OpenAI o3 vs QVQ 72B Preview
Performance benchmarks + pricing comparison — updated April 2026
OpenAI o3
OpenAINext generation reasoning model. Improved coding and math over o1.
| Input | $10.00/M |
| Output | $40.00/M |
| Context | 200K tokens |
| Best For | Advanced coding, complex problem-solving |
| Benchmark | 85/100 |
QVQ 72B Preview
QwenQwen's visual reasoning model. Advanced image + text reasoning capabilities.
| Input | $0.500/M |
| Output | $1.50/M |
| Context | 32K tokens |
| Best For | Image analysis, visual question answering, multimodal reasoning |
Cost Comparison by Scenario
Estimated cost per project with 30% cache hit rate. Actual costs may vary based on usage patterns.
| Scenario | OpenAI o3 | QVQ 72B Preview | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | $1.55 | $0.06 | QVQ 72B Preview saves $1.49 (96%) |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | $11.50 | $0.48 | QVQ 72B Preview saves $11.03 (96%) |
| Large Project (50K lines) | $57.50 | $2.38 | QVQ 72B Preview saves $55.13 (96%) |
| Code Review (5K lines) | $2.75 | $0.13 | QVQ 72B Preview saves $2.63 (95%) |
Verdict
QVQ 72B Preview wins on both price and performance — $0.500/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.