GPT-5.5 versus Qwen3.8 Max 0902

What are we comparing?

This comparison pits two frontier models, the ones you pick when quality comes first against each other: GPT-5.5 and Qwen3.8 Max 0902, one from OpenAI, the other from Alibaba Cloud (Qwen). The first dates from April 23, 2026, the second from September 2, 2026.

All figures below come from public sources checked on October 22, 2026: models.dev and OpenRouter for prices and capabilities, Epoch AI for scores.

What the benchmarks say

On our capability index, GPT-5.5 scores 89 out of 100 and Qwen3.8 Max 0902 88.4. The gap is too small to separate them.

On the 3 benchmarks reported for both, GPT-5.5 wins 2 times and Qwen3.8 Max 0902 0:

• GPQA Diamond (PhD-level science questions): GPT-5.5 94%, Qwen3.8 Max 0902 92.3%
• OTIS Mock AIME (competition mathematics problems): GPT-5.5 100%, Qwen3.8 Max 0902 100%
• FrontierMath (very hard research-level mathematics): GPT-5.5 85.3%, Qwen3.8 Max 0902 65.6%

Which one costs less?

GPT-5.5 costs $5 per million input tokens and $30 per million output tokens; Qwen3.8 Max 0902 costs $2 and $6.

For a typical agent task (read 20,000 tokens, write 2,000), expect $0.16 with GPT-5.5 versus $0.052 with Qwen3.8 Max 0902. Qwen3.8 Max 0902 is 3.1 times cheaper, a gap that adds up quickly over 1,000 tasks: $108 difference.

Run the numbers with your own volumes in the agent cost calculator.

Under the hood

GPT-5.5 reads more in one go: 1,050,000 tokens of context (roughly 1,575 pages), versus 1,000,000 for Qwen3.8 Max 0902.

Reasoning mode: GPT-5.5 yes, Qwen3.8 Max 0902 yes. Tool calling: GPT-5.5 yes, Qwen3.8 Max 0902 yes. Image input: GPT-5.5 yes, Qwen3.8 Max 0902 yes.

Neither publishes its weights: both are used through an API.

In short

Our reading of the data:

• Choose Qwen3.8 Max 0902 for a lower cost and a more recent release.

This verdict relies on public figures; it does not replace a trial on your own tasks.