Compare / Qwen3.8-Max (0902) vs GPT-5 mini
Qwen3.8-Max (0902) vs GPT-5 mini
Which is cheaper, which is more capable, and which does better at each kind of work, from 17 results on 3 sources that measured both models.
Of the 17 results both models have, the better value on each. Results whose reported ranges overlap are too close to call.
Results as of 13 October 2026 (catalogue release 2026-10-13-2e2420e3c5cc). See also Alibaba vs OpenAI, every model from both labs.
Qwen3.8-Max (0902) or GPT-5 mini? The short answer
Pick Qwen3.8-Max (0902) if quality matters most: it scores higher (Intelligence Index 45.4 against 20.6). Pick GPT-5 mini if cost matters more: it costs 4.4 times less per token.
- GPT-5 mini is cheaper: $0.69 against $3.00 per million tokens, 4.4 times less.
- Qwen3.8-Max (0902) scores higher on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index: 45.4 against 20.6.
- Qwen3.8-Max (0902) is newer: released 3 Aug 2026, against 7 Aug 2025 for GPT-5 mini.
- On third-party benchmarks, on the results both models have: Qwen3.8-Max (0902) does better for agents and tool use, reasoning and knowledge, writing and sticking to the facts.
Head to head
Every fact side by side
| Qwen3.8-Max (0902) | GPT-5 mini | |
|---|---|---|
| Price per million tokens | $2.00 in · $6.00 out | $0.25 in · $2.00 out |
| Blended (3 in : 1 out) | $3.00 | $0.69 |
| Cheapest host, blended | – | $0.69 (Azure) |
| Intelligence Index | 45.4 | 20.6 |
| Spring Prompt overall | 47 | – |
| Output speed, tokens a second | 37 | – |
| Context window | 1,000,000 tokens | 400,000 tokens |
| Released | 3 Aug 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 | Qwen3.8-Max (0902) | GPT-5 mini |
|---|---|---|
| Arena (formerly LMArena) reported by Arena (formerly LMArena) · 3 results | ||
| Overall · TextArena rating, higher is better 20 · 152 of 387 measured | 1,482 | 1,390high reasoning |
| Overall · Text factualityArena rating, higher is better 22 · 138 of 163 measured | 1,472 | 1,394high reasoning |
| Business, management and finance · TextArena rating, higher is better 16 · 157 of 380 measured | 1,484 | 1,381high reasoning |
| Artificial Analysis reported by Artificial Analysis · 3 results | ||
| Artificial Analysis Intelligence Indexindex score, higher is better 14 · 103 of 243 measured | 45.4 | 20.6medium reasoning |
| GPQA Diamond% of questions, higher is better 15 · 97 of 231 measured | 92.8% | 82.8%high reasoning |
| Humanity's Last Exam% of questions, higher is better 24 · 104 of 242 measured | 43.1% | 21.5%high reasoning |
| SimpleQA Verified (Epoch AI) reported by SimpleQA Verified (Epoch AI) · 1 result | ||
| Correct answers% of questions, higher is better 30 · 63 of 76 measured | 47.3%xhigh reasoning | 21.6%high reasoning |
Show all 17 results (10 more)
| Measure | Qwen3.8-Max (0902) | GPT-5 mini |
|---|---|---|
| Arena (formerly LMArena) reported by Arena (formerly LMArena) · 4 results | ||
| Creative writing · TextArena rating, higher is better 17 · 181 of 385 measured | 1,468 | 1,324high reasoning |
| Expert prompts · TextArena rating, higher is better 20 · 153 of 338 measured | 1,513 | 1,401high reasoning |
| Instruction following · TextArena rating, higher is better 25 · 158 of 387 measured | 1,474 | 1,373high reasoning |
| Writing, literature and language · TextArena rating, higher is better 18 · 168 of 386 measured | 1,472 | 1,352high reasoning |
| Artificial Analysis reported by Artificial Analysis · 6 results | ||
| Terminal-Bench 2.1% of tasks, higher is better 5 · 118 of 130 measured | 88.8% | 3.7%high reasoning |
| Terminal-Bench 4.0% of tasks, higher is better 12 · 66 of 112 measured | 38.9% | 0.0%high reasoning |
| τ-bench banking% of tasks, higher is better 7 · 57 of 121 measured | 47.8% | 15.5%high reasoning |
| Artificial Analysis Coding Indexindex score, higher is better 10 · 110 of 131 measured | 76.2 | 15.6high reasoning |
| Long-context reasoning (AA-LCR)% of questions, higher is better 35 · 96 of 233 measured | 80.3% | 72.3%high reasoning |
| SciCode% of problems, higher is better 36 · 80 of 113 measured | 52.1% | 39.0%high reasoning |
Compare them with other models
Quick answers
Is Qwen3.8-Max (0902) better than GPT-5 mini?
Pick Qwen3.8-Max (0902) if quality matters most: it scores higher (Intelligence Index 45.4 against 20.6). Pick GPT-5 mini if cost matters more: it costs 4.4 times less per token.
Which is cheaper, Qwen3.8-Max (0902) or GPT-5 mini?
GPT-5 mini is cheaper: $0.69 against $3.00 per million tokens, 4.4 times less.
Which is better for agents and tool use, Qwen3.8-Max (0902) or GPT-5 mini?
Qwen3.8-Max (0902) ranks 7 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, Qwen3.8-Max (0902) or GPT-5 mini?
Qwen3.8-Max (0902) ranks 17 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, Qwen3.8-Max (0902) or GPT-5 mini?
Qwen3.8-Max (0902) ranks 16 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, Qwen3.8-Max (0902) or GPT-5 mini?
Qwen3.8-Max (0902) ranks 38 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, Qwen3.8-Max (0902) or GPT-5 mini?
Qwen3.8-Max (0902): 1,000,000 tokens, against 400,000 for GPT-5 mini.
Run Qwen3.8-Max (0902) 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.