Model Comparison
GPT-4o vs Qwen3 VL 4B InstructWhich is better in 2026?
GPT-4o shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct is 19.4x cheaper per token.
Verdict: GPT-4o vs Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct — which is better?
GPT-4o (by OpenAI) and Qwen3 VL 4B 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 7 benchmarks (AI2D, CharXiv-D, CharXiv-R, MMLU, MMLU-Pro, MMMU-Pro, VideoMMMU), while Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct is better at 3 benchmarks (ERQA, IFEval, SimpleQA). GPT-4o shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.
On price, Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct is roughly 19.4x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct also accepts a larger context window (262,144 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Choose GPT-4o if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 7 of 10 shared benchmarks
Choose Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct if…
- cost matters — it's about 19.4x cheaper per token
- you process long inputs — it offers a 262,144 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Sep 2025
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
GPT-4o outperforms in 7 benchmarks (AI2D, CharXiv-D, CharXiv-R, MMLU, MMLU-Pro, MMMU-Pro, VideoMMMU), while Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct is better at 3 benchmarks (ERQA, IFEval, SimpleQA).
GPT-4o shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, GPT-4o ($2.50/1M tokens) is 25.0x more expensive than Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct ($0.10/1M tokens).
For output processing, GPT-4o ($10.00/1M tokens) is 16.7x more expensive than Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct ($0.60/1M tokens).
In conclusion, GPT-4o is more expensive than Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct accepts 262,144 input tokens compared to GPT-4o's 128,000 tokens. Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct can generate longer responses up to 262,144 tokens, while GPT-4o is limited to 16,384 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Both GPT-4o and Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
GPT-4o
Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct
License
Usage and distribution terms
GPT-4o is licensed under a proprietary license, while Qwen3 VL 4B 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 VL 4B Instruct was released on 2025-09-22.
Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct is 14 months newer than GPT-4o.
Aug 6, 2024
1.9 years ago
Sep 22, 2025
9 months ago
1.1yr newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Provider Availability
GPT-4o is available from Azure, OpenAI. Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct is available from DeepInfra.
GPT-4o
Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
GPT-4o
View detailsOpenAI
Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct
View detailsAlibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Detailed Comparison
Interactive Arena
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against GPT-4o and Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
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FAQ
Common questions about GPT-4o vs Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct.