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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Qwen3 32B vs GPT-4.1 mini

GPT-4.1 mini comes out ahead, 60 to 51 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Alibaba (Qwen)

    Qwen3 32B

    Released Apr 29, 2025

    51/100
    • ECI138.5
    • Price$0.70 / $2.80
    • Context131K
    Full specs Remove Qwen3 32B
  2. 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

  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 32B (51). It leads on price, inputs & features and context window. Qwen3 32B wins on capability. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

  • CapabilityQwen3 32BCapabilities Index (ECI): Qwen3 32B 138.5 · GPT-4.1 mini 135.0
  • Lowest priceGPT-4.1 miniGPT-4.1 mini $0.70 · Qwen3 32B $1.23 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextGPT-4.1 miniGPT-4.1 mini 1,047,576 · Qwen3 32B 131,072 tokens
  • Widest inputsGPT-4.1 miniQwen3 32B: Text · GPT-4.1 mini: Text, Images, PDFs
  • Self-hostingQwen3 32BPublishes downloadable weights
How the score is built
MeasureWeightQwen3 32BGPT-4.1 mini
CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI)50%6459
Price25%4657
Inputs & features15%3570
Context window10%2461
Overall100%51/10060/100
02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

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

Qwen3 32B vs GPT-4.1 mini specifications side by side
SpecificationQwen3 32BAlibaba (Qwen)GPT-4.1 miniOpenAI
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)138.5 (best)135.0
ECI rank#106 of 148 (best)#115 of 148
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions65.7%65.9% (best)
FrontierMath Tiers 1–3Research-level mathematics—6.7%
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics66.9% (best)44.7%
SimpleQA VerifiedShort factual questions—12.7%
Price per million tokens
Input$0.70$0.40 (best)
Output$2.80$1.60 (best)
Cached input—$0.10
Blended (3:1)$1.23$0.70 (best)
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial Alibaba APIOfficial OpenAI API
Limits
Context window131,072 tokens1,047,576 tokens (best)
Max output16,384 tokens32,768 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoYes
PDFsNoYes
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningYesNo
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoYes
Availability
WeightsOpenProprietary
API model IDqwen3-32bgpt-4.1-mini
API providers1424 (best)
ReleasedApr 29, 2025Apr 14, 2025
Knowledge cutoffApr 2025Apr 2024
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 32B$12.60
  • GPT-4.1 mini$7.20
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Qwen3 32B or GPT-4.1 mini?

GPT-4.1 mini is the better all-round choice, scoring 60/100 against Qwen3 32B (51). It leads on price, inputs & features and context window. Qwen3 32B wins on capability. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

Which is cheaper, Qwen3 32B or GPT-4.1 mini?

GPT-4.1 mini is cheaper at $0.40 input / $1.60 output per million tokens (official OpenAI API price). Qwen3 32B costs $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 $0.70 per million tokens for GPT-4.1 mini versus $1.23 for Qwen3 32B (1.8× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

Qwen3 32B scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): Qwen3 32B 138.5 (#106 of 148) and GPT-4.1 mini 135.0 (#115 of 148). The confidence ranges of the top two overlap (135.1–140.4 vs 131.2–136.6), so treat the gap as small. On individual benchmarks: GPQA Diamond — GPT-4.1 mini 65.9%, Qwen3 32B 65.7%; OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025 — Qwen3 32B 66.9%, GPT-4.1 mini 44.7%.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Qwen3 32B and GPT-4.1 mini yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. On overall capability, Qwen3 32B 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 131,072 for Qwen3 32B. Maximum output per response: Qwen3 32B up to 16,384, GPT-4.1 mini up to 32,768 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Qwen3 32B accepts text; GPT-4.1 mini accepts text, images and PDFs. GPT-4.1 mini handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

Qwen3 32B publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; GPT-4.1 mini is proprietary.

Which is newer?

Qwen3 32B is the newest, released Apr 29, 2025. GPT-4.1 mini came out Apr 14, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Qwen3 32B Apr 2025, GPT-4.1 mini Apr 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.

05 — Keep comparing

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