GPT-5.1 vs Qwen3.5 35B A3B
Wins 7 of 7 areas
Coding · Agents · Reasoning · Facts · Images and charts · Long documents · Following instructions
Wins 0 of 7 areas
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GPT-5.1 is the stronger all-rounder.Qwen3.5 35B A3B is cheaper.
Scores updated · 33 tests both models report · How we compare
Where each one wins
Tests won in each of the seven areas where both have results. Each piece is one test, so a longer bar means more evidence; grey means the two scored within a point of each other.
- CodingWriting and fixing software60GPT-5.16 of 6 tests
- ReasoningHard problems that need careful thinking30GPT-5.13 of 3 tests
- Images and chartsUnderstanding pictures, charts and video20GPT-5.12 of 2 tests
- AgentsCarrying out multi-step tasks on its own21GPT-5.12 of 3 tests
- FactsGetting facts right instead of making them up21GPT-5.12 of 3 tests
- Following instructionsDoing exactly what it is asked10GPT-5.11 of 2 tests · 1 tie
- Long documentsFinding answers in very long texts10GPT-5.11 of 1 test
Long documents rests on a single test.
What it costs
Prices per million tokens, roughly 750,000 words. The bars show the cost of a million tokens read plus a million written.
Qwen3.5 35B A3B costs 80% less for the same work.
The biggest differences
The tests each model wins by the widest margin, up to three each. Scores are out of 100.
Where GPT-5.1 pulls ahead
- Avoids making up answers it doesn't knowAA-Omniscience · Non-hallucination+33.5points ahead
- Hard command-line tasks in a real terminalTerminal-Bench Hard+19points ahead
- Answers hard knowledge questions correctlyAA-Omniscience · Accuracy+17.6points ahead
Where Qwen3.5 35B A3B pulls ahead
- Finds hard-to-locate facts by browsing the webBrowseComp+10.2points ahead
Every test, side by side
All 33 tests both models report. The winning score is in its model's colour; marks a score checked independently.
CodingGPT-5.1
- Terminal-Bench HardGPT-5.1 by 1945.526.5+19
- LMArena · WebDevGPT-5.1 by 145 rating points13951250+145 rating
- LiveCodeBench v6GPT-5.1 by 12.48774.6+12.4
- Terminal-Bench 2.1GPT-5.1 by 11.652.440.8+11.6
- SWE-bench VerifiedGPT-5.1 by 7.176.369.2+7.1
- SciCodeGPT-5.1 by 5.643.337.7+5.6
AgentsGPT-5.1
- τ-Bench V3 · BankingGPT-5.1 by 1115.94.9+11
- GDPValGPT-5.1 by 10.916.55.6+10.9
- BrowseCompQwen3.5 35B A3B by 10.250.861+10.2
ReasoningGPT-5.1
- Humanity's Last ExamGPT-5.1 by 7.528.521+7.5
- CritPtGPT-5.1 by 44.90.9+4
- GPQA DiamondGPT-5.1 by 2.887.384.5+2.8
FactsGPT-5.1
- AA-Omniscience · Non-hallucinationGPT-5.1 by 33.548.114.6+33.5
- AA-Omniscience · AccuracyGPT-5.1 by 17.637.720.1+17.6
- Vectara HHEM hallucination ratelower is betterQwen3.5 35B A3B by 1.612.110.5+1.6
Images and chartsGPT-5.1
Following instructionsGPT-5.1
- Multi-ChallengeGPT-5.1 by 3.463.460+3.4
- IFBenchtie72.972.5tie
Other results13 tests, not counted
Tests outside the eight areas. They are not counted above: several are summary scores built from other tests, or the same test under another name.
- AA-OmniscienceGPT-5.1 by 53.55.4-48.1+53.5
- vectara_avg_summary_lengthGPT-5.1 by 159.5 rating points254.494.9+159.5 rating
- Artificial Analysis Coding IndexGPT-5.1 by 12.449.437+12.4
- AA Agentic IndexGPT-5.1 by 9.821.611.8+9.8
- HMMT Feb. 2025GPT-5.1 by 7.396.389+7.3
- τ²-Bench Telecom (AA run)Qwen3.5 35B A3B by 7.381.989.2+7.3
- Terminal-Bench 2.0GPT-5.1 by 7.147.640.5+7.1
- MMMLUGPT-5.1 by 5.89185.2+5.8
- AA IntelligenceGPT-5.1 by 5.424.719.3+5.4
- HMMT Nov. 2025GPT-5.1 by 2.591.789.2+2.5
- MMLU-ProGPT-5.1 by 1.78785.3+1.7
- vectara_factual_consistencyQwen3.5 35B A3B by 1.687.989.5+1.6
- vectara_answer_ratetie10099.8tie
Questions people ask
Which is better, GPT-5.1 or Qwen3.5 35B A3B?
GPT-5.1 wins all seven areas where both have results: coding, agents, reasoning, facts, images and charts, long documents and following instructions. Qwen3.5 35B A3B wins none, but costs 80% less.
Which is better for coding?
GPT-5.1. It wins 6 of the 6 coding tests both models report; Qwen3.5 35B A3B wins none.
Which is cheaper?
GPT-5.1 costs $1.25 per million input tokens and $10.00 per million output tokens; Qwen3.5 35B A3B costs $0.25 and $2.00. That makes Qwen3.5 35B A3B about 80% cheaper for the same work.
How do you compare the two?
We use the 33 benchmark tests both models have published scores on. The verdict counts the 20 tests in the eight capability areas, and a gap under one point (ten on rating-style scales) counts as a tie. The other 13 are listed but not counted, because several are summary scores or repeat a test. Each score is the one shown on the model's own page.