AI model comparison
Qwen3.5 397B A17B vs GPT-5 Mini
Pricing, context window, benchmarks, and features compared side by side. Or skip the guesswork and send one prompt to both.
The 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.
- Input / 1M
- $0.55
- Output / 1M
- $3.50
- Context
- 262K
OpenAI
GPT-5 Mini
GPT-5 Mini is a compact version of GPT-5, designed to handle lighter-weight reasoning tasks.
- Input / 1M
- $0.25
- Output / 1M
- $2
- Context
- 400K
At a glance
Quick verdict
How the two models stack up on the things people ask about most.
Lower price
GPT-5 Mini
1.9x cheaper for a typical chat
Higher intelligence score
Qwen3.5 397B A17B
21.4 vs 20.6 on Artificial Analysis
Larger context window
GPT-5 Mini
400K vs 262K tokens
Newer release
Qwen3.5 397B A17B
Released February 16, 2026
Benchmarks
Benchmark scores
Independent scores from Artificial Analysis. Higher is better.
Intelligence index
Coding index
Agentic index
Pricing
Qwen3.5 397B A17B vs GPT-5 Mini API pricing
Per-token API rates. Cheaper option highlighted.
| Metric | ||
|---|---|---|
| Input tokensPer 1M tokens | $0.55 | $0.25 |
| Output tokensPer 1M tokens | $3.50 | $2 |
| Cached input (read)Per 1M tokens | $0.22 | $0.03 |
| Cache writePer 1M tokens | Not available | Not available |
| Web searchPer request | Not available | $0.01 |
What it costs in practice
Estimated cost per 1,000 requests at standard rates. Coding and long-document figures also show the cost when the input is already cached.
Chat message
2K in, 500 out
Coding task
30K in, 4K out
Long document summary
150K in, 2K out
Specs
Context window and capabilities
How much each model can read, how much it can write, and what it accepts as input.
| Metric | ||
|---|---|---|
| Context window | 262K tokens | 400K tokens |
| Max output | 236K tokens | 128K tokens |
| Input types | Image, Text, Video | File, Image, Text |
| Output types | Text | Text |
| Reasoning effort levels | Not available | High, Medium, Low, Minimal |
| Default reasoning effort | Not available | Medium |
| Release date | February 16, 2026 | August 7, 2025 |
Features
Supported features
API features available for each model.
| Metric | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tool calling | Supported | Supported |
| Structured outputs | Supported | Supported |
| JSON mode | Supported | Supported |
| Reasoning | Supported | Supported |
| Temperature | Supported | Not supported |
| Stop sequences | Supported | Not supported |
| Deterministic seed | Supported | Supported |
| Verbosity control | Not supported | Supported |
Our take
GPT-5 Mini is 1.9x cheaper for a typical chat. Qwen3.5 397B A17B scores higher on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index (21.4 vs 20.6). GPT-5 Mini has the larger context window (400K vs 262K tokens). The right pick depends on your workload, so the quickest way to settle it is to send the same prompt to both and compare.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is Qwen3.5 397B A17B or GPT-5 Mini cheaper?
GPT-5 Mini is cheaper for a typical chat (2K input tokens and 500 output tokens). GPT-5 Mini costs $0.25 per 1M input tokens and $2 per 1M output tokens, while Qwen3.5 397B A17B costs $0.55 per 1M input tokens and $3.50 per 1M output tokens.
Which has a bigger context window, Qwen3.5 397B A17B or GPT-5 Mini?
GPT-5 Mini supports up to 400K tokens of context, compared with 262K for Qwen3.5 397B A17B.
Is Qwen3.5 397B A17B smarter than GPT-5 Mini?
On the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, Qwen3.5 397B A17B scores 21.4 and GPT-5 Mini scores 20.6, putting Qwen3.5 397B A17B ahead. Benchmarks don't capture everything, so the best test is running your own prompts through both.
Can I use Qwen3.5 397B A17B and GPT-5 Mini at the same time?
Yes. Shortcut Chat sends one prompt to multiple models at once, so you can see Qwen3.5 397B A17B and GPT-5 Mini answer side by side and keep the better response.
Why choose? Ask both.
Send one prompt to Qwen3.5 397B A17B and GPT-5 Mini at the same time. Compare the answers side by side and keep the best one.