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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Qwen3 8B vs GPT-4.1 mini

GPT-4.1 mini comes out ahead, 60 to 56 on our weighted score, though Qwen3 8B is 2.3× cheaper per token.

  1. Alibaba (Qwen)

    Qwen3 8B

    Released Apr 28, 2025

    56/100
    • ECI136.2
    • Price$0.18 / $0.70
    • Context131K
    Full specs Remove Qwen3 8B
  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 8B (56). It leads on inputs & features and context window. Qwen3 8B wins on price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

  • CapabilityQwen3 8BCapabilities Index (ECI): Qwen3 8B 136.2 · GPT-4.1 mini 135.0
  • Lowest priceQwen3 8BQwen3 8B $0.31 · GPT-4.1 mini $0.70 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextGPT-4.1 miniGPT-4.1 mini 1,047,576 · Qwen3 8B 131,072 tokens
  • Widest inputsGPT-4.1 miniQwen3 8B: Text · GPT-4.1 mini: Text, Images, PDFs
  • Self-hostingQwen3 8BPublishes downloadable weights
How the score is built
MeasureWeightQwen3 8BGPT-4.1 mini
CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI)50%6159
Price25%7457
Inputs & features15%3570
Context window10%2461
Overall100%56/10060/100
02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

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

Qwen3 8B vs GPT-4.1 mini specifications side by side
SpecificationQwen3 8BAlibaba (Qwen)GPT-4.1 miniOpenAI
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)136.2 (best)135.0
ECI rank#113 of 148 (best)#115 of 148
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions56.8%65.9% (best)
FrontierMath Tiers 1–3Research-level mathematics—6.7%
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics56.1% (best)44.7%
SimpleQA VerifiedShort factual questions—12.7%
Price per million tokens
Input$0.18 (best)$0.40
Output$0.70 (best)$1.60
Cached input—$0.10
Blended (3:1)$0.31 (best)$0.70
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial Alibaba APIOfficial OpenAI API
Limits
Context window131,072 tokens1,047,576 tokens (best)
Max output8,192 tokens32,768 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoYes
PDFsNoYes
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningYesNo
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoYes
Availability
WeightsOpenProprietary
API model IDqwen3-8bgpt-4.1-mini
API providers124 (best)
ReleasedApr 28, 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 8B$3.20
  • GPT-4.1 mini$7.20
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Qwen3 8B or GPT-4.1 mini?

GPT-4.1 mini is the better all-round choice, scoring 60/100 against Qwen3 8B (56). It leads on inputs & features and context window. Qwen3 8B wins on price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

Which is cheaper, Qwen3 8B or GPT-4.1 mini?

Qwen3 8B is cheaper at $0.18 input / $0.70 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). GPT-4.1 mini costs $0.40 input / $1.60 output per million tokens (official OpenAI API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.31 per million tokens for Qwen3 8B versus $0.70 for GPT-4.1 mini (2.3× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

Qwen3 8B scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): Qwen3 8B 136.2 (#113 of 148) and GPT-4.1 mini 135.0 (#115 of 148). The confidence ranges of the top two overlap (129.7–138.1 vs 131.2–136.6), so treat the gap as small. On individual benchmarks: GPQA Diamond — GPT-4.1 mini 65.9%, Qwen3 8B 56.8%; OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025 — Qwen3 8B 56.1%, GPT-4.1 mini 44.7%.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Qwen3 8B and GPT-4.1 mini yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. On overall capability, Qwen3 8B 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 8B. Maximum output per response: Qwen3 8B up to 8,192, GPT-4.1 mini up to 32,768 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Qwen3 8B 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 8B publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; GPT-4.1 mini is proprietary.

Which is newer?

Qwen3 8B is the newest, released Apr 28, 2025. GPT-4.1 mini came out Apr 14, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Qwen3 8B 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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