OpenAI o1 vs Qwen Plus
Performance benchmarks + pricing comparison — updated April 2026
OpenAI o1
OpenAIReasoning model optimized for complex problem-solving. Excels at math, science, and advanced coding.
| Input | $15.00/M |
| Output | $60.00/M |
| Context | 200K tokens |
| Best For | Complex math, advanced coding, scientific reasoning |
| Benchmark | 83/100 |
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 | OpenAI o1 | Qwen Plus | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 83 | 55 | o1 leads by 28pts |
| SWE-bench Verified | 80 | 48 | o1 leads by 32pts |
| LiveCodeBench | 84 | 58 | o1 leads by 26pts |
| HumanEval | 95 | 78 | o1 leads by 17pts |
| BigCodeBench | 73 | 40 | o1 leads by 33pts |
Cost Comparison by Scenario
Estimated cost per project with 30% cache hit rate. Actual costs may vary based on usage patterns.
| Scenario | OpenAI o1 | Qwen Plus | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | $2.32 | $0.05 | Qwen Plus saves $2.27 (98%) |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | $17.25 | $0.38 | Qwen Plus saves $16.87 (98%) |
| Large Project (50K lines) | $86.25 | $1.90 | Qwen Plus saves $84.35 (98%) |
| Code Review (5K lines) | $4.13 | $0.10 | Qwen Plus saves $4.03 (98%) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAI o1 | 83 | $0.181/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
OpenAI o1
- + Strong step-by-step reasoning
- + Best at math-heavy coding
- - Expensive
- - Slow
Qwen Plus
- + Budget-friendly
- - Average performance
Verdict
Qwen Plus is cheaper at $0.400/M, but OpenAI o1 scores higher on benchmarks (83 vs 55).
Choose Qwen Plus for cost-sensitive projects, OpenAI o1 when performance matters most.
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