GPT-4.1 vs Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is 5.9x cheaper per token.
OpenAI · Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
GPT-4.1 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (MMLU), while Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is better at 4 benchmarks (AIME 2025, CharXiv-R, IFEval, Multi-IF). Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
On price, Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is roughly 5.9x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
GPT-4.1 also accepts a larger context window (1,047,576 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Based on current benchmark, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose GPT-4.1
- you process long inputs — it offers a 1,047,576 token context window
Choose Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 4 of 5 shared benchmarks
- cost matters — it's about 5.9x cheaper per token
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Sep 2025
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
GPT-4.1 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (MMLU), while Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is better at 4 benchmarks (AIME 2025, CharXiv-R, IFEval, Multi-IF).
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Playground indexes and blind preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, GPT-4.1 ($2.00/1M tokens) is 6.7x more expensive than Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct ($0.30/1M tokens).
For output processing, GPT-4.1 ($8.00/1M tokens) is 5.4x more expensive than Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct ($1.49/1M tokens).
In conclusion, GPT-4.1 is more expensive than Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
GPT-4.1 accepts 1,047,576 input tokens compared to Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct's 262,144 tokens. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct can generate longer responses up to 262,144 tokens, while GPT-4.1 is limited to 32,768 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Both GPT-4.1 and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
GPT-4.1
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct
License
Usage and distribution terms
GPT-4.1 is licensed under a proprietary license, while Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct uses Apache 2.0.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Proprietary
Closed source
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
GPT-4.1 was released on 2025-04-14, while Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct was released on 2025-09-22.
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is 5 months newer than GPT-4.1.
Apr 14, 2025
1.4 years ago
Sep 22, 2025
11 months ago
5mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
GPT-4.1 has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-06-01, while Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm GPT-4.1's training data extends to 2024-06-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct's cutoff date.
Jun 2024
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Provider Availability
GPT-4.1 is available from OpenAI. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is available from DeepInfra, Novita.
GPT-4.1
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against GPT-4.1 and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about GPT-4.1 vs Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct.