o1 vs Qwen3 30B A3B
Qwen3 30B A3B shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. Qwen3 30B A3B is 175.0x cheaper per token.
OpenAI · Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
o1 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Qwen3 30B A3B is better at 2 benchmarks (AIME 2024, LiveBench). Qwen3 30B A3B shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.
On price, Qwen3 30B A3B is roughly 175.0x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
o1 also accepts a larger context window (200,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Based on current benchmark, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose o1
- you process long inputs — it offers a 200,000 token context window
Choose Qwen3 30B A3B
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 3 shared benchmarks
- cost matters — it's about 175.0x cheaper per token
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Apr 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
o1 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Qwen3 30B A3B is better at 2 benchmarks (AIME 2024, LiveBench).
Qwen3 30B A3B shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Playground indexes and blind preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, o1 ($15.00/1M tokens) is 150.0x more expensive than Qwen3 30B A3B ($0.10/1M tokens).
For output processing, o1 ($60.00/1M tokens) is 200.0x more expensive than Qwen3 30B A3B ($0.30/1M tokens).
In conclusion, o1 is more expensive than Qwen3 30B A3B.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
o1 accepts 200,000 input tokens compared to Qwen3 30B A3B's 128,000 tokens. Qwen3 30B A3B can generate longer responses up to 128,000 tokens, while o1 is limited to 100,000 tokens.
License
Usage and distribution terms
o1 is licensed under a proprietary license, while Qwen3 30B A3B 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
o1 was released on 2024-12-17, while Qwen3 30B A3B was released on 2025-04-29.
Qwen3 30B A3B is 4 months newer than o1.
Dec 17, 2024
1.7 years ago
Apr 29, 2025
1.3 years ago
4mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Provider Availability
o1 is available from Azure, OpenAI. Qwen3 30B A3B is available from DeepInfra, Novita, Fireworks.
o1
Qwen3 30B A3B
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against o1 and Qwen3 30B A3B side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about o1 vs Qwen3 30B A3B.