.5GPQA: Qwen3.5-27B scored 85.5%; ZAYA1-8B scored 71%. Qwen3.5-27B wins this benchmark. - Source ↗
MMLU-Pro
KnowledgeA 86.1%B 74.2%Winner: Qwen3.5-27BΔ 11.9MMLU-Pro: Qwen3.5-27B scored 86.1%; ZAYA1-8B scored 74.2%. Qwen3.5-27B wins this benchmark. - Source ↗
IFEval
Inst. FollowingA 95%B 85.6%Winner: Qwen3.5-27BΔ 9.4IFEval: Qwen3.5-27B scored 95%; ZAYA1-8B scored 85.6%. Qwen3.5-27B wins this benchmark.
Operational comparison
Runtime and commercial metrics are compared only when both models have a complete sourced value.
| Metric | Qwen3.5-27B | ZAYA1-8B | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokens | Qwen3.5-27B$0 input / $0 output | ZAYA1-8B$0 input / $0 output | Listed prices are equal. |
| Generation speedtokens per second | Qwen3.5-27BNot available | ZAYA1-8BNot available | A complete speed comparison is not available. |
| First-answer latencyseconds to first token | Qwen3.5-27BNot available | ZAYA1-8BNot available | A complete latency comparison is not available. |
| Context windowmaximum listed tokens | Qwen3.5-27B262K | ZAYA1-8B131K | Qwen3.5-27B lists the larger context window. |
Benchmark Deep Dive
Agentic6 benchmarks
Coding4 benchmarks
Reasoning3 benchmarks
KnowledgeQwen3.5-27B wins10 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Qwen3.5-27B | ZAYA1-8B | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| MMLU-ProSource | 86.1% | 74.2% | Qwen3.5-27B leads |
| SuperGPQASource | 65.6% | — | Not comparable |
| GPQASource | 85.5% | 71% | Qwen3.5-27B leads |
| Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexSource | 33.8% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-GPQA DiamondSource | 85.8% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-HLESource | 22.2% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-Omniscience IndexSource | -42.0% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-Omniscience AccuracySource | 21.0% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-Omniscience Hallucination RateSource | 79.7% | — | Not comparable |
| GPQA-DSource | — | 71.0% | Not comparable |
Math4 benchmarks
Multilingual1 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Qwen3.5-27B | ZAYA1-8B | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| MMLU-ProXSource | 82.2% | — | Not comparable |
Multimodal5 benchmarks
Frequently Asked Questions (3)
Which is better, Qwen3.5-27B or ZAYA1-8B?
Qwen3.5-27B and ZAYA1-8B are tied on the BenchAlign overall score, so the right pick depends on which category matters most for your use case.
Which is better for knowledge tasks, Qwen3.5-27B or ZAYA1-8B?
Qwen3.5-27B has the edge for knowledge tasks in this comparison, averaging 82.7 versus 73.6. Inside this category, GPQA is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
Which is better for instruction following, Qwen3.5-27B or ZAYA1-8B?
Qwen3.5-27B has the edge for instruction following in this comparison, averaging 95 versus 64.1. Inside this category, IFEval is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
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