Compare / Qwen3.6-Max-Preview vs GPT-5 mini
Qwen3.6-Max-Preview vs GPT-5 mini
Which is cheaper, which is more capable, and which does better at each kind of work, from 16 results on 4 sources that measured both models.
Of the 16 results both models have, the better value on each. Results whose reported ranges overlap are too close to call.
Results as of 9 October 2026 (catalogue release 2026-10-09-dd620e778ac5). See also Alibaba vs OpenAI, every model from both labs.
Qwen3.6-Max-Preview or GPT-5 mini? The short answer
Pick Qwen3.6-Max-Preview if quality matters most: it scores higher (Intelligence Index 28.4 against 20.6). Pick GPT-5 mini if cost matters more: it costs 3.4 times less per token.
- GPT-5 mini is cheaper: $0.69 against $2.31 per million tokens, 3.4 times less.
- Qwen3.6-Max-Preview scores higher on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index: 28.4 against 20.6.
- Qwen3.6-Max-Preview is newer: released 20 Apr 2026, against 7 Aug 2025 for GPT-5 mini.
- On third-party benchmarks, on the results both models have: Qwen3.6-Max-Preview does better for agents and tool use, reasoning and knowledge, writing and sticking to the facts.
Head to head
Every fact side by side
| Qwen3.6-Max-Preview | GPT-5 mini | |
|---|---|---|
| Price per million tokens | $1.03 in · $6.16 out | $0.25 in · $2.00 out |
| Blended (3 in : 1 out) | $2.31 | $0.69 |
| Cheapest host, blended | – | $0.69 (Azure) |
| Intelligence Index | 28.4 | 20.6 |
| Spring Prompt overall | – | – |
| Output speed, tokens a second | – | – |
| Context window | 262,144 tokens | 400,000 tokens |
| Released | 20 Apr 2026 (newer) | 7 Aug 2025 |
| Weights | Closed | Closed |
| Developer based in | China | the US |
Prices are the developer's list price where we have read it, otherwise the typical host on OpenRouter; see every model's price. Intelligence and speed from Artificial Analysis.
Which is better for what
Each model's rank among the models on sale today, for each kind of work, from our own benchmarks and licensed sources. Further right is better; the better rank is in green.
Every shared result
Each model's best result on every measure both have, grouped by benchmark, with the setting that produced it. Under each measure, every model that benchmark has measured is a grey tick, best to the right, so you can see where the two sit in the field. The headline measures of each benchmark come first; the rest are under "Show all". Green marks the better value; where a source reports ranges that overlap, neither is marked.
| Measure | Qwen3.6-Max-Preview | GPT-5 mini |
|---|---|---|
| Arena (formerly LMArena) reported by Arena (formerly LMArena) · 3 results | ||
| Overall · TextArena rating, higher is better 51 · 152 of 387 measured | 1,460 | 1,390high reasoning |
| Overall · Text factualityArena rating, higher is better 51 · 138 of 163 measured | 1,453 | 1,394high reasoning |
| Business, management and finance · TextArena rating, higher is better 64 · 157 of 380 measured | 1,451 | 1,381high reasoning |
| Artificial Analysis reported by Artificial Analysis · 3 results | ||
| Artificial Analysis Intelligence Indexindex score, higher is better 57 · 103 of 243 measured | 28.4 | 20.6medium reasoning |
| GPQA Diamond% of questions, higher is better 55 · 97 of 231 measured | 88.8% | 82.8%high reasoning |
| Humanity's Last Exam% of questions, higher is better 70 · 104 of 242 measured | 30.8% | 21.5%high reasoning |
| SimpleQA Verified (Epoch AI) reported by SimpleQA Verified (Epoch AI) · 1 result | ||
| Correct answers% of questions, higher is better 21 · 63 of 76 measured | 52.0% | 21.6%high reasoning |
| Vending-Bench 2 reported by Vending-Bench 2 · 1 result | ||
| Money after a yearUS dollars, higher is better 31 · 58 of 58 measured | $4,254 | $-31.18 |
Show all 16 results (8 more)
| Measure | Qwen3.6-Max-Preview | GPT-5 mini |
|---|---|---|
| Arena (formerly LMArena) reported by Arena (formerly LMArena) · 4 results | ||
| Creative writing · TextArena rating, higher is better 50 · 181 of 385 measured | 1,437 | 1,324high reasoning |
| Expert prompts · TextArena rating, higher is better 36 · 153 of 338 measured | 1,500 | 1,401high reasoning |
| Instruction following · TextArena rating, higher is better 56 · 158 of 387 measured | 1,450 | 1,373high reasoning |
| Writing, literature and language · TextArena rating, higher is better 50 · 168 of 386 measured | 1,446 | 1,352high reasoning |
| Artificial Analysis reported by Artificial Analysis · 4 results | ||
| IFBench% of instructions, higher is better 14 · 26 of 195 measured | 76.6% | 75.4%high reasoning |
| Long-context reasoning (AA-LCR)% of questions, higher is better 33 · 96 of 233 measured | 80.7% | 72.3%high reasoning |
| Terminal-Bench Hard% of tasks, higher is better 23 · 57 of 190 measured | 43.9% | 33.3%high reasoning |
| τ²-bench telecom% of tasks, higher is better 12 · 82 of 193 measured | 95.9% | 71.1%medium reasoning |
Compare them with other models
Quick answers
Is Qwen3.6-Max-Preview better than GPT-5 mini?
Pick Qwen3.6-Max-Preview if quality matters most: it scores higher (Intelligence Index 28.4 against 20.6). Pick GPT-5 mini if cost matters more: it costs 3.4 times less per token.
Which is cheaper, Qwen3.6-Max-Preview or GPT-5 mini?
GPT-5 mini is cheaper: $0.69 against $2.31 per million tokens, 3.4 times less.
Which is better for agents and tool use, Qwen3.6-Max-Preview or GPT-5 mini?
Qwen3.6-Max-Preview ranks 81 of 164 models on sale for multi-step tasks with tools: support desks, coding agents, function calls, against 109 for GPT-5 mini.
Which is better for reasoning and knowledge, Qwen3.6-Max-Preview or GPT-5 mini?
Qwen3.6-Max-Preview ranks 59 of 198 models on sale for hard questions across science, maths and general knowledge, against 95 for GPT-5 mini.
Which is better for writing, Qwen3.6-Max-Preview or GPT-5 mini?
Qwen3.6-Max-Preview ranks 41 of 188 models on sale for what people prefer in blind comparisons, and judged writing quality, against 119 for GPT-5 mini.
Which is better for sticking to the facts, Qwen3.6-Max-Preview or GPT-5 mini?
Qwen3.6-Max-Preview ranks 45 of 152 models on sale for summarising without inventing things, and factual answers, against 131 for GPT-5 mini.
Which has the bigger context window, Qwen3.6-Max-Preview or GPT-5 mini?
GPT-5 mini: 400,000 tokens, against 262,144 for Qwen3.6-Max-Preview.
Run Qwen3.6-Max-Preview and GPT-5 mini on your own prompt
Benchmarks aren't your data. Try both side by side in the playground, with the cost of every answer.