ZMIME
Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

GPT-4.1 mini vs Qwen3 Max

GPT-4.1 mini comes out ahead, 60 to 50 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Our pick

    OpenAI

    GPT-4.1 mini

    Released Apr 14, 2025

    60/100
    • ECI135.0
    • Price$0.40 / $1.60
    • Context1.05M
    Full specs Remove GPT-4.1 mini

  2. Alibaba (Qwen)

    Qwen3 Max

    Released Sep 23, 2025

    50/100
    • ECI142.4
    • Price$1.20 / $6.00
    • Context262K
    Full specs Remove Qwen3 Max

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

GPT-4.1 mini is our pick

GPT-4.1 mini is the better all-round choice, scoring 60/100 against Qwen3 Max (50). It leads on price, inputs & features and context window. Qwen3 Max wins on capability. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

  • CapabilityQwen3 MaxCapabilities Index (ECI): Qwen3 Max 142.4 · GPT-4.1 mini 135.0
  • Lowest priceGPT-4.1 miniGPT-4.1 mini $0.70 · Qwen3 Max $2.40 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextGPT-4.1 miniGPT-4.1 mini 1,047,576 · Qwen3 Max 262,144 tokens
  • Widest inputsGPT-4.1 miniGPT-4.1 mini: Text, Images, PDFs · Qwen3 Max: Text
  • Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
How the score is built
MeasureWeightGPT-4.1 miniQwen3 Max
CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI)50%5968
Price25%5732
Inputs & features15%7025
Context window10%6137
Overall100%60/10050/100
02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.

GPT-4.1 mini vs Qwen3 Max specifications side by side
SpecificationGPT-4.1 miniOpenAIQwen3 MaxAlibaba (Qwen)
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)135.0142.4 (best)
ECI rank#115 of 148#91 of 148 (best)
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions65.9%72.6% (best)
FrontierMath Tiers 1–3Research-level mathematics6.7%19.0% (best)
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics44.7%73.3% (best)
SimpleQA VerifiedShort factual questions12.7%48.8% (best)
Price per million tokens
Input$0.40 (best)$1.20
Output$1.60 (best)$6.00
Cached input$0.10—
Blended (3:1)$0.70 (best)$2.40
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial OpenAI APIOfficial Alibaba API
Limits
Context window1,047,576 tokens (best)262,144 tokens
Max output32,768 tokens65,536 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesNo
PDFsYesNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningNoNo
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputYesNo
Availability
WeightsProprietaryProprietary
API model IDgpt-4.1-miniqwen3-max
API providers24 (best)16
ReleasedApr 14, 2025Sep 23, 2025
Knowledge cutoffApr 2024Apr 2025
03 — Cost

What would a month cost?

Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.

  • GPT-4.1 mini$7.20
  • Qwen3 Max$24.00
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: GPT-4.1 mini or Qwen3 Max?

GPT-4.1 mini is the better all-round choice, scoring 60/100 against Qwen3 Max (50). It leads on price, inputs & features and context window. Qwen3 Max wins on capability. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

Which is cheaper, GPT-4.1 mini or Qwen3 Max?

GPT-4.1 mini is cheaper at $0.40 input / $1.60 output per million tokens (official OpenAI API price). Qwen3 Max costs $1.20 input / $6.00 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.70 per million tokens for GPT-4.1 mini versus $2.40 for Qwen3 Max (3.4× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

Qwen3 Max scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): Qwen3 Max 142.4 (#91 of 148) and GPT-4.1 mini 135.0 (#115 of 148). Their confidence ranges do not overlap (140.0–144.6 vs 131.2–136.6), so the gap is a real one. On individual benchmarks: GPQA Diamond — Qwen3 Max 72.6%, GPT-4.1 mini 65.9%; FrontierMath Tiers 1–3 — Qwen3 Max 19.0%, GPT-4.1 mini 6.7%; OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025 — Qwen3 Max 73.3%, GPT-4.1 mini 44.7%; SimpleQA Verified — Qwen3 Max 48.8%, GPT-4.1 mini 12.7%.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for GPT-4.1 mini and Qwen3 Max yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. On overall capability, Qwen3 Max leads, which tends to carry over to coding, but test on your own codebase. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.

Which has the bigger context window?

GPT-4.1 mini has the largest context window at 1,047,576 tokens, against 262,144 for Qwen3 Max. Maximum output per response: GPT-4.1 mini up to 32,768, Qwen3 Max up to 65,536 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

GPT-4.1 mini accepts text, images and PDFs; Qwen3 Max accepts text. GPT-4.1 mini handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

No. GPT-4.1 mini and Qwen3 Max are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.

Which is newer?

Qwen3 Max is the newest, released Sep 23, 2025. GPT-4.1 mini came out Apr 14, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: GPT-4.1 mini Apr 2024, Qwen3 Max Apr 2025.

How do you decide the winner?

Each model gets a 0–100 score on capability (50%, independent benchmark results); price (25%, blended price per million tokens (3 input : 1 output), log scale); inputs & features (15%, image, PDF, audio and video input, tool calling, structured output and reasoning); context window (10%, maximum tokens per request, log scale). Dimensions missing for any model are dropped and the remaining weights rescaled, so every model is judged on the same evidence. Specs and prices come from public model listings and the labs’ own API pages; capability scores come from independent benchmark runs. Data updated Oct 4, 2026.

05 — Keep comparing

Related comparisons