gpt-oss-20b alternatives

Best gpt-oss-20b alternatives

10 models that can stand in for gpt-oss-20b, ranked by benchmark score, with what each one does better.

Current Model

gpt-oss-20b

Input / 1M: $0.02
Output / 1M: $0.09
Context: 131K
Intelligence: 10

Quick picks

The best alternative depends on what you need

Why people switch away from gpt-oss-20b, and the model that fits each reason best.

Cheapest alternative

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct

$0.08 per 1M output tokens vs $0.09

Smartest alternative

Qwen3.5-9B

Intelligence score 13.3 vs 10

Largest context

Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite

1.05M tokens vs 131K

Ranked

Top gpt-oss-20b alternatives

Each model is scored against gpt-oss-20b. Green means better, red means worse.

gpt-oss-20b as the baseline, then the top alternatives scored against it
Model	Input / 1M	Output / 1M	Context	Intelligence	Compare
gpt-oss-20b OpenAI	Input / 1M$0.02	Output / 1M$0.09	Context131K	Intelligence10	Reference model
1 Qwen3.5-9B Qwen	Input / 1M$0.10+456%	Output / 1M$0.15+67%	Context262K+100%	Intelligence13.3+33%	Compare
Why switch:Higher intelligence scoreLarger 262K contextAccepts image and videoNewer release
2 GPT-5 Nano OpenAI	Input / 1M$0.05+178%	Output / 1M$0.40+344%	Context400K+205%	Intelligence13+30%	Compare
Why switch:Higher intelligence scoreLarger 400K contextAccepts image and fileNewer release
3 Nemotron 3.5 Lightning NVIDIA	Input / 1M$0.05+161%	Output / 1M$0.13+49%	Context262K+100%	Intelligence12.9+29%	Compare
Why switch:Higher intelligence scoreLarger 262K contextNewer release
4 Mercury 2.5 Inception	Input / 1M$0.04+122%	Output / 1M$0.15+67%	Context260K+98%	Intelligence12.3+23%	Compare
Why switch:Higher intelligence scoreLarger 260K contextNewer release
5 gpt-oss-120b OpenAI	Input / 1M$0.04+106%	Output / 1M$0.17+89%	Context131K	Intelligence11.6+16%	Compare
Why switch:Higher intelligence scoreNewer release
6 Granite 4.2 8B IBM	Input / 1M$0.06+233%	Output / 1M$0.25+178%	Context131K	Intelligence11.1+11%	Compare
Why switch:Higher intelligence scoreNewer release
7 Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite Google	Input / 1M$0.10+456%	Output / 1M$0.40+344%	Context1.05M+700%	Intelligence10.4+4%	Compare
Why switch:Higher intelligence scoreLarger 1.05M contextAccepts image and file and audio and video
8 GPT-4.1 Nano OpenAI	Input / 1M$0.10+456%	Output / 1M$0.40+344%	Context1.05M+699%	Intelligence7.8-22%	Compare
Why switch:Larger 1.05M contextAccepts image and file
9 Llama 3.1 8B Instruct Meta	Input / 1M$0.05+178%	Output / 1M$0.08-11%	Context131K	Intelligence6.9-31%	Compare
Why switch:1.1x cheaper output
10 Mistral Small 3 Mistral	Input / 1M$0.05+178%	Output / 1M$0.08-11%	Context33K-75%	Intelligence6.7-33%	Compare
Why switch:1.1x cheaper output

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What is the best alternative to gpt-oss-20b?

Qwen3.5-9B from Qwen ranks first, based on independent benchmark scores. It costs $0.15 per 1M output tokens, compared with $0.09 for gpt-oss-20b.

Is there a cheaper alternative to gpt-oss-20b?

Yes. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct charges $0.08 per 1M output tokens, versus $0.09 for gpt-oss-20b.

Can I try gpt-oss-20b and its alternatives at the same time?

Yes. Shortcut Chat sends one prompt to several models at once, so you can compare gpt-oss-20b with any of these alternatives on your own tasks.

Not sure which to pick? Try them all.

Send one prompt to gpt-oss-20b and its alternatives at the same time, and keep the answer you like best.

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