GPT-5 vs Qwen2.5 72B Instruct
GPT-5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Qwen2.5 72B Instruct is 9.5x cheaper per token.
OpenAI · Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
GPT-5 outperforms in 3 benchmarks (GPQA, HumanEval, MATH), while Qwen2.5 72B Instruct is better at 0 benchmarks. GPT-5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
On price, Qwen2.5 72B Instruct is roughly 9.5x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
GPT-5 also accepts a larger context window (400,000 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-5
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 3 of 3 shared benchmarks
- you process long inputs — it offers a 400,000 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Aug 2025
Choose Qwen2.5 72B Instruct
- cost matters — it's about 9.5x cheaper per token
- 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-5 outperforms in 3 benchmarks (GPQA, HumanEval, MATH), while Qwen2.5 72B Instruct is better at 0 benchmarks.
GPT-5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Playground indexes and blind preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, GPT-5 ($1.25/1M tokens) is 3.6x more expensive than Qwen2.5 72B Instruct ($0.35/1M tokens).
For output processing, GPT-5 ($10.00/1M tokens) is 25.0x more expensive than Qwen2.5 72B Instruct ($0.40/1M tokens).
In conclusion, GPT-5 is more expensive than Qwen2.5 72B Instruct.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
GPT-5 accepts 400,000 input tokens compared to Qwen2.5 72B Instruct's 131,072 tokens. GPT-5 can generate longer responses up to 128,000 tokens, while Qwen2.5 72B Instruct is limited to 8,192 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
GPT-5 supports multimodal inputs, whereas Qwen2.5 72B Instruct does not.
GPT-5 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
GPT-5
Qwen2.5 72B Instruct
License
Usage and distribution terms
GPT-5 is licensed under a proprietary license, while Qwen2.5 72B Instruct uses Qwen.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Proprietary
Closed source
Qwen
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
GPT-5 was released on 2025-08-07, while Qwen2.5 72B Instruct was released on 2024-09-19.
GPT-5 is 11 months newer than Qwen2.5 72B Instruct.
Aug 7, 2025
1.1 years ago
10mo newerSep 19, 2024
1.9 years ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
GPT-5 has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-09-30, while Qwen2.5 72B Instruct's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm GPT-5's training data extends to 2024-09-30, but cannot make a direct comparison without Qwen2.5 72B Instruct's cutoff date.
Sep 2024
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Provider Availability
GPT-5 is available from OpenAI. Qwen2.5 72B Instruct is available from DeepInfra, Hyperbolic, Fireworks, Together.
GPT-5
Qwen2.5 72B Instruct
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against GPT-5 and Qwen2.5 72B Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about GPT-5 vs Qwen2.5 72B Instruct.