Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 16, 2026
In this head-to-head showdown, OpenAI o3-mini delivers higher overall intelligence and human-preferred responses (Elo 1,560 vs 1,398), while OpenAI o3-mini leads in SWE-bench software engineering benchmarks (78.5%), while Qwen3.8 27B is more budget-friendly at $0.4/1M per 1M output tokens. Review the complete breakdown below to determine which model best fits your performance and budget requirements.
10 direct benchmark disciplines evaluated across capability, speed, and cost
OpenAI cost-efficient reasoning model with adjustable thinking effort and top coding benchmark scores.
Alibaba open-weight 27B drop dated Aug 14 2026. Dense enough to self-host; not a frontier MoE.
Currently comparing OpenAI o3-mini vs Qwen3.8 27B. Alternative family tiers available.
Simulate accuracy gains vs added response time & token cost
Reasoning models “think before answering” by generating internal reasoning tokens. Higher effort improves math, coding, and logic accuracy, but increases response delay and token costs.
Δ 162 Arena Elo pts
152 tok/s
$0.4 / 1M output
Relative percentile scores computed across all active models in the benchmark catalog.
Comparing top Western standard models with China's leading frontier rival across 6 skill dimensions. Tap any spoke or dot to inspect.
Category wins across reasoning intelligence, generation speed, and token cost.
Preference Elo, Coding proficiency, SWE-bench & LiveBench accuracy
Generation throughput and time to first token responsiveness
Cost per million tokens and max context window length
| Benchmark | OpenAI o3-mini | Qwen3.8 27B | Advantage Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preference Elo | +162 | ||
| Coding Elo | +163 | ||
| LiveBench | +11.8% | ||
| SWE-bench | +19.7% | ||
| GPQA Diamond | +13.8% | ||
| Time to first token | +150 ms | ||
| Output speed | 92 tok/s | 152 tok/s | +60 tok/s |
| Input price | $1.1/1M | +$1/1M | |
| Output price | $4.4/1M | +$4/1M | |
| Context window | +69k |
Simulate monthly production API costs in USD (US Dollar).
Qwen3.8 27B is estimated to save $95.00/month ($1,140/year).
Higher SWE-bench (78.5%).
Lower output list price ($0.4/1M).
Lower TTFT (140 ms).
Larger window (200k).
OpenAI o3-mini is the side marked multimodal in the catalog.
| Target Workload | Recommended Pick | Evaluation Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Repo / coding agents | OpenAI o3-mini | Higher SWE-bench (78.5%). |
| High-volume chat | Qwen3.8 27B | Lower output list price ($0.4/1M). |
| Voice / low-latency UI | Qwen3.8 27B | Lower TTFT (140 ms). |
| Long-document RAG | OpenAI o3-mini | Larger window (200k). |
| Screenshots / vision | OpenAI o3-mini | OpenAI o3-mini is the side marked multimodal in the catalog. |
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