API cost decision in 10 seconds

Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B vs GPT-5.5 Pro

Pick Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B 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 Coder 480B A35B 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 Coder 480B A35B is estimated at $1.12 vs $120 for GPT-5.5 Pro, saving $118.88 (99.1% lower).

Cost-first pickQwen3 Coder 480B A35B
Context-first pickGPT-5.5 Pro
Sample savings$118.8899.1%
10x traffic gap$1188.8

GPT-5.5 Pro has more context, but Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B saves $118.88 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $1188.8. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shapeToken mixBetter pickQwen3 Coder 480B A35BGPT-5.5 Pro
Input-heavy / RAG5M input + 500K outputQwen3 Coder 480B A35B$2$240
Balanced workload1M input + 1M outputQwen3 Coder 480B A35B$2.02$210
Output-heavy chatbot1M input + 5M outputQwen3 Coder 480B A35B$9.22$930
Cheaper input Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B $0.22 vs $30 / 1M

Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B is $29.78 cheaper per 1M input tokens (99.3% lower; 136.4x difference).

Cheaper output Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B $1.8 vs $180 / 1M

Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B is $178.2 cheaper per 1M output tokens (99% lower; 100x difference).

Larger context GPT-5.5 Pro 1.05M vs 1.05M

GPT-5.5 Pro has 1.42K more context (1x larger).

Sample workload Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B $1.12 vs $120

Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B is $118.88 cheaper on the standard workload (99.1% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.
Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B Calculating… Estimated API cost
GPT-5.5 Pro 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 Coder 480B A35B has the lower input price; Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B has the lower output price; GPT-5.5 Pro offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $1.12 for Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B and $120 for GPT-5.5 Pro.

Best Fit

Choose Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

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

Decision Notes
  • On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B is estimated at $1.12 vs $120 for GPT-5.5 Pro, saving $118.88 (99.1% lower).
  • Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B is $118.88 cheaper on the standard workload (99.1% lower).
  • Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B is $29.78 cheaper per 1M input tokens (99.3% lower; 136.4x difference).
  • Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B is $178.2 cheaper per 1M output tokens (99% lower; 100x difference).
  • GPT-5.5 Pro has 1.42K more context (1x larger).
Head-to-Head Specs
FeatureQwen3 Coder 480B A35B
(Qwen)
GPT-5.5 Pro
(OpenAI)
Input Price
prompt tokens per 1M
$0.22$30
Completion Price
per 1M tokens
$1.8$180
Sample Workload Cost
1M input + 500K output
$1.12$120
Context Window1.05M1.05M
Release Date
Popularity#97#122

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use caseBetter pickWhy
Budget-constrained productionQwen3 Coder 480B A35BOn the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B is estimated at $1.12 vs $120 for GPT-5.5 Pro, saving $118.88 (99.1% lower).
High-volume input processingQwen3 Coder 480B A35BLower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbotsQwen3 Coder 480B A35BLower 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
Larger context near this budget

Cheaper alternatives

Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.

Open cheapest models

Larger context alternatives

Find models with larger context windows for RAG, long documents, and codebase review.

Open largest context models

Provider catalogs

Compare models within provider hubs before choosing a final API vendor.

Open provider hubs

Qwen catalog

Review all tracked Qwen models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.

Open Qwen models

OpenAI catalog

Check other OpenAI models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.

Open OpenAI models
Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B

Qwen3-Coder-480B-A35B-Instruct is a Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) code generation model developed by the Qwen team. It is optimized for agentic coding tasks such as function calling, tool use, and long-context reasoning over...

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...