API cost decision in 10 seconds

🔥GPT-4o-mini vs Qwen3.5-35B-A3B

Pick GPT-4o-mini for lower cost; pick Qwen3.5-35B-A3B only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated: 2026-05-26T12:03:47Z Data confirmed: 2026-05-26T14:08:03Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick GPT-4o-mini for lower cost; pick Qwen3.5-35B-A3B only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GPT-4o-mini is estimated at $0.45 vs $0.64 for Qwen3.5-35B-A3B, saving $0.19 (29.6% lower).

Cost-first pickGPT-4o-mini

Context-first pickQwen3.5-35B-A3B

Sample savings$0.1929.6%

10x traffic gap$1.89

Qwen3.5-35B-A3B has more context, but GPT-4o-mini saves $0.19 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $1.89. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

GPT-4o-mini stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	GPT-4o-mini	Qwen3.5-35B-A3B
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	GPT-4o-mini	$1.05	$1.2
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	GPT-4o-mini	$0.75	$1.14
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	GPT-4o-mini	$3.15	$5.14

Cheaper input Qwen3.5-35B-A3B $0.15 vs $0.139 / 1M

Qwen3.5-35B-A3B is $0.01 cheaper per 1M input tokens (7.3% lower; 1.08x difference).

Cheaper output GPT-4o-mini $0.6 vs $1 / 1M

GPT-4o-mini is $0.4 cheaper per 1M output tokens (40% lower; 1.67x difference).

Larger context Qwen3.5-35B-A3B 128K vs 262.14K

Qwen3.5-35B-A3B has 134.14K more context (2.05x larger).

Sample workload GPT-4o-mini $0.45 vs $0.64

GPT-4o-mini is $0.19 cheaper on the standard workload (29.6% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

GPT-4o-mini Calculating… Estimated API cost

Qwen3.5-35B-A3B Calculating… Estimated API cost

Cheaper for this workload Calculating… Difference: calculating…

This estimate uses normalized public API pricing per 1M tokens. It is a planning aid, not a billing quote. Verify provider pricing, limits, and terms before production use.

Quick Decision

Verdict

Qwen3.5-35B-A3B has the lower input price; GPT-4o-mini has the lower output price; Qwen3.5-35B-A3B offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, GPT-4o-mini is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.45 for GPT-4o-mini and $0.64 for Qwen3.5-35B-A3B.

Best Fit

Choose GPT-4o-mini when you care most about lower output-token price.

Choose Qwen3.5-35B-A3B when you care most about lower input-token price, and larger context window.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GPT-4o-mini is estimated at $0.45 vs $0.64 for Qwen3.5-35B-A3B, saving $0.19 (29.6% lower).
GPT-4o-mini is $0.19 cheaper on the standard workload (29.6% lower).
Qwen3.5-35B-A3B is $0.01 cheaper per 1M input tokens (7.3% lower; 1.08x difference).
GPT-4o-mini is $0.4 cheaper per 1M output tokens (40% lower; 1.67x difference).
Qwen3.5-35B-A3B has 134.14K more context (2.05x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	🔥GPT-4o-mini (OpenAI)	Qwen3.5-35B-A3B (Qwen)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$0.15	$0.139
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$0.6	$1
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$0.45	$0.64
Context Window	128K	262.14K
Release Date	2024-07-18	2026-02-25
Popularity	#16

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	GPT-4o-mini	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GPT-4o-mini is estimated at $0.45 vs $0.64 for Qwen3.5-35B-A3B, saving $0.19 (29.6% lower).
High-volume input processing	Qwen3.5-35B-A3B	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	GPT-4o-mini	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Qwen3.5-35B-A3B	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

gpt-oss-120b (free) can replace GPT-4o-mini when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
gpt-oss-20b (free) can replace GPT-4o-mini when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
gpt-oss-20b can replace GPT-4o-mini when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.1.
gpt-oss-120b can replace GPT-4o-mini when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.13.

Larger context near this budget

Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.
Owl Alpha offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
DeepSeek V4 Flash offers 1.05M context with $0.2 sample workload cost.
Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite offers 1.05M context with $0.3 sample workload cost.

Popular competitors

DeepSeek V4 Flash · DeepSeek · #1
Hy3 preview · Tencent · #2
Claude Opus 4.7 · Anthropic · #3
Claude Sonnet 4.6 · Anthropic · #4

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OpenAI catalog

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Qwen catalog

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