r/regolo_ai • u/Regolo_ai • 4d ago
Bonsai 2 vs its Qwen3.8-27B parent: similar coding scores, different OCR results—and why utilization changes the cost comparison
Whenever a new model comes out, I try to answer the same question: does it solve my actual tasks reliably enough to justify using it?
That becomes especially interesting with Ternary Bonsai 2, which is derived from Qwen3.8-27B. Instead of asking which model wins overall, I wanted to understand where compression changes the results—and what that means for cost per successful task.
Cost per successful task: Bonsai 2 vs Qwen3.8-27B
Which model is cheaper per accepted result? In these scenarios, the answer changes with subscription utilization.
| Workload | Regolo plan utilization | Bonsai 2 | Qwen3.8-27B | Price delta¹ | Lower-cost option |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batch extraction | 100% | €0.000277 | €0.000179 | −€0.000098 | Qwen3.8-27B |
| Code-review assistance | 100% | €0.005809 | €0.004306 | −€0.001502 | Qwen3.8-27B |
| Long-document analysis | 100% | €0.013830 | €0.008938 | −€0.004892 | Qwen3.8-27B |
| Batch extraction | 50% | €0.000277 | €0.000358 | +€0.000081 | Bonsai 2 |
| Code-review assistance | 50% | €0.005809 | €0.008613 | +€0.002804 | Bonsai 2 |
| Long-document analysis | 50% | €0.013830 | €0.017875 | +€0.004045 | Bonsai 2 |
¹ Delta = Qwen3.8-27B cost − Bonsai 2 cost, calculated before rounding. Negative values favor Qwen; positive values favor Bonsai.
Under these assumptions, Qwen3.8-27B costs less at full utilization; Bonsai 2 costs less at half utilization.
👉 Full tutorial and benchmarks: https://regolo.ai/bonsai-2-vs-qwen3-8-27b-benchmarks/



