Qwen-MT Plus vs GPT-5 Chat vs Step 1 (32K)
GPT-5 Chat comes out ahead, 34 to 18 and 12 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
Alibaba (Qwen)Qwen-MT Plus
12/100- ECI—
- Price$2.46 / $7.37
- Context16K
- Our pick
OpenAIGPT-5 Chat
34/100- ECI—
- Price$1.25 / $10.00
- Context400K
StepFunStep 1 (32K)
18/100- ECI—
- Price$2.05 / $9.59
- Context33K
GPT-5 Chat is our pick
GPT-5 Chat is the better all-round choice, scoring 34/100 against Step 1 (32K) (18) and Qwen-MT Plus (12). It leads on inputs & features 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 priceGPT-5 ChatGPT-5 Chat $3.44 · Qwen-MT Plus $3.69 · Step 1 (32K) $3.94 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextGPT-5 ChatGPT-5 Chat 400,000 · Step 1 (32K) 32,768 · Qwen-MT Plus 16,384 tokens
- Widest inputsGPT-5 ChatQwen-MT Plus: Text · GPT-5 Chat: Text, Images · Step 1 (32K): Text
- Self-hostingNo open weightsAll three are available only through APIs
| Measure | Weight | Qwen-MT Plus | GPT-5 Chat | Step 1 (32K) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 23 | 24 | 22 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 0 | 45 | 25 |
| Context window | 20% | 0 | 44 | 0 |
| Overall | 100% | 12/100 | 34/100 | 18/100 |
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 | Qwen-MT PlusAlibaba (Qwen) | GPT-5 ChatOpenAI | Step 1 (32K)StepFun |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $2.46 | $1.25 (best) | $2.05 |
| Output | $7.37 (best) | $10.00 | $9.59 |
| Cached input | — | — | $0.41 |
| Blended (3:1) | $3.69 | $3.44 (best) | $3.94 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official Alibaba API | Median of 2 providers | Official StepFun (Global) API |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 16,384 tokens | 400,000 tokens (best) | 32,768 tokens |
| Max output | 8,192 tokens | 128,000 tokens (best) | 32,768 tokens |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | Yes | No |
| PDFs | No | No | No |
| Audio | No | No | No |
| Video | No | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | Yes | No |
| Tool calling | No | No | Yes |
| Structured output | No | Yes | No |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| API model ID | qwen-mt-plus | — | step-1-32k |
| API providers | 1 | 2 (best) | 1 |
| Released | Jan 2025 | Aug 7, 2025 | Jan 1, 2025 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Apr 2024 | Sep 30, 2024 | Jun 2024 |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Qwen-MT Plus$39.34
- GPT-5 Chat$32.50
- Step 1 (32K)$39.68
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Qwen-MT Plus, GPT-5 Chat or Step 1 (32K)?
GPT-5 Chat is the better all-round choice, scoring 34/100 against Step 1 (32K) (18) and Qwen-MT Plus (12). It leads on inputs & features 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, Qwen-MT Plus, GPT-5 Chat or Step 1 (32K)?
GPT-5 Chat is cheaper at $1.25 input / $10.00 output per million tokens (median across 2 API providers). Qwen-MT Plus costs $2.46 input / $7.37 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price); Step 1 (32K) costs $2.05 input / $9.59 output per million tokens (official StepFun (Global) API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $3.44 per million tokens for GPT-5 Chat versus $3.69 for Qwen-MT Plus (1.1× as much) and $3.94 for Step 1 (32K) (1.1× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers all three models yet. Qwen-MT Plus has not been scored yet, GPT-5 Chat has not been scored yet and Step 1 (32K) has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Qwen-MT Plus, GPT-5 Chat and Step 1 (32K) yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Note that Qwen-MT Plus and GPT-5 Chat does not support tool calling, which most coding agents need.
Which has the bigger context window?
GPT-5 Chat has the largest context window at 400,000 tokens, against 32,768 for Step 1 (32K) and 16,384 for Qwen-MT Plus. Maximum output per response: Qwen-MT Plus up to 8,192, GPT-5 Chat up to 128,000, Step 1 (32K) up to 32,768 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Qwen-MT Plus accepts text; GPT-5 Chat accepts text and images; Step 1 (32K) accepts text. GPT-5 Chat handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
No. Qwen-MT Plus, GPT-5 Chat and Step 1 (32K) are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.
Which is newer?
GPT-5 Chat is the newest, released Aug 7, 2025. Qwen-MT Plus came out Jan 2025; Step 1 (32K) came out Jan 1, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Qwen-MT Plus Apr 2024, GPT-5 Chat Sep 30, 2024, Step 1 (32K) Jun 2024.
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.
