OpenAI o1 vs Qwen Turbo

Performance benchmarks + pricing comparison — updated April 2026

OpenAI o1

OpenAI

Reasoning model optimized for complex problem-solving. Excels at math, science, and advanced coding.

Input$15.00/M
Output$60.00/M
Context200K tokens
Best ForComplex math, advanced coding, scientific reasoning
Benchmark83/100

Qwen Turbo

Qwen

Fastest and cheapest Qwen model. Good for high-volume tasks.

Input$0.080/M
Output$0.240/M
Context1M tokens
Best ForHigh-volume tasks, simple coding
Benchmark42/100

Benchmark Performance Comparison

Third-party benchmark scores — higher is better. Data sourced from SWE-bench, LiveCodeBench, HumanEval, and BigCodeBench.

BenchmarkOpenAI o1Qwen TurboLeader
Overall Score 83 42 o1 leads by 41pts
SWE-bench Verified 80 35 o1 leads by 45pts
LiveCodeBench 84 44 o1 leads by 40pts
HumanEval 95 65 o1 leads by 30pts
BigCodeBench 73 28 o1 leads by 45pts

Cost Comparison by Scenario

Estimated cost per project with 30% cache hit rate. Actual costs may vary based on usage patterns.

ScenarioOpenAI o1Qwen TurboSavings
Small Script (1K lines) $2.32 $0.01 Qwen Turbo saves $2.31 (100%)
Medium Feature (10K lines) $17.25 $0.08 Qwen Turbo saves $17.17 (100%)
Large Project (50K lines) $86.25 $0.38 Qwen Turbo saves $85.87 (100%)
Code Review (5K lines) $4.13 $0.02 Qwen Turbo saves $4.11 (100%)

Value Analysis (Price per Benchmark Score Point)

Lower is better — how much you pay for each point of benchmark performance.

ModelOverall ScorePrice per Score PointVerdict
OpenAI o1 83 $0.181/pt Higher cost per point
Qwen Turbo 42 $0.002/pt Better value

Qwen Turbo delivers the best value at $0.002 per score point.

Strengths & Weaknesses

OpenAI o1

  • + Strong step-by-step reasoning
  • + Best at math-heavy coding
  • - Expensive
  • - Slow

Qwen Turbo

  • + Cheapest option
  • + Fast
  • - Basic coding only

Verdict

Qwen Turbo is cheaper at $0.080/M, but OpenAI o1 scores higher on benchmarks (83 vs 42).

Choose Qwen Turbo for cost-sensitive projects, OpenAI o1 when performance matters most.

Compare with Other Models