OpenAI: GPT-4o-mini vs Qwen: Qwen3.6 35B A3B
Head-to-head API pricing and cost comparison between OpenAI’s OpenAI: GPT-4o-mini and Qwen’s Qwen: Qwen3.6 35B A3B. Prices auto-refresh daily from OpenRouter.
OpenAI: GPT-4o-mini is 0% cheaper for input tokens; OpenAI: GPT-4o-mini also wins on output tokens.
Side-by-side comparison
| Spec | OpenAI: GPT-4o-mini | Qwen: Qwen3.6 35B A3B |
|---|---|---|
| Input price (per 1M) | $0.15 | $0.15 |
| Cached input (per 1M) | $0.07 | $0.05 |
| Output price (per 1M) | $0.60 | $1.00 |
| Batch input (per 1M) | $0.07 | — |
| Batch output (per 1M) | $0.30 | — |
| Reasoning price (per 1M) | — | — |
| Context window | 128K | 262K |
| Vision support | Yes | Yes |
| Caching support | Yes | Yes |
| Batch API | Yes | No |
| Reasoning capability | No | No |
Monthly cost at volume
Estimated monthly API spend at common production traffic levels (input/output tokens per request shown).
| Volume | OpenAI: GPT-4o-mini | Qwen: Qwen3.6 35B A3B | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
1K req/day 500in / 200out tokens | $5.85 | $8.25 | $2.40 OpenAI: GPT-4o-mini wins |
10K req/day 1500in / 500out tokens | $157.50 | $217.50 | $60.00 OpenAI: GPT-4o-mini wins |
100K req/day 3000in / 800out tokens | $2,790 | $3,750 | $960.00 OpenAI: GPT-4o-mini wins |
1M req/day 8000in / 2000out tokens | $72,000 | $96,000 | $24,000 OpenAI: GPT-4o-mini wins |
Adjust input/output token counts, request volume, batch & cached pricing.
Related comparisons
Frequently asked questions
Which is cheaper, OpenAI: GPT-4o-mini or Qwen: Qwen3.6 35B A3B?
For input tokens, OpenAI: GPT-4o-mini is roughly 0% cheaper at $0.15/1M vs $0.15/1M. For output tokens, OpenAI: GPT-4o-mini wins at $0.60/1M. Real-world cost depends on your input/output ratio — use the calculator to model your actual workload.
What’s the context window difference?
OpenAI: GPT-4o-mini has a context window of 128K tokens. Qwen: Qwen3.6 35B A3B offers 262K tokens. Larger context windows are valuable for long documents, RAG pipelines, and multi-turn conversations — but they come with higher input-token bills if you fill them every request.
Should I use OpenAI: GPT-4o-mini or Qwen: Qwen3.6 35B A3B?
Choose OpenAI: GPT-4o-mini if you’re already on the OpenAI stack, want broad ecosystem support, or prefer its lower output price. Choose Qwen: Qwen3.6 35B A3B for Qwen’s ecosystem, native vision input, or its differentiated capabilities. Run a small benchmark on your own prompts before committing — price is only one axis.
How are these prices kept current?
Prices are pulled directly from OpenRouter’s public models API once every 24 hours via a Convex cron job, then normalized to per-1M-token figures. Last refresh: Jun 17, 2026.