Qwen3.5 397B A17B is $0.01 cheaper per 1M input tokens (2.5% lower; 1.03x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
Qwen3.5 397B A17B vs GPT-4.1 Mini
Pick GPT-4.1 Mini when budget and context both matter.
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Data confirmed:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick GPT-4.1 Mini when budget and context both matter.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GPT-4.1 Mini is estimated at $1.2 vs $1.56 for Qwen3.5 397B A17B, saving $0.36 (23.1% lower).
Cost-first pickGPT-4.1 Mini
Context-first pickGPT-4.1 Mini
Sample savings$0.3623.1%
10x traffic gap$3.6
GPT-4.1 Mini is cheaper on the standard workload and also has the larger context window. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $3.6. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
GPT-4.1 Mini stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Qwen3.5 397B A17B | GPT-4.1 Mini |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | GPT-4.1 Mini | $3.12 | $2.8 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | GPT-4.1 Mini | $2.73 | $2 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | GPT-4.1 Mini | $12.09 | $8.4 |
GPT-4.1 Mini is $0.74 cheaper per 1M output tokens (31.6% lower; 1.46x difference).
GPT-4.1 Mini has 785.43K more context (4x larger).
GPT-4.1 Mini is $0.36 cheaper on the standard workload (23.1% lower).
Estimate your workload cost
Your Workload Cost
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
Qwen3.5 397B A17B has the lower input price; GPT-4.1 Mini has the lower output price; GPT-4.1 Mini offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, GPT-4.1 Mini is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $1.56 for Qwen3.5 397B A17B and $1.2 for GPT-4.1 Mini.
Choose Qwen3.5 397B A17B when you care most about lower input-token price.
Choose GPT-4.1 Mini when you care most about lower output-token price, and larger context window.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GPT-4.1 Mini is estimated at $1.2 vs $1.56 for Qwen3.5 397B A17B, saving $0.36 (23.1% lower).
- GPT-4.1 Mini is $0.36 cheaper on the standard workload (23.1% lower).
- Qwen3.5 397B A17B is $0.01 cheaper per 1M input tokens (2.5% lower; 1.03x difference).
- GPT-4.1 Mini is $0.74 cheaper per 1M output tokens (31.6% lower; 1.46x difference).
- GPT-4.1 Mini has 785.43K more context (4x larger).
| Feature | Qwen3.5 397B A17B (Qwen) | GPT-4.1 Mini (OpenAI) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0.39 | $0.4 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $2.34 | $1.6 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $1.56 | $1.2 |
| Context Window | 262.14K | 1.05M |
| Release Date | ||
| Popularity | #49 | #52 |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | GPT-4.1 Mini | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GPT-4.1 Mini is estimated at $1.2 vs $1.56 for Qwen3.5 397B A17B, saving $0.36 (23.1% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Qwen3.5 397B A17B | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | GPT-4.1 Mini | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | GPT-4.1 Mini | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files. |
Related Alternatives
- Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct (free) can replace Qwen3.5 397B A17B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B (free) can replace Qwen3.5 397B A17B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Qwen2.5 7B Instruct can replace Qwen3.5 397B A17B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.09.
- Qwen3 235B A22B Instruct 2507 can replace Qwen3.5 397B A17B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.14.
- Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.25 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.
- MiMo-V2.5 offers 1.05M context with $0.28 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash · DeepSeek · #1
- Hy3 preview · Tencent · #2
- MiMo-V2.5 · Xiaomi · #3
- MiniMax M3 · MiniMax · #4
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Open OpenAI modelsThe Qwen3.5 series 397B-A17B native vision-language model is built on a hybrid architecture that integrates a linear attention mechanism with a sparse mixture-of-experts model, achieving higher inference efficiency. It delivers...
GPT-4.1 Mini is a mid-sized model delivering performance competitive with GPT-4o at substantially lower latency and cost. It retains a 1 million token context window and scores 45.1% on hard...