Model Comparison
GPT-5.1 vs QwQ-32BWhich is better in 2026?
GPT-5.1 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Verdict: GPT-5.1 vs QwQ-32B — which is better?
GPT-5.1 (by OpenAI) and QwQ-32B (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-5.1 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while QwQ-32B is better at 0 benchmarks. GPT-5.1 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Choose GPT-5.1 if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 1 of 1 shared benchmarks
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Nov 2025
Choose QwQ-32B if…
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
GPT-5.1 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while QwQ-32B is better at 0 benchmarks.
GPT-5.1 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Only GPT-5.1 specifies input context (400,000 tokens). Only GPT-5.1 specifies output context (128,000 tokens).
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
GPT-5.1 supports multimodal inputs, whereas QwQ-32B does not.
GPT-5.1 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
GPT-5.1
QwQ-32B
License
Usage and distribution terms
GPT-5.1 is licensed under a proprietary license, while QwQ-32B 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-5.1 was released on 2025-11-13, while QwQ-32B was released on 2025-03-05.
GPT-5.1 is 8 months newer than QwQ-32B.
Nov 13, 2025
8 months ago
8mo newerMar 5, 2025
1.4 years ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
GPT-5.1 has a knowledge cutoff of 2024-09-30, while QwQ-32B has a cutoff of 2024-11-28.
QwQ-32B has more recent training data (up to 2024-11-28), making it potentially better informed about events through that date compared to GPT-5.1 (2024-09-30).
Sep 2024
Nov 2024
2 mo newerOutputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
GPT-5.1
View detailsOpenAI
QwQ-32B
View detailsAlibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Detailed Comparison
Interactive Arena
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against GPT-5.1 and QwQ-32B side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about GPT-5.1 vs QwQ-32B.