API cost decision in 10 seconds

GPT-5.5 Pro vs Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15

Pick Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15 for lower cost; pick GPT-5.5 Pro 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 Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15 for lower cost; pick GPT-5.5 Pro only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15 is estimated at $1.04 vs $120 for GPT-5.5 Pro, saving $118.96 (99.1% lower).

Cost-first pickQwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15
Context-first pickGPT-5.5 Pro
Sample savings$118.9699.1%
10x traffic gap$1189.6

GPT-5.5 Pro has more context, but Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15 saves $118.96 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $1189.6. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15 stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shapeToken mixBetter pickGPT-5.5 ProQwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15
Input-heavy / RAG5M input + 500K outputQwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15$240$2.08
Balanced workload1M input + 1M outputQwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15$210$1.82
Output-heavy chatbot1M input + 5M outputQwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15$930$8.06
Cheaper input Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15 $30 vs $0.26 / 1M

Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15 is $29.74 cheaper per 1M input tokens (99.1% lower; 115.4x difference).

Cheaper output Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15 $180 vs $1.56 / 1M

Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15 is $178.44 cheaper per 1M output tokens (99.1% lower; 115.4x difference).

Larger context GPT-5.5 Pro 1.05M vs 1M

GPT-5.5 Pro has 50K more context (1.05x larger).

Sample workload Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15 $120 vs $1.04

Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15 is $118.96 cheaper on the standard workload (99.1% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.
GPT-5.5 Pro Calculating… Estimated API cost
Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15 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 Plus 2026-02-15 has the lower input price; Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15 has the lower output price; GPT-5.5 Pro offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15 is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $120 for GPT-5.5 Pro and $1.04 for Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15.

Best Fit

Choose GPT-5.5 Pro when you care most about larger context window.

Choose Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15 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, Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15 is estimated at $1.04 vs $120 for GPT-5.5 Pro, saving $118.96 (99.1% lower).
  • Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15 is $118.96 cheaper on the standard workload (99.1% lower).
  • Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15 is $29.74 cheaper per 1M input tokens (99.1% lower; 115.4x difference).
  • Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15 is $178.44 cheaper per 1M output tokens (99.1% lower; 115.4x difference).
  • GPT-5.5 Pro has 50K more context (1.05x larger).
Head-to-Head Specs
FeatureGPT-5.5 Pro
(OpenAI)
Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15
(Qwen)
Input Price
prompt tokens per 1M
$30$0.26
Completion Price
per 1M tokens
$180$1.56
Sample Workload Cost
1M input + 500K output
$120$1.04
Context Window1.05M1M
Release Date

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use caseBetter pickWhy
Budget-constrained productionQwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15 is estimated at $1.04 vs $120 for GPT-5.5 Pro, saving $118.96 (99.1% lower).
High-volume input processingQwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbotsQwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document workGPT-5.5 ProA 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-5.5 Pro when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
  • gpt-oss-20b (free) can replace GPT-5.5 Pro when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
  • gpt-oss-20b can replace GPT-5.5 Pro when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.1.
  • gpt-oss-120b can replace GPT-5.5 Pro when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.13.
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Larger context alternatives

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OpenAI catalog

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Qwen catalog

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GPT-5.5 Pro

GPT-5.5 Pro is OpenAI’s high-capability model optimized for deep reasoning and accuracy on complex, high-stakes workloads. It features a 1M+ token context window (922K input, 128K output) with support for...

Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-02-15

The Qwen3.5 native vision-language series Plus models are built on a hybrid architecture that integrates linear attention mechanisms with sparse mixture-of-experts models, achieving higher inference efficiency. In a variety of...