API cost decision in 10 seconds
Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 vs 🔥GPT-5.5
Pick Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 for lower cost; pick GPT-5.5 only if the larger context window matters more.
Pricing data updated:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 for lower cost; pick GPT-5.5 only if the larger context window matters more.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 is estimated at $1.2 vs $20 for GPT-5.5, saving $18.8 (94% lower).
Cost-first pickQwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20
Context-first pickGPT-5.5
Sample savings$18.894%
10x traffic gap$188
GPT-5.5 has more context, but Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 saves $18.8 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $188. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 | GPT-5.5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 | $2.4 | $40 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 | $2.1 | $35 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 | $9.3 | $155 |
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 Plus 2026-04-20 has the lower input price, Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 has the lower output price, and GPT-5.5 offers the larger context window.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $1.2 for Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 and $20 for GPT-5.5.
Choose Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.
Choose GPT-5.5 when you care most about larger context window.
| Feature | Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 (Qwen) | 🔥GPT-5.5 (OpenAI) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0.3 | $5 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $1.8 | $30 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $1.2 | $20 |
| Context Window | 1M | 1.05M |
| Release Date | 2026-04-27 | 2026-04-24 |
| Popularity | #17 |
Qwen3.5 Plus (April 2026) is a large-scale multimodal language model from Alibaba. It accepts text, image, and video input and produces text output, with a 1M token context window. This...
GPT-5.5 is OpenAI’s frontier model designed for complex professional workloads, building on GPT-5.4 with stronger reasoning, higher reliability, and improved token efficiency on hard tasks. It features a 1M+ token...
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 is estimated at $1.2 vs $20 for GPT-5.5, saving $18.8 (94% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts or retrieved passages dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | GPT-5.5 | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages and source files. |