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© 2026 CompareLLM. Public benchmark data aggregated from Arena Elo, LiveBench, SWE-bench & OpenRouter.

Every score has a dated snapshot.

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  3. GPT-5 mini vs Qwen3.8 27B

Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 16, 2026

GPT-5 mini vs Qwen3.8 27B benchmark

This page compares GPT-5 mini (OpenAI) and Qwen3.8 27B (Alibaba) using the latest snapshots we have as of Aug 16, 2026. On preference Elo, GPT-5 mini is ahead by 12 points (1,410 vs 1,398; seed-bootstrap (Aug 1, 2026)). On SWE-bench coding, Qwen3.8 27B resolves 58.8% versus 52.4% (seed-bootstrap (Aug 16, 2026)). GPT-5 mini streams faster (155 tok/s) while GPT-5 mini is the cheaper output token ($2/1M). GPT-5 mini has the larger context window (400k tokens). Every cell below is a dated snapshot from a named public source — we do not invent missing scores, and we do not run SWE-bench ourselves.

Quick answer

GPT-5 mini vs Qwen3.8 27B is a dated snapshot, not a lab score. GPT-5 mini leads preference Elo (1,410 vs 1,398). Qwen3.8 27B leads SWE-bench coding. GPT-5 mini is the cheaper output token. Elo is crowd preference, not an exam. Pick the column that matches the job.
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OpenAI

GPT-5 mini

Cost-efficient GPT-5 distill for high-volume agents.

Elo 1,410$2/1M out

Alibaba

Qwen3.8 27B

Alibaba open-weight 27B drop dated Aug 14 2026. Dense enough to self-host; not a frontier MoE.

Elo 1,398$3.1999999999999997/1M out

Swap or Add Any Model to this Matchup

Instant pairwise benchmark recalculation across 400+ LLMs

Model A
Model B
Quick vs:vs Claude Opus 4.5vs Claude Opus 4.6vs Claude Sonnet 4.5vs Claude 3.7 Sonnet

Interactive Comparison Diagram

Matchup Breakdown

Tug-of-War Matchup Matrix

Category wins across intelligence, speed, and pricing efficiency.

GPT-5 mini (6)vsQwen3.8 27B (3)
GPT-5 mini: 6W (67%)Overall: GPT-5 miniQwen3.8 27B: 3W (33%)
← GPT-5 mini1 tiesQwen3.8 27B →
Qwen3.8 27B (3/5)

Intelligence & Reasoning

Preference Elo, Coding proficiency, SWE-bench & LiveBench accuracy

Preference Elo
1,410vs1,398
Coding Elo
1,395vs1,422
SWE-bench
52.4%vs58.8%
LiveBench
61.2%vs60.6%
GPQA Diamond
72%vs73.4%
GPT-5 mini: 2WQwen3.8 27B: 3W
GPT-5 mini (1/2)

Speed & Latency

Generation throughput and time to first token responsiveness

Output speed
155 tok/svs152 tok/s
Time to first token
140 msvs140 ms
GPT-5 mini: 1WQwen3.8 27B: 0W
GPT-5 mini (3/3)

Pricing & Capacity

Cost per million tokens and max context window length

Output price
$2/1Mvs$3.2/1M
Input price
$0.25/1Mvs$0.45/1M
Context window
400kvs262k
GPT-5 mini: 3WQwen3.8 27B: 0W
Capability Matchup Radar

Multi-Dimensional Capability Radar

Each spoke is a skill. Farther from the center is better (0–100th percentile). Tap any dot to inspect details.

Tap any node to inspect
Percentile 0–100
Dimensional AdvantageGPT-5 mini 4/6
Preference Elo

GPT-5 mini

12 pts advantage

Throughput Speed

GPT-5 mini

3 tok/s faster

Price Efficiency

GPT-5 mini

$1.20/1M cheaper

Full Benchmark Score Matrix

—
Elo
High is better
+1%1,410
EloHigh is better
1,398
Code Elo
High is better
1,395
Code EloHigh is better
1,422+2%
LiveBench
High is better
+1%61.2%
LiveBenchHigh is better
60.6%
SWE-bench
High is better
52.4%
SWE-benchHigh is better
58.8%+12%
GPQA
High is better
72%
GPQAHigh is better
73.4%+2%
TTFT
Low is better
140 ms
TTFTLow is better
140 ms
Speed
High is better
+2%155 tok/s
SpeedHigh is better
152 tok/s
In $
Low is better
+80%$0.25/1M
In $Low is better
$0.45/1M
Out $
Low is better
+60%$2/1M
Out $Low is better
$3.2/1M
Context
High is better
+53%400k
ContextHigh is better
262k
Interactive Simulator

Workload Cost & Savings Calculator

Simulate monthly production API costs based on published $/1M tokens.

