GPT-4.1 minivsQwen3.6
GPT-4.1 mini | Qwen3.6 | |
|---|---|---|
| Specifications | ||
ParametersA rough measure of how big the model is. More parameters usually means more capable and more expensive to run, though it is a poor guide on its own — a smaller, newer model often beats a larger, older one. | — | 35B |
Context windowHow much text the model can hold in mind at once — your question, any documents you attach, the conversation so far, and its own reply. Go past it and the earliest part falls out of view. | — | 256k |
| API pricingUSD per 1M tokens · lower wins | ||
Input priceWhat you pay for everything you send the model — your question, plus any documents or earlier conversation you include with it. | $0.40 | $0.375 |
Output priceWhat you pay for the text the model writes back. It is normally the dearer half: producing an answer costs more than reading one. | $1.60 | $2.25 |
Cached input priceA reduced rate for text you send over and over. If every request starts with the same instructions or the same document, the provider keeps a copy ready and charges less to read it again. | $0.10 | — |
Cheapest inputLowest input rate across third-party providers, excluding the lab itself. The cheapest endpoint may run a quantised build or a shorter context — see "Available from" on the model page. | $0.40Azure | $0.05Darkbloom |
Cheapest outputLowest output rate across third-party providers, excluding the lab itself. May come from a different provider than the cheapest input. | $1.60Azure | $0.70Darkbloom |
| Benchmarks | ||
SWE-Bench VerifiedCoding — Real coding tasks pulled from open-source projects — the AI has to find and fix actual bugs. A human-checked version of the original SWE-Bench. Higher is better. | 23.6% | 73.4% |
| BenchmarksPublished by one model only | ||
SWE-Bench ProAgentic coding — Can the AI fix real bugs in real software? It's handed actual problems from open-source projects and has to write code that genuinely solves them. Higher is better. | — | 49.5% |
SWE-Bench MultilingualMultilingual coding — Like SWE-Bench, but the coding problems span many programming languages, not just one. Tests how broadly the AI can code. Higher is better. | — | 67.2% |
Terminal-Bench 2.0Agentic terminal coding — Can the AI work in a command-line terminal — running commands and finishing technical setup tasks the way a developer would? (Version 2.0 of the test.) Higher is better. | — | 51.5% |
Humanity's Last Exam · no toolsMultidisciplinary reasoning — Humanity's Last Exam — extremely hard expert questions across many subjects, written so you can't just look up the answer. “No tools” means the AI answers on its own. Higher is better. | — | 21.4% |
GPQA DiamondScience — Graduate-level science questions in biology, physics, and chemistry — hard enough that subject-matter PhDs score around 65%. Higher is better. | — | 86% |
CharXiv ReasoningChart reasoning — Can the AI read and reason about complex charts and figures, not just text? Higher is better. | — | 78% |
MMMU-ProMultimodal reasoning — A tougher version of MMMU — college-level questions that mix images, diagrams, and text together. Higher is better. | — | 75.3% |
MMMUMultimodal — Tests the AI on understanding images and text together across many college subjects. Higher is better. | — | 81.7% |
| Overview | ||
| Company | OpenAI | Qwen |
| Release date | Apr 14 2025 | Apr 16 2026 |
| Access | Proprietary | Open Weight |
Other comparisons
Frequently asked questions
Qwen3.6 leads GPT-4.1 mini on 1 of the 1 benchmark they both report (SWE-Bench Verified). Qwen3.6 is cheaper on input: $0.375 vs $0.40 per million tokens. GPT-4.1 mini is cheaper on output: $1.60 vs $2.25 per million tokens. GPT-4.1 mini shipped 367 days before Qwen3.6, so benchmark comparisons should account for the intervening progress.
GPT-4.1 mini is proprietary, while Qwen3.6 is open weight.
On SWE-Bench Verified, Qwen3.6 leads at 73.4% vs GPT-4.1 mini at 23.6%.
GPT-4.1 mini was released by OpenAI on Apr 14 2025.
Qwen3.6 was released by Qwen on Apr 16 2026.
Qwen3.6 leads on SWE-Bench Verified — GPT-4.1 mini 23.6% vs Qwen3.6 73.4%.
Qwen3.6 is cheaper on input: $0.375 vs $0.40 per million tokens. GPT-4.1 mini is cheaper on output: $1.60 vs $2.25 per million tokens. Rates are pay-as-you-go API prices verified on August 18, 2026.
GPT-4.1 mini is a proprietary model released by OpenAI. Qwen3.6 is an open weight model released by Qwen.