GPT-5.1 vs Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B: price, context and capabilities

Choose GPT-5.1 for reused prompts and documents (RAG, agents) and images as input. Choose Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B for high-volume, cost-sensitive work, writing and code generation, very long inputs and the latest release.

In short

  • Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B is 13% cheaper than GPT-5.1 at the headline price ($3.00 / 1M tokens vs $3.44 / 1M tokens).
  • Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B reads more per request: 1.05M tokens against 400k.
  • Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B is the newer model (Aug 12, 2026, against Nov 13, 2025).
  • Only GPT-5.1 offers vision, batch api.

Open in the full comparison table

What a month costsAt 20 million input and 5 million output tokens a month.
  1. GPT-5.1OpenAI$75.00
  2. Qwen3.8 2.4T A95BAlibaba Cloud (Qwen)$70.00

Try your own volumes in the calculator

Which should you choose?

Each answer below comes straight from the published prices, specifications and independent benchmark results.

High-volume, cost-sensitive work

Choose Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B

Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B costs 13% less on a typical mix of three input tokens for every output token ($3.00 against $3.44 per million tokens).

Writing and code generation

Choose Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B

Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B charges $6.00 per million output tokens, against $10.00 for GPT-5.1. Output dominates the bill when answers are long.

Reused prompts and documents (RAG, agents)

Choose GPT-5.1

GPT-5.1 charges $0.13 per million cached input tokens, against $0.25 for Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B.

Very long inputs

Choose Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B

Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B reads up to 1.05M tokens per request, against 400k for GPT-5.1.

Images as input

Choose GPT-5.1

GPT-5.1 accepts images as input; Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B does not.

Latest release

Choose Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B

Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B is the newer release (Aug 12, 2026, against Nov 13, 2025 for GPT-5.1).

Monthly cost at three volumes

VolumeGPT-5.1Qwen3.8 2.4T A95BDifference
Prototype: 1M input, 250K output tokens $3.75 $3.50 Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B, $0.25 less
Production: 20M input, 5M output tokens $75.00 $70.00 Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B, $5.00 less
Scale: 500M input, 100M output tokens $1,625 $1,600 Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B, $25.00 less

Standard rates, without caching or batch discounts. Volumes are per month.

Specifications side by side

GPT-5.1Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B
ProviderOpenAIAlibaba Cloud (Qwen)
CategoryLanguage modelsLanguage models
StatusDeprecatedGenerally available
Headline price$3.44 / 1M tokens$3.00 / 1M tokens
Input$1.25 / 1M tokens$2.00 / 1M tokens
Output$10.00 / 1M tokens$6.00 / 1M tokens
Cached input$0.125 / 1M tokens$0.25 / 1M tokens
Context window400k1.05M
Max output128k909k
ReleasedNov 13, 2025Aug 12, 2026
Knowledge cutoffSeptember 2024No data
LicenceProprietaryProprietary
CapabilitiesVision, Reasoning, Tool calling, Structured output, Prompt caching, Batch APIReasoning, Tool calling, Structured output, Prompt caching
API model idgpt-5.1qwen3.8-2.4t-a95b

Benchmarks side by side

Leader in bold.

BenchmarkGPT-5.1Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B
Terminal-Bench Hard 45.5% No data
GPQA Diamond 87.3% No data
Humanity's Last Exam 28.5% No data
IFBench (instruction following) 72.9% No data
τ²-Bench (agentic tool use) 81.9% No data
MMMU-Pro (visual reasoning) 75.5% No data
Long-context reasoning (AA-LCR) 80% No data

Independent evaluations by Artificial Analysis, run the same way for every model, at the reasoning setting shown. Percentages unless marked as an index.

Frequently asked questions

Should I choose GPT-5.1 or Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B?

Choose GPT-5.1 for reused prompts and documents (RAG, agents) and images as input. Choose Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B for high-volume, cost-sensitive work, writing and code generation, very long inputs and the latest release.

Which is cheaper, GPT-5.1 or Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B?

Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B is 13% cheaper than GPT-5.1 at the headline price ($3.00 / 1M tokens vs $3.44 / 1M tokens).

Which has the larger context window, GPT-5.1 or Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B?

Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B reads more per request: 1.05M tokens against 400k.

What is the difference between GPT-5.1 and Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B?

GPT-5.1 is made by OpenAI and Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B by Alibaba Cloud (Qwen). Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B is 13% cheaper than GPT-5.1 at the headline price ($3.00 / 1M tokens vs $3.44 / 1M tokens). Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B reads more per request: 1.05M tokens against 400k. Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B is the newer model (Aug 12, 2026, against Nov 13, 2025). Only GPT-5.1 offers vision, batch api.

How much do GPT-5.1 and Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B cost per month?

At 20 million input and 5 million output tokens a month, GPT-5.1 costs $75.00 and Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B costs $70.00, at standard rates.

Which is newer, GPT-5.1 or Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B?

Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B was released on Aug 12, 2026 and GPT-5.1 on Nov 13, 2025.