Model Comparison
GPT-4o vs Qwen3-Coder 480B A35B InstructWhich is better in 2026?
Qwen3-Coder 480B A35B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Verdict: GPT-4o vs Qwen3-Coder 480B A35B Instruct — which is better?
GPT-4o (by OpenAI) and Qwen3-Coder 480B A35B Instruct (by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team) are two of the AI models people compare most. Here is how they stack up on benchmarks, price and capabilities, and which one to pick in 2026.
GPT-4o outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3-Coder 480B A35B Instruct is better at 4 benchmarks (Aider-Polyglot, SWE-Bench Verified, TAU-bench Airline, TAU-bench Retail). Qwen3-Coder 480B A35B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Choose GPT-4o if…
- you want predictable pricing at $2.50/M input and $10.00/M output
Choose Qwen3-Coder 480B A35B Instruct if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 4 of 4 shared benchmarks
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jan 2025
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
GPT-4o outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3-Coder 480B A35B Instruct is better at 4 benchmarks (Aider-Polyglot, SWE-Bench Verified, TAU-bench Airline, TAU-bench Retail).
Qwen3-Coder 480B A35B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Only GPT-4o specifies input context (128,000 tokens). Only GPT-4o specifies output context (16,384 tokens).
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
GPT-4o supports multimodal inputs, whereas Qwen3-Coder 480B A35B Instruct does not.
GPT-4o can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
GPT-4o
Qwen3-Coder 480B A35B Instruct
License
Usage and distribution terms
GPT-4o is licensed under a proprietary license, while Qwen3-Coder 480B A35B 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-4o was released on 2024-08-06, while Qwen3-Coder 480B A35B Instruct was released on 2025-01-31.
Qwen3-Coder 480B A35B Instruct is 6 months newer than GPT-4o.
Aug 6, 2024
1.8 years ago
Jan 31, 2025
1.4 years ago
5mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
GPT-4o
View detailsOpenAI
Qwen3-Coder 480B A35B Instruct
View detailsAlibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Detailed Comparison
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FAQ
Common questions about GPT-4o vs Qwen3-Coder 480B A35B Instruct.