ZMIME
Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Qwen3 30B A3B vs GPT OSS 20B

GPT OSS 20B comes out ahead, 64 to 58 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Alibaba (Qwen)

    Qwen3 30B A3B

    Released Apr 28, 2025

    58/100
    • ECI136.2
    • Price$0.114 / $0.50
    • Context131K
    Full specs Remove Qwen3 30B A3B
  2. Our pick

    OpenAI

    GPT OSS 20B

    Released Aug 5, 2025

    64/100
    • ECI137.8
    • Price$0.07 / $0.295
    • Context131K
    Full specs Remove GPT OSS 20B

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

GPT OSS 20B is our pick

GPT OSS 20B is the better all-round choice, scoring 64/100 against Qwen3 30B A3B (58). It leads on capability, price and inputs & features. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

  • CapabilityGPT OSS 20BCapabilities Index (ECI): GPT OSS 20B 137.8 · Qwen3 30B A3B 136.2
  • Lowest priceGPT OSS 20BGPT OSS 20B $0.126 · Qwen3 30B A3B $0.21 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextAbout the sameQwen3 30B A3B 131,072 · GPT OSS 20B 131,072 tokens
  • Widest inputsSame inputsQwen3 30B A3B: Text · GPT OSS 20B: Text
  • Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
How the score is built
MeasureWeightQwen3 30B A3BGPT OSS 20B
CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI)50%6163
Price25%8292
Inputs & features15%3545
Context window10%2424
Overall100%58/10064/100
02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

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

Qwen3 30B A3B vs GPT OSS 20B specifications side by side
SpecificationQwen3 30B A3BAlibaba (Qwen)GPT OSS 20BOpenAI
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)136.2137.8 (best)
ECI rank#112 of 148#108 of 148 (best)
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions61.7% (best)60.8%
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics62.8%65.3% (best)
Price per million tokens
Input$0.114$0.07 (best)
Output$0.50$0.295 (best)
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$0.21$0.126 (best)
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 8 providersMedian of 18 providers
Limits
Context window131,072 tokens131,072 tokens
Max output16,384 tokens32,768 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoNo
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningYesYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoYes
Availability
WeightsOpenOpen
API model ID——
API providers819 (best)
ReleasedApr 28, 2025Aug 5, 2025
Knowledge cutoff——
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.

  • Qwen3 30B A3B$2.14
  • GPT OSS 20B$1.29
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Qwen3 30B A3B or GPT OSS 20B?

GPT OSS 20B is the better all-round choice, scoring 64/100 against Qwen3 30B A3B (58). It leads on capability, price and inputs & features. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

Which is cheaper, Qwen3 30B A3B or GPT OSS 20B?

GPT OSS 20B is cheaper at $0.07 input / $0.295 output per million tokens (median across 18 API providers). Qwen3 30B A3B costs $0.114 input / $0.50 output per million tokens (median across 8 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.126 per million tokens for GPT OSS 20B versus $0.21 for Qwen3 30B A3B (1.7× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

GPT OSS 20B scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): GPT OSS 20B 137.8 (#108 of 148) and Qwen3 30B A3B 136.2 (#112 of 148). The confidence ranges of the top two overlap (133.0–139.6 vs 130.3–138.7), so treat the gap as small. On individual benchmarks: GPQA Diamond — Qwen3 30B A3B 61.7%, GPT OSS 20B 60.8%; OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025 — GPT OSS 20B 65.3%, Qwen3 30B A3B 62.8%.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Qwen3 30B A3B and GPT OSS 20B yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. On overall capability, GPT OSS 20B 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?

Qwen3 30B A3B and GPT OSS 20B share the same 131,072-token context window. Maximum output per response: Qwen3 30B A3B up to 16,384, GPT OSS 20B up to 32,768 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Qwen3 30B A3B accepts text; GPT OSS 20B accepts text. They handle the same number of input types.

Are any of these open source?

Yes, both publish their weights, so you can self-host them.

Which is newer?

GPT OSS 20B is the newest, released Aug 5, 2025. Qwen3 30B A3B came out Apr 28, 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