o4-mini-deep-research vs Qwen3 Max Preview
o4-mini-deep-research comes out ahead, 37 to 33 on our weighted score, though Qwen3 Max Preview is 44% cheaper per token.
- Our pick
OpenAIo4-mini-deep-research
37/100- ECI—
- Price$1.80 / $7.20
- Context200K
Alibaba (Qwen)Qwen3 Max Preview
33/100- ECI—
- Price$0.975 / $4.14
- Context262K
Add a model
Make it a three-way comparison.
o4-mini-deep-research is our pick
o4-mini-deep-research is the better all-round choice, scoring 37/100 against Qwen3 Max Preview (33). It leads on inputs & features. Qwen3 Max Preview wins on price and context window. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. 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 Max PreviewQwen3 Max Preview $1.77 · o4-mini-deep-research $3.15 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextQwen3 Max PreviewQwen3 Max Preview 262,144 · o4-mini-deep-research 200,000 tokens
- Widest inputso4-mini-deep-researcho4-mini-deep-research: Text, Images · Qwen3 Max Preview: Text
- Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
| Measure | Weight | o4-mini-deep-research | Qwen3 Max Preview |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 25 | 37 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 60 | 25 |
| Context window | 20% | 32 | 37 |
| Overall | 100% | 37/100 | 33/100 |
Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | o4-mini-deep-researchOpenAI | Qwen3 Max PreviewAlibaba (Qwen) |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $1.80 | $0.975 (best) |
| Output | $7.20 | $4.14 (best) |
| Cached input | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $3.15 | $1.77 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 1 providers | Median of 2 providers |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 200,000 tokens | 262,144 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 100,000 tokens (best) | 32,768 tokens |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | No |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | No |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| API model ID | — | — |
| API providers | 1 | 2 (best) |
| Released | Jun 26, 2025 | Sep 5, 2025 |
| Knowledge cutoff | May 2024 | Apr 2025 |
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$32.40
- Qwen3 Max Preview$18.03
Which should you choose?
Which is better: o4-mini-deep-research or Qwen3 Max Preview?
o4-mini-deep-research is the better all-round choice, scoring 37/100 against Qwen3 Max Preview (33). It leads on inputs & features. Qwen3 Max Preview wins on price and context window. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. 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 Max Preview?
Qwen3 Max Preview is cheaper at $0.975 input / $4.14 output per million tokens (median across 2 API providers). o4-mini-deep-research costs $1.80 input / $7.20 output per million tokens (median across 1 API provider). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $1.77 per million tokens for Qwen3 Max Preview versus $3.15 for o4-mini-deep-research (1.8× as much).
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 Max Preview has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for o4-mini-deep-research and Qwen3 Max Preview 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?
Qwen3 Max Preview has the largest context window at 262,144 tokens, against 200,000 for o4-mini-deep-research. Maximum output per response: o4-mini-deep-research up to 100,000, Qwen3 Max Preview up to 32,768 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
o4-mini-deep-research accepts text and images; Qwen3 Max Preview accepts text. o4-mini-deep-research handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
No. o4-mini-deep-research and Qwen3 Max Preview are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.
Which is newer?
Qwen3 Max Preview is the newest, released Sep 5, 2025. o4-mini-deep-research came out Jun 26, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: o4-mini-deep-research May 2024, Qwen3 Max Preview 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 Nov 2, 2026.
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