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Head-to-head comparison

gpt-oss-20b vs Qwen3 30B A3B

gpt-oss-20b (OpenAI) and Qwen3 30B A3B (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-oss-20b holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#135 vs #136); and gpt-oss-20b is 3.8× cheaper per output token ($0.13/1M vs $0.50/1M).

Which should you choose?

Choose gpt-oss-20b if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #135 against #136 (27.9 vs 27.8 points).
  • API cost matters — $0.13/1M output tokens against $0.50/1M, about 3.8× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.03/1M against $0.12/1M.
  • you want provider choice — 12 listed API providers against 2.
  • you want the more recently listed model — gpt-oss-20b was listed 5 August 2025, Qwen3 30B A3B 28 April 2025.

Choose Qwen3 30B A3B if…

  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1386 against 1369.

gpt-oss-20b vs Qwen3 30B A3B: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of gpt-oss-20b and Qwen3 30B A3B
Fieldgpt-oss-20bOpenAIQwen3 30B A3BQwen
ModelCap Index position#135#136
Index score27.927.8
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.03$0.12
Output price / 1M tokens$0.13$0.50
Context window131K tokens131K tokens
Max output tokens118K16K
API providers listed122
Weight accessOpen weightsOpen weights
Input modalitiesTextText
First listed5 August 202528 April 2025
PublisherOpenAIQwen

Evidence: 3 public benchmark observations across 3 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-oss-20b vs Qwen3 30B A3B

Public benchmark boards where gpt-oss-20b or Qwen3 30B A3B has a published result
Boardgpt-oss-20bQwen3 30B A3BLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)13691356–138213861377–1395Qwen3 30B A3B
AA Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis9.0intelligence-index:v4.3:high—Only one result
AA Terminal-Bench 2.1Artificial Analysis13.9%terminal-bench:2.1:terminus-2:e2b:pass-at-1:3-repeats:source-model="gpt-oss-20b (high)":reasoning=true—Only one result
AA τ²-Bench TelecomArtificial Analysis60.2%tau2:telecom:dual-control:pass-at-1:3-repeats:source-model="gpt-oss-20b (high)":reasoning=true—Only one result
AA Humanity's Last ExamArtificial Analysis11.0%hle:may-2025:text-only-2158:no-tools:pass-at-1:source-model="gpt-oss-20b (high)":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-oss-20b vs Qwen3 30B A3B: common questions

Is gpt-oss-20b better than Qwen3 30B A3B?

gpt-oss-20b ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 9 September 2026: #135 against #136. 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-oss-20b cheaper than Qwen3 30B A3B?

gpt-oss-20b is cheaper on output tokens: $0.13/1M against $0.50/1M. Input tokens are $0.03/1M for gpt-oss-20b and $0.12/1M for Qwen3 30B A3B. 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 $0.13 for gpt-oss-20b versus $0.49 for Qwen3 30B A3B. gpt-oss-20b costs 74.5% 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-oss-20b or Qwen3 30B A3B?

Both publish a 131K-token context window.

Which is better for coding, gpt-oss-20b or Qwen3 30B A3B?

Arena coding: gpt-oss-20b 1369, Qwen3 30B A3B 1386 — Qwen3 30B A3B leads.

Are gpt-oss-20b and Qwen3 30B A3B open-weight models?

gpt-oss-20b: Open weights. Qwen3 30B A3B: 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-oss-20b and Qwen3 30B A3B?

ModelCap currently lists 12 API providers for gpt-oss-20b and 2 for Qwen3 30B A3B, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this gpt-oss-20b vs Qwen3 30B A3B 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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