API cost decision in 10 seconds

🔥GPT-5.4 vs Qwen3 235B A22B

Pick Qwen3 235B A22B for lower cost; pick GPT-5.4 only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated: 2026-05-26T15:08:08Z Data confirmed: 2026-05-26T19:08:13Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Qwen3 235B A22B for lower cost; pick GPT-5.4 only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3 235B A22B is estimated at $1.36 vs $10 for GPT-5.4, saving $8.63 (86.3% lower).

Cost-first pickQwen3 235B A22B

Context-first pickGPT-5.4

Sample savings$8.6386.3%

10x traffic gap$86.35

GPT-5.4 has more context, but Qwen3 235B A22B saves $8.63 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $86.35. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Qwen3 235B A22B stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	GPT-5.4	Qwen3 235B A22B
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Qwen3 235B A22B	$20	$3.19
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Qwen3 235B A22B	$17.5	$2.27
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Qwen3 235B A22B	$77.5	$9.55

Cheaper input Qwen3 235B A22B $2.5 vs $0.455 / 1M

Qwen3 235B A22B is $2.04 cheaper per 1M input tokens (81.8% lower; 5.49x difference).

Cheaper output Qwen3 235B A22B $15 vs $1.82 / 1M

Qwen3 235B A22B is $13.18 cheaper per 1M output tokens (87.9% lower; 8.24x difference).

Larger context GPT-5.4 1.05M vs 131.07K

GPT-5.4 has 918.93K more context (8.01x larger).

Sample workload Qwen3 235B A22B $10 vs $1.36

Qwen3 235B A22B is $8.63 cheaper on the standard workload (86.3% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

GPT-5.4 Calculating… Estimated API cost

Qwen3 235B A22B 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 235B A22B has the lower input price; Qwen3 235B A22B has the lower output price; GPT-5.4 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Qwen3 235B A22B is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $10 for GPT-5.4 and $1.36 for Qwen3 235B A22B.

Best Fit

Choose GPT-5.4 when you care most about larger context window.

Choose Qwen3 235B A22B when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3 235B A22B is estimated at $1.36 vs $10 for GPT-5.4, saving $8.63 (86.3% lower).
Qwen3 235B A22B is $8.63 cheaper on the standard workload (86.3% lower).
Qwen3 235B A22B is $2.04 cheaper per 1M input tokens (81.8% lower; 5.49x difference).
Qwen3 235B A22B is $13.18 cheaper per 1M output tokens (87.9% lower; 8.24x difference).
GPT-5.4 has 918.93K more context (8.01x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	🔥GPT-5.4 (OpenAI)	Qwen3 235B A22B (Qwen)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$2.5	$0.455
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$15	$1.82
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$10	$1.36
Context Window	1.05M	131.07K
Release Date	2026-03-05	2025-04-28
Popularity	#19	#131

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Qwen3 235B A22B	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3 235B A22B is estimated at $1.36 vs $10 for GPT-5.4, saving $8.63 (86.3% lower).
High-volume input processing	Qwen3 235B A22B	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Qwen3 235B A22B	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	GPT-5.4	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-5.4 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
gpt-oss-20b (free) can replace GPT-5.4 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
gpt-oss-20b can replace GPT-5.4 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.1.
gpt-oss-120b can replace GPT-5.4 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.
Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent offers 2M context with $5 sample workload cost.

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Qwen3-235B-A22B is a 235B parameter mixture-of-experts (MoE) model developed by Qwen, activating 22B parameters per forward pass. It supports seamless switching between a "thinking" mode for complex reasoning, math, and...