o3 Mini vs Qwen3-235B-A22B
o3 Mini (2025) and Qwen3-235B-A22B (2025) are frontier reasoning models from OpenAI and Alibaba. o3 Mini ships a 200k-token context window, while Qwen3-235B-A22B ships a 128k-token context window. On MMLU PRO, Qwen3-235B-A22B leads by 3.7 pts. On pricing, Qwen3-235B-A22B costs $0.09/1M input tokens versus $1.10/1M 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.
Qwen3-235B-A22B is ~1122% cheaper at $0.09/1M; pay for o3 Mini only for coding workflow support.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | o3 Mini | Qwen3-235B-A22B |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | reasoning-heavy apps, tool-calling agents, and provider-routed production | provider-routed production |
| Decision fit | Coding, RAG, and Agents | Coding, RAG, and Long context |
| Context window | 200k | 128k |
| Cheapest output | $4.40/1M tokens | $0.58/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 4 tracked | 5 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 4 rows | MMLU PRO leader |
Decision tradeoffs
- o3 Mini holds a shared-benchmark lead on AIME 2024, ahead by 1.6 points.
- o3 Mini has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- o3 Mini uniquely exposes Reasoning, Function calling, and Tool use in local model data.
- Local decision data tags o3 Mini for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
- Qwen3-235B-A22B holds a shared-benchmark lead on MMLU PRO, ahead by 3.7 points.
- Qwen3-235B-A22B has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.58/1M tokens.
- Qwen3-235B-A22B has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and procurement flexibility.
- Local decision data tags Qwen3-235B-A22B for Coding, RAG, and Long context.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.
o3 Mini
$1,980
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter
Qwen3-235B-A22B
$217
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Novita AI
Estimated monthly gap: $1,763. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Qwen3-235B-A22B is $3.82/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Check replacement coverage for Reasoning, Function calling, and Tool use before moving production traffic.
- Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter; start route-level A/B tests there.
- o3 Mini is $3.82/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- o3 Mini adds Reasoning, Function calling, and Tool use in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2025-01-31 | 2025-04-29 |
| Context window | 200k | 128k |
| Parameters | — | 235B |
| Architecture | decoder only | decoder only |
| License | Proprietary | Apache 2.0(OSI) |
| Openness | Proprietary | Open source |
| Commercial use | Commercial use with conditions | Commercial use allowed |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2025-04 | - |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | o3 Mini | Qwen3-235B-A22B |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $1.10/1M tokens | $0.09/1M tokens |
| Output price | $4.40/1M tokens | $0.58/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | o3 Mini | Qwen3-235B-A22B |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | No |
| Multimodal | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | No |
| Function calling | Yes | No |
| Tool use | Yes | No |
| Structured outputs | Yes | Yes |
| Code execution | Yes | No |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | o3 Mini | Qwen3-235B-A22B |
|---|---|---|
| MMLU PRO | 79.1 | 82.8 |
| Google-Proof Q&A | 79.7 | 86.1 |
| AIME 2024 | 87.3 | 85.7 |
| Aider Polyglot | 60.4 | 59.6 |
Deep dive
On shared benchmark coverage, MMLU PRO has o3 Mini at 79.1 and Qwen3-235B-A22B at 82.8, with Qwen3-235B-A22B ahead by 3.7 points; Google-Proof Q&A has o3 Mini at 79.7 and Qwen3-235B-A22B at 86.1, with Qwen3-235B-A22B ahead by 6.4 points; AIME 2024 has o3 Mini at 87.3 and Qwen3-235B-A22B at 85.7, with o3 Mini ahead by 1.6 points. The largest visible gap is 6.4 points on Google-Proof Q&A, which matters most when that benchmark mirrors your workload. Treat isolated benchmark wins as directional, because provider routing, prompt style, and tool access can move real application results.
The capability footprint differs most on reasoning mode: o3 Mini, function calling: o3 Mini, tool use: o3 Mini, and code execution: o3 Mini. Both models share structured outputs, so the practical split is not just feature count. Use those differences to decide whether the page is about raw model quality, agentic coding support, multimodal ingestion, or predictable structured API behavior.
For cost, o3 Mini lists $1.10/1M input and $4.40/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider, while Qwen3-235B-A22B lists $0.09/1M input and $0.58/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts Qwen3-235B-A22B lower by about $1.85 per million blended tokens. Availability is 4 providers versus 5, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose o3 Mini when coding workflow support and larger context windows are central to the workload. Choose Qwen3-235B-A22B when provider fit, lower input-token cost, and broader provider choice are more important. For production, rerun your own prompts through the exact provider, region, and tool stack you plan to ship.
FAQ
Which has a larger context window, o3 Mini or Qwen3-235B-A22B?
o3 Mini supports 200k tokens, while Qwen3-235B-A22B supports 128k tokens. That gap matters most for long documents, large codebases, retrieval-heavy agents, and conversations where earlier context must remain visible. Use this as a quick comparison signal, then confirm the provider-specific limits before committing to production.
Which is cheaper, o3 Mini or Qwen3-235B-A22B?
Qwen3-235B-A22B is cheaper on tracked token pricing. o3 Mini costs $1.10/1M input and $4.40/1M output tokens. Qwen3-235B-A22B costs $0.09/1M input and $0.58/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.
Is o3 Mini or Qwen3-235B-A22B open source?
o3 Mini is listed under Proprietary. Qwen3-235B-A22B is listed under Apache 2.0. License labels affect whether you can self-host, redistribute weights, or rely only on hosted APIs, so confirm the upstream license before deployment.
Which is better for reasoning mode, o3 Mini or Qwen3-235B-A22B?
o3 Mini has the clearer documented reasoning mode signal in this comparison. If reasoning mode is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Which is better for function calling, o3 Mini or Qwen3-235B-A22B?
o3 Mini has the clearer documented function calling signal in this comparison. If function calling is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Where can I run o3 Mini and Qwen3-235B-A22B?
o3 Mini is available on OpenRouter, Azure OpenAI, OpenAI API, and Vercel AI Gateway. Qwen3-235B-A22B is available on Fireworks AI, AWS Bedrock, OpenRouter, Venice AI, and Novita AI. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
Continue comparing
Last reviewed: 2026-06-04. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.