Qwen Plus vs GPT-4.1 mini
Performance benchmarks + pricing comparison — updated April 2026
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 |
GPT-4.1 mini
OpenAICost-optimized GPT-4.1 variant. Strong coding capability at budget pricing, replacing GPT-4o mini for many use cases.
| Input | $0.400/M |
| Output | $1.60/M |
| Context | 128K tokens |
| Best For | High-volume coding, cost-sensitive projects, automation |
| Benchmark | 68/100 |
Benchmark Performance Comparison
Third-party benchmark scores — higher is better. Data sourced from SWE-bench, LiveCodeBench, HumanEval, and BigCodeBench.
| Benchmark | Qwen Plus | GPT-4.1 mini | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 55 | 68 | GPT-4.1 Mini leads by 13pts |
| SWE-bench Verified | 48 | 62 | GPT-4.1 Mini leads by 14pts |
| LiveCodeBench | 58 | 70 | GPT-4.1 Mini leads by 12pts |
| HumanEval | 78 | 86 | GPT-4.1 Mini leads by 8pts |
| BigCodeBench | 40 | 54 | GPT-4.1 Mini 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 | Qwen Plus | GPT-4.1 mini | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | $0.05 | $0.06 | Qwen Plus saves $0.01 (19%) |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | $0.38 | $0.46 | Qwen Plus saves $0.08 (17%) |
| Large Project (50K lines) | $1.90 | $2.30 | Qwen Plus saves $0.40 (17%) |
| Code Review (5K lines) | $0.10 | $0.11 | Qwen Plus saves $0.01 (9%) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qwen Plus | 55 | $0.007/pt | Better value |
| GPT-4.1 mini | 68 | $0.022/pt | Higher cost per point |
Qwen Plus delivers the best value at $0.007 per score point.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Qwen Plus
- + Budget-friendly
- - Average performance
GPT-4.1 mini
- + Good value
- + Latest architecture
- - Mini variant limitations
Verdict
Qwen Plus is cheaper at $0.400/M, but GPT-4.1 mini scores higher on benchmarks (68 vs 55).
Choose Qwen Plus for cost-sensitive projects, GPT-4.1 mini when performance matters most.
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