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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

o4-mini-deep-research vs Qwen3 235B-A22B

o4-mini-deep-research comes out ahead, 49 to 31 on our weighted score.

  1. Our pick

    OpenAI

    o4-mini-deep-research

    Released Jun 26, 2024

    49/100
    • ECI—
    • Price—
    • Context200K
    Full specs Remove o4-mini-deep-research

  2. Alibaba (Qwen)

    Qwen3 235B-A22B

    Released Apr 28, 2025

    31/100
    • ECI139.4
    • Price$0.70 / $2.80
    • Context131K
    Full specs Remove Qwen3 235B-A22B

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

o4-mini-deep-research is our pick

o4-mini-deep-research is the better all-round choice, scoring 49/100 against Qwen3 235B-A22B (31). It leads on inputs & features and context window. The score weighs inputs & features 60%, context window 40%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.

  • CapabilityNot enough dataNo independent benchmark covers every model here yet
  • Lowest priceQwen3 235B-A22BQwen3 235B-A22B $1.23 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend) · o4-mini-deep-research unpriced
  • Longest contexto4-mini-deep-researcho4-mini-deep-research 200,000 · Qwen3 235B-A22B 131,072 tokens
  • Widest inputso4-mini-deep-researcho4-mini-deep-research: Text, Images · Qwen3 235B-A22B: Text
  • Self-hostingQwen3 235B-A22BPublishes downloadable weights
How the score is built
MeasureWeighto4-mini-deep-researchQwen3 235B-A22B
Inputs & features60%6035
Context window40%3224
Overall100%49/10031/100

Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability and price. The remaining weights were rescaled.

02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

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

o4-mini-deep-research vs Qwen3 235B-A22B specifications side by side
Specificationo4-mini-deep-researchOpenAIQwen3 235B-A22BAlibaba (Qwen)
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)—139.4
ECI rank—#103 of 148
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions—70.7%
Price per million tokens
Input—$0.70
Output—$2.80
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)—$1.23
Long-context rate—Same rate
Price source—Official Alibaba API
Limits
Context window200,000 tokens (best)131,072 tokens
Max output100,000 tokens (best)16,384 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesNo
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningYesYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsProprietaryOpen
API model ID—qwen3-235b-a22b
API providers—7
ReleasedJun 26, 2024Apr 28, 2025
Knowledge cutoffMay 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.

  • o4-mini-deep-research—
  • Qwen3 235B-A22B$12.60
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: o4-mini-deep-research or Qwen3 235B-A22B?

o4-mini-deep-research is the better all-round choice, scoring 49/100 against Qwen3 235B-A22B (31). It leads on inputs & features and context window. The score weighs inputs & features 60%, context window 40%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.

Which is cheaper, o4-mini-deep-research or Qwen3 235B-A22B?

Qwen3 235B-A22B is cheaper at $0.70 input / $2.80 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). . At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $1.23 per million tokens for Qwen3 235B-A22B versus . o4-mini-deep-research has no published per-token price.

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. o4-mini-deep-research has not been scored yet and Qwen3 235B-A22B has an ECI of 139.4.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for o4-mini-deep-research and Qwen3 235B-A22B yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.

Which has the bigger context window?

o4-mini-deep-research has the largest context window at 200,000 tokens, against 131,072 for Qwen3 235B-A22B. Maximum output per response: o4-mini-deep-research up to 100,000, Qwen3 235B-A22B up to 16,384 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

o4-mini-deep-research accepts text and images; Qwen3 235B-A22B accepts text. o4-mini-deep-research handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

Qwen3 235B-A22B publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; o4-mini-deep-research is proprietary.

Which is newer?

Qwen3 235B-A22B is the newest, released Apr 28, 2025. o4-mini-deep-research came out Jun 26, 2024. Knowledge cutoff: o4-mini-deep-research May 2024, Qwen3 235B-A22B 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

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