OpenAI o3-mini vs Qwen 3 Max
Performance benchmarks + pricing comparison — updated April 2026
OpenAI o3-mini
OpenAIAffordable reasoning model for coding tasks. Best price-performance for algorithm-heavy work.
| Input | $1.10/M |
| Output | $4.40/M |
| Context | 200K tokens |
| Best For | Algorithm design, coding challenges, debugging |
| Benchmark | 80/100 |
Qwen 3 Max
QwenFlagship Qwen 3 model. Top-tier reasoning and coding, competitive with Claude Opus and GPT-4.1.
| Input | $5.00/M |
| Output | $20.00/M |
| Context | 256K tokens |
| Best For | Complex coding, advanced reasoning, bilingual enterprise applications |
Cost Comparison by Scenario
Estimated cost per project with 30% cache hit rate. Actual costs may vary based on usage patterns.
| Scenario | OpenAI o3-mini | Qwen 3 Max | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | $0.17 | $0.78 | OpenAI o3-mini saves $0.60 (78%) |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | $1.27 | $5.75 | OpenAI o3-mini saves $4.48 (78%) |
| Large Project (50K lines) | $6.33 | $28.75 | OpenAI o3-mini saves $22.42 (78%) |
| Code Review (5K lines) | $0.30 | $1.38 | OpenAI o3-mini saves $1.07 (78%) |
Verdict
OpenAI o3-mini wins on both price and performance — $1.10/M input with a benchmark score of N/A/100.
For most developers, this is the clear choice between these two models.
Compare with Other Models
Claude Sonnet 4
AnthropicAnthropic's balanced model for coding and general tasks. Best price-performance ratio in the Claude family.
Claude Opus 4
AnthropicAnthropic's most powerful model. Best for complex reasoning and challenging coding tasks.
Claude 3.5 Sonnet
AnthropicPrevious generation Sonnet. Still excellent for coding tasks at the same price point.
Claude 3.5 Haiku
AnthropicFast, cost-effective model for high-volume tasks. Great for code review and simple queries.
Claude 3 Opus
AnthropicFirst generation Opus. Highest reasoning capability in the Claude 3 family.
Claude 3 Sonnet
AnthropicFirst generation Sonnet. Balanced performance for general tasks.