Model comparison
GPT-4.1 mini vs Qwen3.5-35B-A3B
Head-to-head evidence from 15 shared benchmark results across 6 categories. Overall scores shown here use the public BenchAlign v5 ranking lane.
Public leaderboard positions: GPT-4.1 mini #152 (Estimated); Qwen3.5-35B-A3B #72 (Supported). Intervals and evidence labels describe ranking uncertainty, not a guarantee for a specific workload.
Evidence parity. GPT-4.1 mini and Qwen3.5-35B-A3B share 15 comparable benchmark results. 3 of 8 categories are comparable. 7 results are unique to GPT-4.1 mini; 13 to Qwen3.5-35B-A3B.
Updated July 23, 2026- Shared results
- 15
- GPT-4.1 mini only
- 7
- Qwen3.5-35B-A3B only
- 13
- Comparable categories
- 3 / 8
Pick Qwen3.5-35B-A3B if you want the stronger benchmark profile. GPT-4.1 mini only becomes the better choice if you need the larger 1M context window or you would rather avoid the extra latency and token burn of a reasoning model.
Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 15 shared benchmark results across 6 evidence categories; 3 of 8 categories currently have scoreable aggregates for both models. Treat the verdict as directional until coverage is more balanced.
Why this result
Qwen3.5-35B-A3B is clearly ahead on the BenchAlign aggregate, 56.97 to 44.19. The gap is large enough that you do not need to squint at the spreadsheet to see the difference.
Qwen3.5-35B-A3B's sharpest advantage is in coding, where it averages 60.6 against 23.6. The single biggest benchmark swing on the page is SWE-bench Verified, 23.6% to 69.2%.
GPT-4.1 mini is also the more expensive model on tokens at $0.40 input / $1.60 output per 1M tokens, versus $0.00 input / $0.00 output per 1M tokens for Qwen3.5-35B-A3B. That is roughly Infinityx on output cost alone. Qwen3.5-35B-A3B is the reasoning model in the pair, while GPT-4.1 mini is not. That usually helps on harder chain-of-thought-heavy tests, but it can also mean more latency and more token spend in real use. GPT-4.1 mini gives you the larger context window at 1M, compared with 262K for Qwen3.5-35B-A3B.
Category breakdown
Exact category averages are shown below. Not measured means BenchLM does not have enough sourced public coverage for that model and category.
| Category | GPT-4.1 mini | Δ | Qwen3.5-35B-A3B |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coding | GPT-4.1 mini23.6 | Margin→ 37.0 | Qwen3.5-35B-A3B60.6 |
| Knowledge | GPT-4.1 mini64.2 | Margin→ 17.4 | Qwen3.5-35B-A3B81.6 |
| Inst. Following | GPT-4.1 mini88.5 | Margin→ 3.4 | Qwen3.5-35B-A3B91.9 |
| Agentic | GPT-4.1 miniNot measured | MarginNo overlap | Qwen3.5-35B-A3B51.0 |
| Reasoning | GPT-4.1 miniNot measured | MarginNo overlap | Qwen3.5-35B-A3B59.0 |
| Math | GPT-4.1 mini4.5 | MarginNo overlap | Qwen3.5-35B-A3BNot measured |
| Multilingual | GPT-4.1 miniNot measured | MarginNo overlap | Qwen3.5-35B-A3B81.0 |
Decisive benchmark drivers
The largest measured benchmark gaps in this matchup, with exact reported values.
More
- Source ↗
SWE-bench Verified
CodingA 23.6%B 69.2%Winner: Qwen3.5-35B-A3BΔ 45.6SWE-bench Verified: GPT-4.1 mini scored 23.6%; Qwen3.5-35B-A3B scored 69.2%. Qwen3.5-35B-A3B wins this benchmark. - Source ↗
GPQA
KnowledgeA 64.2%B 84.2%Winner: Qwen3.5-35B-A3BΔ 20GPQA: GPT-4.1 mini scored 64.2%; Qwen3.5-35B-A3B scored 84.2%. Qwen3.5-35B-A3B wins this benchmark. - Source ↗
IFEval
Inst. FollowingA 88.5%B 91.9%Winner: Qwen3.5-35B-A3BΔ 3.4IFEval: GPT-4.1 mini scored 88.5%; Qwen3.5-35B-A3B scored 91.9%. Qwen3.5-35B-A3B wins this benchmark.
