Model Comparison

o3-mini vs QwQ-32BWhich is better in 2026?

o3-mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Verdict: o3-mini vs QwQ-32B — which is better?

o3-mini (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.

o3-mini outperforms in 4 benchmarks (AIME 2024, GPQA, IFEval, LiveBench), while QwQ-32B is better at 0 benchmarks. o3-mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Choose o3-mini if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 4 of 4 shared benchmarks

Choose QwQ-32B if…

  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Mar 2025
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
Want to compare interactively?Try the playground

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

4 benchmarks

o3-mini outperforms in 4 benchmarks (AIME 2024, GPQA, IFEval, LiveBench), while QwQ-32B is better at 0 benchmarks.

o3-mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Tue Jun 09 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only o3-mini specifies input context (200,000 tokens). Only o3-mini specifies output context (100,000 tokens).

OpenAI
o3-mini
Input200,000 tokens
Output100,000 tokens
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
QwQ-32B
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
Tue Jun 09 2026 • llm-stats.com

License

Usage and distribution terms

o3-mini 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.

o3-mini

Proprietary

Closed source

QwQ-32B

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

o3-mini was released on 2025-01-30, while QwQ-32B was released on 2025-03-05.

QwQ-32B is 1 month newer than o3-mini.

o3-mini

Jan 30, 2025

1.4 years ago

QwQ-32B

Mar 5, 2025

1.3 years ago

1mo newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

o3-mini has a knowledge cutoff of 2023-09-30, 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 o3-mini (2023-09-30).

o3-mini

Sep 2023

QwQ-32B

Nov 2024

1.2 yr newer

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

OpenAI
Larger context window (200,000 tokens)
Higher AIME 2024 score (87.3% vs 79.5%)
Higher GPQA score (77.2% vs 65.2%)
Higher IFEval score (93.9% vs 83.9%)
Higher LiveBench score (84.6% vs 73.1%)
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team

QwQ-32B

View details

Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team

Has open weights

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
OpenAI
o3-mini
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
QwQ-32B

FAQ

Common questions about o3-mini vs QwQ-32B.

Which is better, o3-mini or QwQ-32B?

o3-mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. o3-mini is made by OpenAI and QwQ-32B is made by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does o3-mini compare to QwQ-32B in benchmarks?

o3-mini scores COLLIE: 98.7%, MATH: 97.9%, IFEval: 93.9%, MGSM: 92.0%, AIME 2024: 87.3%. QwQ-32B scores MATH-500: 90.6%, IFEval: 83.9%, AIME 2024: 79.5%, LiveBench: 73.1%, BFCL: 66.4%.

What are the context window sizes for o3-mini and QwQ-32B?

o3-mini supports 200K tokens and QwQ-32B supports an unknown number of tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between o3-mini and QwQ-32B?

Key differences include licensing (Proprietary vs Apache 2.0). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes o3-mini and QwQ-32B?

o3-mini is developed by OpenAI and QwQ-32B is developed by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team.

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