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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Qwen3 Max vs GPT-5.4 nano

GPT-5.4 nano comes out ahead, 68 to 50 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Alibaba (Qwen)

    Qwen3 Max

    Released Sep 23, 2025

    50/100
    • ECI142.4
    • Price$1.20 / $6.00
    • Context262K
    Full specs Remove Qwen3 Max
  2. Our pick

    OpenAI

    GPT-5.4 nano

    Released Mar 17, 2026

    68/100
    • ECI145.8
    • Price$0.20 / $1.25
    • Context400K
    Full specs Remove GPT-5.4 nano

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

GPT-5.4 nano is our pick

GPT-5.4 nano is the better all-round choice, scoring 68/100 against Qwen3 Max (50). It leads on capability, price, inputs & features and context window. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

  • CapabilityGPT-5.4 nanoCapabilities Index (ECI): GPT-5.4 nano 145.8 · Qwen3 Max 142.4
  • Lowest priceGPT-5.4 nanoGPT-5.4 nano $0.463 · Qwen3 Max $2.40 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextGPT-5.4 nanoGPT-5.4 nano 400,000 · Qwen3 Max 262,144 tokens
  • Widest inputsGPT-5.4 nanoQwen3 Max: Text · GPT-5.4 nano: Text, Images
  • Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
How the score is built
MeasureWeightQwen3 MaxGPT-5.4 nano
CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI)50%6873
Price25%3266
Inputs & features15%2570
Context window10%3744
Overall100%50/10068/100
02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

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

Qwen3 Max vs GPT-5.4 nano specifications side by side
SpecificationQwen3 MaxAlibaba (Qwen)GPT-5.4 nanoOpenAI
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)142.4145.8 (best)
ECI rank#91 of 148#75 of 148 (best)
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions72.6%78.5% (best)
FrontierMath Tiers 1–3Research-level mathematics19.0%44.9% (best)
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics73.3%87.8% (best)
SimpleQA VerifiedShort factual questions48.8% (best)11.7%
Price per million tokens
Input$1.20$0.20 (best)
Output$6.00$1.25 (best)
Cached input—$0.02
Blended (3:1)$2.40$0.463 (best)
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial Alibaba APIOfficial OpenAI API
Limits
Context window262,144 tokens400,000 tokens (best)
Max output65,536 tokens128,000 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoYes
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningNoYeslow · medium · high · xhigh
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoYes
Availability
WeightsProprietaryProprietary
API model IDqwen3-maxgpt-5.4-nano
API providers1626 (best)
ReleasedSep 23, 2025Mar 17, 2026
Knowledge cutoffApr 2025Aug 31, 2025
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 Max$24.00
  • GPT-5.4 nano$4.50
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Qwen3 Max or GPT-5.4 nano?

GPT-5.4 nano is the better all-round choice, scoring 68/100 against Qwen3 Max (50). It leads on capability, price, inputs & features and context window. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

Which is cheaper, Qwen3 Max or GPT-5.4 nano?

GPT-5.4 nano is cheaper at $0.20 input / $1.25 output per million tokens (official OpenAI API price). Qwen3 Max costs $1.20 input / $6.00 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.463 per million tokens for GPT-5.4 nano versus $2.40 for Qwen3 Max (5.2× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

GPT-5.4 nano scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): GPT-5.4 nano 145.8 (#75 of 148) and Qwen3 Max 142.4 (#91 of 148). The confidence ranges of the top two overlap (143.2–147.7 vs 140.0–144.6), so treat the gap as small. On individual benchmarks: GPQA Diamond — GPT-5.4 nano 78.5%, Qwen3 Max 72.6%; FrontierMath Tiers 1–3 — GPT-5.4 nano 44.9%, Qwen3 Max 19.0%; OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025 — GPT-5.4 nano 87.8%, Qwen3 Max 73.3%; SimpleQA Verified — Qwen3 Max 48.8%, GPT-5.4 nano 11.7%.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Qwen3 Max and GPT-5.4 nano yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. On overall capability, GPT-5.4 nano 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-5.4 nano has the largest context window at 400,000 tokens, against 262,144 for Qwen3 Max. Maximum output per response: Qwen3 Max up to 65,536, GPT-5.4 nano up to 128,000 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Qwen3 Max accepts text; GPT-5.4 nano accepts text and images. GPT-5.4 nano handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

No. Qwen3 Max and GPT-5.4 nano are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.

Which is newer?

GPT-5.4 nano is the newest, released Mar 17, 2026. Qwen3 Max came out Sep 23, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Qwen3 Max Apr 2025, GPT-5.4 nano Aug 31, 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

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