GPT-5.5 Instant vs Qwen3.5-397B-A17B

GPT-5.5 Instant (2026) and Qwen3.5-397B-A17B (2026) are frontier reasoning models from OpenAI and Alibaba. GPT-5.5 Instant ships a 400k-token context window, while Qwen3.5-397B-A17B ships a 262k-token context window. On pricing, Qwen3.5-397B-A17B costs $0.39/1M input tokens versus $5/1M for the alternative. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads.

Qwen3.5-397B-A17B is ~1182% cheaper at $0.39/1M; pay for GPT-5.5 Instant only for coding workflow support.

Decision scorecard

Local evidence first
SignalGPT-5.5 InstantQwen3.5-397B-A17B
Best formultimodal apps and tool-calling agentsreasoning-heavy apps, multimodal apps, and tool-calling agents
Decision fitCoding, RAG, and AgentsCoding, RAG, and Agents
Context window400k262k
Cheapest output$30/1M tokens$2.34/1M tokens
Provider routes1 tracked4 tracked
Shared benchmarks0 shared0 shared

Decision tradeoffs

Choose GPT-5.5 Instant when...
  • GPT-5.5 Instant has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
  • GPT-5.5 Instant uniquely exposes Code execution in local model data.
  • Local decision data tags GPT-5.5 Instant for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
Choose Qwen3.5-397B-A17B when...
  • Qwen3.5-397B-A17B has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $2.34/1M tokens.
  • Qwen3.5-397B-A17B has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and route flexibility.
  • Qwen3.5-397B-A17B uniquely exposes Reasoning in local model data.
  • Local decision data tags Qwen3.5-397B-A17B for Coding, RAG, and Agents.

Monthly cost at traffic

Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.

Lower estimate Qwen3.5-397B-A17B

GPT-5.5 Instant

$11,500

Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenAI API

Qwen3.5-397B-A17B

$897

Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter

Estimated monthly gap: $10,603. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.

Switch friction

GPT-5.5 Instant -> Qwen3.5-397B-A17B
  • No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for GPT-5.5 Instant and Qwen3.5-397B-A17B; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
  • Qwen3.5-397B-A17B is $27.66/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
  • Check replacement coverage for Code execution before moving production traffic.
  • Qwen3.5-397B-A17B adds Reasoning in local capability data.
Qwen3.5-397B-A17B -> GPT-5.5 Instant
  • No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Qwen3.5-397B-A17B and GPT-5.5 Instant; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
  • GPT-5.5 Instant is $27.66/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
  • Check replacement coverage for Reasoning before moving production traffic.
  • GPT-5.5 Instant adds Code execution in local capability data.

Specs

Specification
Released2026-05-052026-02-16
Context window400k262k
Parameters—397B
ArchitectureDecoder OnlyMixture of Experts
LicenseProprietaryApache 2.0OSI-approved
OpennessProprietaryOpen source
WeightsNot releasedAvailable
CodeUnknownUnknown
Commercial useCommercial use: conditionalCommercial use: permitted
Knowledge cutoff2025-08-

Pricing and availability

Pricing attributeGPT-5.5 InstantQwen3.5-397B-A17B
Input price$5/1M tokens$0.39/1M tokens
Output price$30/1M tokens$2.34/1M tokens
Providers
OpenAI API
OpenRouterTogether AIAlibaba Cloud PAI-EASNovita AI

Capabilities

CapabilityGPT-5.5 InstantQwen3.5-397B-A17B
VisionYesYes
MultimodalYesYes
ReasoningNoYes
JSON / Tool useYesYes
Structured outputsYesYes
Code executionYesNo
IDE integrationNoNo
Computer useNoNo
Parallel agentsNoNo

Benchmarks

No shared benchmark scores are currently available for this pair.

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Model pages
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Last reviewed: 2026-10-07. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.