Operational comparison
Runtime and commercial metrics are compared only when both models have a complete sourced value.
| Metric | GPT-4.1 mini | Qwen3.5-35B-A3B | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokens | GPT-4.1 mini$0.4 input / $1.6 output | Qwen3.5-35B-A3B$0 input / $0 output | Qwen3.5-35B-A3B has the lower combined listed price. |
| Generation speedtokens per second | GPT-4.1 mini80 tok/s | Qwen3.5-35B-A3BNot available | A complete speed comparison is not available. |
| First-answer latencyseconds to first token | GPT-4.1 mini0.76 s | Qwen3.5-35B-A3BNot available | A complete latency comparison is not available. |
| Context windowmaximum listed tokens | GPT-4.1 mini1M | Qwen3.5-35B-A3B262K | GPT-4.1 mini lists the larger context window. |
Benchmark Deep Dive
Agentic8 benchmarks
| Benchmark | GPT-4.1 mini | Qwen3.5-35B-A3B | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Agentic IndexSource | 1.7% | — | Not comparable |
| τ²-bench resultsSource | 52.9% | 89.2% | Qwen3.5-35B-A3B leads |
| GDPval-AASource | 0.1% | — | Not comparable |
| GDPval-AASource | 503 | — | Not comparable |
| Terminal-Bench 2.0Source | — | 40.5% | Not comparable |
| BrowseCompSource | — | 61% | Not comparable |
| OSWorld-VerifiedSource | — | 54.5% | Not comparable |
| Gert LabsSource | — | 28.96% | Not comparable |
CodingQwen3.5-35B-A3B wins4 benchmarks
Reasoning3 benchmarks
KnowledgeQwen3.5-35B-A3B wins10 benchmarks
| Benchmark | GPT-4.1 mini | Qwen3.5-35B-A3B | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| MMLUSource | 87.5% | — | Not comparable |
| GPQASource | 64.2% | 84.2% | Qwen3.5-35B-A3B leads |
| Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexSource | 14.8% | 29.3% | Qwen3.5-35B-A3B leads |
| AA-GPQA DiamondSource | 66.4% | 84.5% | Qwen3.5-35B-A3B leads |
| AA-HLESource | 4.6% | 19.7% | Qwen3.5-35B-A3B leads |
| AA-Omniscience IndexSource | -50.1% | -46.4% | Qwen3.5-35B-A3B leads |
| AA-Omniscience AccuracySource | 17.5% | 20.5% | Qwen3.5-35B-A3B leads |
| AA-Omniscience Hallucination RateSource | 82.0% | 84.0% | GPT-4.1 mini leads |
| MMLU-ProSource | — | 85.3% | Not comparable |
| SuperGPQASource | — | 63.4% | Not comparable |
Math1 benchmarks
| Benchmark | GPT-4.1 mini | Qwen3.5-35B-A3B | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3)Source | 4.483% | — | Not comparable |
Multilingual1 benchmarks
| Benchmark | GPT-4.1 mini | Qwen3.5-35B-A3B | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| MMLU-ProXSource | — | 81% | Not comparable |
Multimodal6 benchmarks
Frequently Asked Questions (4)
Which is better, GPT-4.1 mini or Qwen3.5-35B-A3B?
Qwen3.5-35B-A3B is ahead on BenchLM's BenchAlign leaderboard, 56.97 to 44.19. The biggest single separator in this matchup is SWE-bench Verified, where the scores are 23.6% and 69.2%.
Which is better for knowledge tasks, GPT-4.1 mini or Qwen3.5-35B-A3B?
Qwen3.5-35B-A3B has the edge for knowledge tasks in this comparison, averaging 81.6 versus 64.2. Inside this category, GPQA is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
Which is better for coding, GPT-4.1 mini or Qwen3.5-35B-A3B?
Qwen3.5-35B-A3B has the edge for coding in this comparison, averaging 60.6 versus 23.6. Inside this category, SWE-bench Verified is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
Which is better for instruction following, GPT-4.1 mini or Qwen3.5-35B-A3B?
Qwen3.5-35B-A3B has the edge for instruction following in this comparison, averaging 91.9 versus 88.5. Inside this category, AA-IFBench is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
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