GPT-5 mini vs Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking
GPT-5 mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking is 1.0x cheaper per token.
OpenAI · Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
GPT-5 mini outperforms in 2 benchmarks (AIME 2025, GPQA), while Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking is better at 0 benchmarks. GPT-5 mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
GPT-5 mini 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 mini
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 2 shared benchmarks
- you process long inputs — it offers a 400,000 token context window
Choose Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking
- 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-5 mini outperforms in 2 benchmarks (AIME 2025, GPQA), while Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking is better at 0 benchmarks.
GPT-5 mini 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 mini ($0.25/1M tokens) is 1.4x more expensive than Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking ($0.18/1M tokens).
For output processing, GPT-5 mini ($2.00/1M tokens) is 1.0x cheaper than Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking ($2.09/1M tokens).
In conclusion, GPT-5 mini is more expensive than Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
GPT-5 mini accepts 400,000 input tokens compared to Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking's 262,144 tokens. Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking can generate longer responses up to 262,144 tokens, while GPT-5 mini is limited to 128,000 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Both GPT-5 mini and Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
GPT-5 mini
Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking
License
Usage and distribution terms
GPT-5 mini is licensed under a proprietary license, while Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking 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-5 mini was released on 2025-08-07, while Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking was released on 2025-09-22.
Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking is 2 months newer than GPT-5 mini.
Aug 7, 2025
1.1 years ago
Sep 22, 2025
11 months ago
1mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
GPT-5 mini has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-05-30, while Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm GPT-5 mini's training data extends to 2024-05-30, but cannot make a direct comparison without Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking's cutoff date.
May 2024
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Provider Availability
GPT-5 mini is available from OpenAI. Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking is available from DeepInfra.
GPT-5 mini
Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against GPT-5 mini and Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about GPT-5 mini vs Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking.