API cost decision in 10 seconds

🔥GPT-4o-mini vs Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct

Pick GPT-4o-mini for lower cost; pick Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated:  Data confirmed:  Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick GPT-4o-mini for lower cost; pick Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct 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 Next 80B A3B Instruct, saving $0.19 (29.7% lower).

Cost-first pickGPT-4o-mini
Context-first pickQwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct
Sample savings$0.1929.7%
10x traffic gap$1.9

Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct has more context, but GPT-4o-mini saves $0.19 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $1.9. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Cost winner changes by workload shape: input-heavy / RAG favors Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct, balanced workload favors GPT-4o-mini, and output-heavy chatbot favors GPT-4o-mini.

Workload shapeToken mixBetter pickGPT-4o-miniQwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct
Input-heavy / RAG5M input + 500K outputQwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct$1.05$1
Balanced workload1M input + 1M outputGPT-4o-mini$0.75$1.19
Output-heavy chatbot1M input + 5M outputGPT-4o-mini$3.15$5.59
Cheaper input Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct $0.15 vs $0.09 / 1M

Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct is $0.06 cheaper per 1M input tokens (40% lower; 1.67x difference).

Cheaper output GPT-4o-mini $0.6 vs $1.1 / 1M

GPT-4o-mini is $0.5 cheaper per 1M output tokens (45.5% lower; 1.83x difference).

Larger context Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct 128K vs 262.14K

Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct 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 (29.7% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.
GPT-4o-mini Calculating… Estimated API cost
Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct 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 Next 80B A3B Instruct has the lower input price; GPT-4o-mini has the lower output price; Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct 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 Next 80B A3B Instruct.

Best Fit

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

Choose Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct 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 Next 80B A3B Instruct, saving $0.19 (29.7% lower).
  • GPT-4o-mini is $0.19 cheaper on the standard workload (29.7% lower).
  • Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct is $0.06 cheaper per 1M input tokens (40% lower; 1.67x difference).
  • GPT-4o-mini is $0.5 cheaper per 1M output tokens (45.5% lower; 1.83x difference).
  • Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct has 134.14K more context (2.05x larger).
Head-to-Head Specs
Feature🔥GPT-4o-mini
(OpenAI)
Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct
(Qwen)
Input Price
prompt tokens per 1M
$0.15$0.09
Completion Price
per 1M tokens
$0.6$1.1
Sample Workload Cost
1M input + 500K output
$0.45$0.64
Context Window128K262.14K
Release Date
Popularity#16#79

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use caseBetter pickWhy
Budget-constrained productionGPT-4o-miniOn the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GPT-4o-mini is estimated at $0.45 vs $0.64 for Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct, saving $0.19 (29.7% lower).
High-volume input processingQwen3 Next 80B A3B InstructLower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbotsGPT-4o-miniLower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document workQwen3 Next 80B A3B InstructA 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

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Larger context alternatives

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OpenAI catalog

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Qwen catalog

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GPT-4o-mini

GPT-4o mini is OpenAI's newest model after [GPT-4 Omni](/models/openai/gpt-4o), supporting both text and image inputs with text outputs. As their most advanced small model, it is many multiples more affordable...

Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is an instruction-tuned chat model in the Qwen3-Next series optimized for fast, stable responses without “thinking” traces. It targets complex tasks across reasoning, code generation, knowledge QA, and multilingual...