QwQ-Plus vs o4-mini
Side-by-side API pricing comparison · Alibaba vs OpenAI
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QwQ-Plus is 71.9% cheaper on blended cost ($1.60 vs $2.75/Mtok)
QwQ-Plus
by Alibaba
Current reasoningInput
$0.800/Mtok
Output
$2.40/Mtok
✓ Cheaper
| Blended avg | $1.60/Mtok |
|---|---|
| Context | 131K tokens |
| Modality | text |
| Parameters | Proprietary |
| Released | Oct 1, 2025 |
o4-mini
by OpenAI
Current reasoningInput
$1.10/Mtok
Output
$4.40/Mtok
| Blended avg | $2.75/Mtok |
|---|---|
| Cached input | $0.550/Mtok |
| Context | 200K tokens |
| Modality | text, image |
| Parameters | Proprietary |
| Released | Apr 17, 2025 |
Cost at scale — 1M tokens (50/50 input/output)
| Volume | QwQ-Plus | o4-mini | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1M tokens | $1.6 | $2.75 | $1.15 (41.8%) |
| 10M tokens | $16 | $27.5 | $11.5 (41.8%) |
| 100M tokens | $160 | $275 | $115 (41.8%) |
| 1000M tokens | $1600 | $2750 | $1150 (41.8%) |
Summary
QwQ-Plus by Alibaba costs $0.800/Mtok input and $2.40/Mtok output, with a 131K-token context window. It supports text input.
o4-mini by OpenAI costs $1.10/Mtok input and $4.40/Mtok output, with a 200K-token context window. It supports text, image input.
On a blended cost basis, QwQ-Plus is 71.9% cheaper than o4-mini.
Note: Pricing is per million tokens. Actual costs vary with usage patterns, prompt caching, and batch discounts. Always verify against official provider pricing pages.