GPT-3.5 Turbo vs Qwen Plus
Performance benchmarks + pricing comparison — updated April 2026
GPT-3.5 Turbo
OpenAIBudget model for simple tasks. Being phased out but still widely used.
| Input | $0.500/M |
| Output | $1.50/M |
| Context | 16K tokens |
| Best For | Simple chatbots, basic text generation |
| Benchmark | 40/100 |
Qwen Plus
QwenBalanced Qwen model for general tasks. Good price-performance ratio.
| Input | $0.400/M |
| Output | $1.20/M |
| Context | 128K tokens |
| Best For | General-purpose tasks, bilingual coding |
| Benchmark | 55/100 |
Benchmark Performance Comparison
Third-party benchmark scores — higher is better. Data sourced from SWE-bench, LiveCodeBench, HumanEval, and BigCodeBench.
| Benchmark | GPT-3.5 Turbo | Qwen Plus | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 40 | 55 | Qwen Plus leads by 15pts |
| SWE-bench Verified | 32 | 48 | Qwen Plus leads by 16pts |
| LiveCodeBench | 42 | 58 | Qwen Plus leads by 16pts |
| HumanEval | 62 | 78 | Qwen Plus leads by 16pts |
| BigCodeBench | 26 | 40 | Qwen Plus leads by 14pts |
Cost Comparison by Scenario
Estimated cost per project with 30% cache hit rate. Actual costs may vary based on usage patterns.
| Scenario | GPT-3.5 Turbo | Qwen Plus | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | $0.06 | $0.05 | Qwen Plus saves $0.01 (20%) |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | $0.48 | $0.38 | Qwen Plus saves $0.10 (20%) |
| Large Project (50K lines) | $2.38 | $1.90 | Qwen Plus saves $0.48 (20%) |
| Code Review (5K lines) | $0.13 | $0.10 | Qwen Plus saves $0.03 (20%) |
Value Analysis (Price per Benchmark Score Point)
Lower is better — how much you pay for each point of benchmark performance.
| Model | Overall Score | Price per Score Point | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPT-3.5 Turbo | 40 | $0.013/pt | Higher cost per point |
| Qwen Plus | 55 | $0.007/pt | Better value |
Qwen Plus delivers the best value at $0.007 per score point.
Strengths & Weaknesses
GPT-3.5 Turbo
- + Ultra-cheap
- + Very fast
- - Basic coding only
Qwen Plus
- + Budget-friendly
- - Average performance
Verdict
Qwen Plus wins on both price and performance — $0.400/M input with a benchmark score of 55/100.
For most developers, this is the clear choice between these two models.
Compare with Other Models
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