Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct vs GPT-5.1 Codex mini
GPT-5.1 Codex mini comes out ahead, 59 to 39 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
Alibaba (Qwen)Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct
39/100- ECI—
- Price$0.50 / $2.00
- Context131K
- Our pick
OpenAIGPT-5.1 Codex mini
59/100- ECI—
- Price$0.25 / $2.00
- Context400K
Add a model
Make it a three-way comparison.
GPT-5.1 Codex mini is our pick
GPT-5.1 Codex mini is the better all-round choice, scoring 59/100 against Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct (39). It leads on price, 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-5.1 Codex miniGPT-5.1 Codex mini $0.688 · Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct $0.875 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextGPT-5.1 Codex miniGPT-5.1 Codex mini 400,000 · Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct 131,072 tokens
- Widest inputsGPT-5.1 Codex miniQwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct: Text · GPT-5.1 Codex mini: Text, Images
- Self-hostingQwen3-Next 80B-A3B InstructPublishes downloadable weights
| Measure | Weight | Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct | GPT-5.1 Codex mini |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 53 | 58 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 25 | 70 |
| Context window | 20% | 24 | 44 |
| Overall | 100% | 39/100 | 59/100 |
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 | Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B InstructAlibaba (Qwen) | GPT-5.1 Codex miniOpenAI |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.50 | $0.25 (best) |
| Output | $2.00 | $2.00 |
| Cached input | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.875 | $0.688 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official Alibaba API | Median of 10 providers |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 131,072 tokens | 400,000 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 32,768 tokens | 128,000 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | Yes |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | Yes |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Open | Proprietary |
| API model ID | qwen3-next-80b-a3b-instruct | — |
| API providers | 13 (best) | 10 |
| Released | Sep 2025 | Nov 13, 2025 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Apr 2025 | Sep 30, 2024 |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct$9.00
- GPT-5.1 Codex mini$6.50
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct or GPT-5.1 Codex mini?
GPT-5.1 Codex mini is the better all-round choice, scoring 59/100 against Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct (39). It leads on price, 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, Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct or GPT-5.1 Codex mini?
GPT-5.1 Codex mini is cheaper at $0.25 input / $2.00 output per million tokens (median across 10 API providers). Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct costs $0.50 input / $2.00 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.688 per million tokens for GPT-5.1 Codex mini versus $0.875 for Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct (1.3× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct has not been scored yet and GPT-5.1 Codex mini has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct and GPT-5.1 Codex mini yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.
Which has the bigger context window?
GPT-5.1 Codex mini has the largest context window at 400,000 tokens, against 131,072 for Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct. Maximum output per response: Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct up to 32,768, GPT-5.1 Codex mini up to 128,000 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct accepts text; GPT-5.1 Codex mini accepts text and images. GPT-5.1 Codex mini handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; GPT-5.1 Codex mini is proprietary.
Which is newer?
GPT-5.1 Codex mini is the newest, released Nov 13, 2025. Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct came out Sep 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Instruct Apr 2025, GPT-5.1 Codex mini Sep 30, 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.
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