Save up to 39% with GPT-5 mini
Monthly Volume50M tokens/mo
Quick Presets:
Token Ratio (In vs Out)70% In / 30% Out
RAG / Search (10% out)Coding / Chat (50% out)
GPT-5 mini$38.75 / mo
In: $8.75Out: $30.00
Qwen3.8 27B$63.75 / mo
In: $15.75Out: $48.00
Estimated Cost Delta

GPT-5 mini is estimated to save $25.00/month ($300/year).

Based on 50M tokens (30% gen)

Key Selection Recommendations

  • 1
    Qwen3.8 27B:Pick Qwen3.8 27B when repo-level coding accuracy is the constraint.
  • 2
    GPT-5 mini:Pick GPT-5 mini when you are optimizing output cost.
  • 3
    GPT-5 mini:Pick GPT-5 mini when time-to-first-token matters more than peak Elo.

Recommended Workload Routing

Repo / coding agentsQwen3.8 27B

Higher SWE-bench (58.8%).

High-volume chatGPT-5 mini

Lower output list price ($2/1M).

Voice / low-latency UIGPT-5 mini

Lower TTFT (140 ms).

Long-document RAGGPT-5 mini

Larger window (400k).

Screenshots / visionGPT-5 mini

GPT-5 mini is the side marked multimodal in the catalog.

Target WorkloadRecommended PickEvaluation Rationale
Repo / coding agentsQwen3.8 27BHigher SWE-bench (58.8%).
High-volume chatGPT-5 miniLower output list price ($2/1M).
Voice / low-latency UIGPT-5 miniLower TTFT (140 ms).
Long-document RAGGPT-5 miniLarger window (400k).
Screenshots / visionGPT-5 miniGPT-5 mini is the side marked multimodal in the catalog.

Related Editorial Dispatches & Benchmark Notes

View all news
launchAug 14, 2026

Qwen3.8 27B (Aug 14): dense enough to self-host, not a frontier MoE

Alibaba open-weight 27B drop. Local/open-weight lists should see it. It will not win frontier-agents.

launchAug 8, 2025

GPT-5 mini: the 2025 distill still useful as a cheap OpenAI baseline

High-volume agents that cannot pay Sol. Compare to Luna before you assume the new cheap SKU wins.

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CompareLLM Matrix

Verified head-to-head card

LIVE
VS
OpenAI

GPT-5 mini

Elo 1,410
LiveBench61.2%
SWE-bench52.4%
Speed155 tok/s
Output cost$2/1M
Alibaba

Qwen3.8 27B

Elo 1,398
LiveBench60.6%
SWE-bench58.8%
Speed152 tok/s
Output cost$3.2/1M

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better overall, GPT-5 mini or Qwen3.8 27B?
GPT-5 mini has the higher preference Elo in our latest snapshot (1,410). “Better” still depends on coding, price, and latency — see the table.
Which is better at coding, GPT-5 mini or Qwen3.8 27B?
Qwen3.8 27B leads SWE-bench at 58.8% vs 52.4%. SWE-bench is one harness, not your repo.
Which is cheaper to run in production?
GPT-5 mini output tokens are $2/1M versus $3.2/1M. Input prices and retry rates still move the real bill.
Which is faster, GPT-5 mini or Qwen3.8 27B?
GPT-5 mini has the lower time-to-first-token (140 ms vs 140 ms). Tokens/sec is a separate column if you care about long completions.
Which has the larger context window?
GPT-5 mini accepts 400k tokens versus 262k.
Can I self-host either model?
Qwen3.8 27B is marked open-weights in our catalog. The other side is a closed API. Check the provider license before you ship weights.
Are these scores from CompareLLM’s own evals?
No. V1 aggregates public leaderboards (and optional first-party latency pings). Each cell names its source and date. Read /methodology.
What does preference Elo mean on this page?
Preference Elo is a crowd vote from LMArena / Arena. People see two hidden answers and pick the one they like more. The model that wins more often gets a higher Elo. That means people preferred it — not that it passed a school test. It is not SWE-bench, not accuracy, and not a number we invent. GPT-5 mini and Qwen3.8 27B Elo cells are dated snapshots from the named source — we do not compute Arena ourselves.

Related news

  • launch · Aug 14, 2026

    Qwen3.8 27B (Aug 14): dense enough to self-host, not a frontier MoE

  • launch · Aug 8, 2025

    GPT-5 mini: the 2025 distill still useful as a cheap OpenAI baseline

Similar Head-to-Head Comparisons

All GPT-5 mini matchups →|All Qwen3.8 27B matchups →
GPT-5 mini vs OpenAI: o3 Mini (previous gpt-mini)GPT-5 mini vs GPT-5.6 Luna (next gpt-mini)Qwen3.8 27B vs Qwen 3 Max (previous qwen)Qwen QwQ 32B vs GPT-5 miniQwen 3 Max vs GPT-5 miniGPT-4.5 Orion vs GPT-5 mini