API cost decision in 10 seconds

OpenAI GPT Latest vs Qwen3.6 35B A3B

Pick Qwen3.6 35B A3B for lower cost; pick OpenAI GPT Latest 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 Qwen3.6 35B A3B for lower cost; pick OpenAI GPT Latest only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3.6 35B A3B is estimated at $0.65 vs $20 for OpenAI GPT Latest, saving $19.35 (96.8% lower).

Cost-first pickQwen3.6 35B A3B
Context-first pickOpenAI GPT Latest
Sample savings$19.3596.8%
10x traffic gap$193.5

OpenAI GPT Latest has more context, but Qwen3.6 35B A3B saves $19.35 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $193.5. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Qwen3.6 35B A3B stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shapeToken mixBetter pickOpenAI GPT LatestQwen3.6 35B A3B
Input-heavy / RAG5M input + 500K outputQwen3.6 35B A3B$40$1.25
Balanced workload1M input + 1M outputQwen3.6 35B A3B$35$1.15
Output-heavy chatbot1M input + 5M outputQwen3.6 35B A3B$155$5.15
Cheaper input Qwen3.6 35B A3B $5 vs $0.15 / 1M

Qwen3.6 35B A3B is $4.85 cheaper per 1M input tokens (97% lower; 33.3x difference).

Cheaper output Qwen3.6 35B A3B $30 vs $1 / 1M

Qwen3.6 35B A3B is $29 cheaper per 1M output tokens (96.7% lower; 30x difference).

Larger context OpenAI GPT Latest 1.05M vs 262.14K

OpenAI GPT Latest has 787.86K more context (4.01x larger).

Sample workload Qwen3.6 35B A3B $20 vs $0.65

Qwen3.6 35B A3B is $19.35 cheaper on the standard workload (96.8% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.
OpenAI GPT Latest Calculating… Estimated API cost
Qwen3.6 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

Qwen3.6 35B A3B has the lower input price; Qwen3.6 35B A3B has the lower output price; OpenAI GPT Latest offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Qwen3.6 35B A3B is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $20 for OpenAI GPT Latest and $0.65 for Qwen3.6 35B A3B.

Best Fit

Choose OpenAI GPT Latest when you care most about larger context window.

Choose Qwen3.6 35B A3B 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, Qwen3.6 35B A3B is estimated at $0.65 vs $20 for OpenAI GPT Latest, saving $19.35 (96.8% lower).
  • Qwen3.6 35B A3B is $19.35 cheaper on the standard workload (96.8% lower).
  • Qwen3.6 35B A3B is $4.85 cheaper per 1M input tokens (97% lower; 33.3x difference).
  • Qwen3.6 35B A3B is $29 cheaper per 1M output tokens (96.7% lower; 30x difference).
  • OpenAI GPT Latest has 787.86K more context (4.01x larger).
Head-to-Head Specs
FeatureOpenAI GPT Latest
(OpenAI)		Qwen3.6 35B A3B
(Qwen)
Input Price
prompt tokens per 1M		$5$0.15
Completion Price
per 1M tokens		$30$1
Sample Workload Cost
1M input + 500K output		$20$0.65
Context Window1.05M262.14K
Release Date

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use caseBetter pickWhy
Budget-constrained productionQwen3.6 35B A3BOn the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3.6 35B A3B is estimated at $0.65 vs $20 for OpenAI GPT Latest, saving $19.35 (96.8% lower).
High-volume input processingQwen3.6 35B A3BLower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbotsQwen3.6 35B A3BLower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document workOpenAI GPT LatestA 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 OpenAI GPT Latest when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
  • gpt-oss-20b (free) can replace OpenAI GPT Latest when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
  • gpt-oss-20b can replace OpenAI GPT Latest when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.1.
  • gpt-oss-120b can replace OpenAI GPT Latest when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.13.
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OpenAI GPT Latest

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Qwen3.6 35B A3B

Qwen3.6-35B-A3B is an open-weight multimodal model from Alibaba Cloud with 35 billion total parameters and 3 billion active parameters per token. It uses a hybrid sparse mixture-of-experts architecture combining Gated...