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Head-to-head comparison

GPT-5.4 Nano vs Qwen3 235B A22B

GPT-5.4 Nano (OpenAI) and Qwen3 235B A22B (Qwen) compared on the ModelCap Index, API price, context window, provider availability, weight access and every public benchmark board they share. Figures are the same ones shown on the live rankings; nothing here is a hidden score.

Snapshot as of 9 September 2026

As of 9 September 2026, GPT-5.4 Nano holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#72 vs #74); GPT-5.4 Nano is 1.5× cheaper per output token ($1.25/1M vs $1.82/1M); GPT-5.4 Nano offers the longer context window (400K vs 131K tokens); and Qwen3 235B A22B ships open weights.

Which should you choose?

Choose GPT-5.4 Nano if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #72 against #74 (50.5 vs 49.9 points).
  • API cost matters — $1.25/1M output tokens against $1.82/1M, about 1.5× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.20/1M against $0.455/1M.
  • you need the longer context window — 400K tokens against 131K.
  • you want provider choice — 2 listed API providers against 1.
  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1460 against 1445.
  • you want the more recently listed model — GPT-5.4 Nano was listed 17 March 2026, Qwen3 235B A22B 28 April 2025.

Choose Qwen3 235B A22B if…

  • you want to self-host: Qwen3 235B A22B ships open weights while GPT-5.4 Nano is api only.

GPT-5.4 Nano vs Qwen3 235B A22B: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of GPT-5.4 Nano and Qwen3 235B A22B
FieldGPT-5.4 NanoOpenAIQwen3 235B A22BQwen
ModelCap Index position#72#74
Index score50.549.9
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.20$0.455
Output price / 1M tokens$1.25$1.82
Context window400K tokens131K tokens
Max output tokens128K8K
API providers listed21
Weight accessAPI onlyOpen weights
Input modalitiesFile, Image, TextText
First listed17 March 202628 April 2025
PublisherOpenAIQwen

Evidence: 4 public benchmark observations across 4 boards · 2 public benchmark observations across 2 boards. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: GPT-5.4 Nano vs Qwen3 235B A22B

Public benchmark boards where GPT-5.4 Nano or Qwen3 235B A22B has a published result
BoardGPT-5.4 NanoQwen3 235B A22BLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)14601454–1466High14451438–1453No thinkingGPT-5.4 Nano
ARC-AGI-2ARC Prize Foundation5.7%X-High—Only one result
AA Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis21.2intelligence-index:v4.3:xhigh—Only one result
AA Terminal-Bench 2.1Artificial Analysis60.7%terminal-bench:2.1:terminus-2:e2b:pass-at-1:3-repeats:source-model="GPT-5.4 nano (xhigh)":reasoning=true—Only one result
AA τ²-Bench TelecomArtificial Analysis76.0%tau2:telecom:dual-control:pass-at-1:3-repeats:source-model="GPT-5.4 nano (xhigh)":reasoning=true—Only one result
AA Humanity's Last ExamArtificial Analysis28.3%hle:may-2025:text-only-2158:no-tools:pass-at-1:source-model="GPT-5.4 nano (xhigh)":reasoning=true—Only one result

Scores are the sources' own published figures for each model's best evaluated configuration; ModelCap never re-runs a benchmark.

Want a different pairing? Open the interactive comparison tool to swap either model for any current ranked language model.

GPT-5.4 Nano vs Qwen3 235B A22B: common questions

Is GPT-5.4 Nano better than Qwen3 235B A22B?

GPT-5.4 Nano ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 9 September 2026: #72 against #74. That is a capability ranking built from public benchmark evidence with published uncertainty; whether it is "better" for you also depends on price, context and where you can run it. Their published uncertainty intervals overlap, so the rank difference alone does not establish a reliable capability advantage for your workload.

Is GPT-5.4 Nano cheaper than Qwen3 235B A22B?

GPT-5.4 Nano is cheaper on output tokens: $1.25/1M against $1.82/1M. Input tokens are $0.20/1M for GPT-5.4 Nano and $0.455/1M for Qwen3 235B A22B. Prices are the lowest listed API offer ModelCap observed, in USD per million tokens. For 1,000 requests with 2,000 input and 500 output tokens each (2M input + 0.5M output), the listed-rate estimate is $1.02 for GPT-5.4 Nano versus $1.82 for Qwen3 235B A22B. GPT-5.4 Nano costs 43.7% less in this scenario. This excludes caching, batch discounts, prompt-length tiers, tool charges and retries; verify the selected endpoint before budgeting.

Which has the bigger context window, GPT-5.4 Nano or Qwen3 235B A22B?

GPT-5.4 Nano has the larger context window: 400K tokens against 131K.

Which is better for coding, GPT-5.4 Nano or Qwen3 235B A22B?

Arena coding: GPT-5.4 Nano 1460, Qwen3 235B A22B 1445 — GPT-5.4 Nano leads.

Are GPT-5.4 Nano and Qwen3 235B A22B open-weight models?

GPT-5.4 Nano: API only. Qwen3 235B A22B: Open weights. Open weights mean the checkpoint can be downloaded and self-hosted under its licence; API-only models are available solely through hosted endpoints.

Where can I run GPT-5.4 Nano and Qwen3 235B A22B?

ModelCap currently lists 2 API providers for GPT-5.4 Nano and 1 for Qwen3 235B A22B, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this GPT-5.4 Nano vs Qwen3 235B A22B comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 9 September 2026; the page re-renders within a minute of each data refresh, and the ModelCap Index positions are the same ones shown on the live rankings.

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