Skip to content
Rival
How it worksPrivacyTerms
Explore all of Rival

Explore

  • Compare models
  • All models
  • Image comparison
  • Audio comparison
  • Image generation
  • Best AI for...
  • Arena
  • API pricing
  • Challenges

Discover

  • SubjectiveBench
  • Default Index
  • Research
  • Research downloads
  • Rival Kits
  • Find your AI taste
  • UI Glow-Up
  • VoiceLock
  • Cost Cutter
  • Agent skills
  • Benchmarks vs Vibes
  • Brief
  • Jailbreak
  • Model updates
  • Provider status
  • AI creators

Connect

  • Methodology
  • Advertise
  • Partnerships
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms
  • RSS feed
  1. Home/
  2. Compare/
  3. OpenAI Codex Mini vs Qwen3.5 35B A3B
Updated Feb 2026

OpenAI Codex Mini vs Qwen3.5 35B A3B

Qwen3.5 35B A3B is cheaper than OpenAI Codex Mini at $0.25/M vs $1.5/M input tokens.

Pokémon Battle UI Recreation

Pokémon battle screen you can actually click. One HTML file.

Loading the build
OpenAI Codex Mini
Loading the build
Qwen3.5 35B A3B

Which answer wins?

Written rounds

2 prompts
  • Five jokes on demand, then count how many were actually different.

    OpenAI Codex Mini: Sure—here are five jokes: I asked the librarian if books about paranoia were available. She whispered, "They're right behind you." Why did the tomato turn red? Because it saw the salad dressing. I bought a boat because it was for sail. Don't trust stairs—they're always up to something.

    Qwen3.5 35B A3B: Here are 5 jokes: Why did the scarecrow win an award? Because he was outstanding in his field! What do you call a fake noodle? An impasta! Why don't eggs tell jokes? They'd crack each other up! What do you call a bear with no teeth? A gummy bear! Why did the bicycle fall over? Because it was two-tired!

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Three minutes of stand-up. Puns are banned.

    OpenAI Codex Mini: [Comedian walks onstage] Hey, everyone! Great to see you all tonight. I'm Jamie—if you thought that intro was enthusiastic, you should've seen me when I realized this place has Wi-Fi. Seriously, though, I love stand-up.

    Qwen3.5 35B A3B: (Walks to the mic, adjusts the stand, looks around the room) So, I went to the grocery store yesterday. You know the drill. You walk in, you see the self-checkout lanes. And you think, "Oh, this is going to be efficient. I'm going to scan my own stuff. I'm going to be my own cashier. I'm going to be the boss."

    Every model's answer to this prompt

Price and specs

OpenAI Codex Mini and Qwen3.5 35B A3B compared across 10 shared prompts
SpecOpenAI Codex MiniQwen3.5 35B A3B
Input price$1.5/M tokens$0.25/M tokens
Output price$6/M tokens$2/M tokens
Context window200K tokens262K tokens
ParametersNot disclosed35B (3B active)
Weights—Open
Free API (OpenRouter)NoNo
ReleasedMay 2025Feb 2026
SWE-bench Verified71.3%69.2%
At 10M a month$15.00$15.00$2.50$2.50
1M10M100M1B10M tokens

Input tokens at list price. No caching, no batch discount.

Where to run it7 hosts, cheapest first
OpenAI Codex Mini

No hosts listed on OpenRouter.

Qwen3.5 35B A3B7 hosts
HostInOutContextUptime
  • DDarkbloomfp4$0.08 in·$0.75 out·262k·100% up
  • DDeepInfrafp8$0.14 in·$1.00 out·262k·98.1% up
  • PParasailfp8$0.15 in·$1.00 out·262k·100% up
  • VVenice$0.15 in·$1.00 out·256k·100% up
  • Alibaba Cloud$0.16 in·$1.30 out·262k·100% up
  • AAtlasCloudfp8$0.23 in·$1.80 out·262k·100% up
1 more hostFewer hosts
  • SSiliconFlowfp8$0.24 in·$1.80 out·262k·51.4% up

Per million tokens. Prices and uptime via OpenRouter, checked 10 Oct 2026.

Common questions

What is the difference between OpenAI Codex Mini and Qwen3.5 35B A3B?

OpenAI Codex Mini is developed by OpenAI while Qwen3.5 35B A3B is developed by Qwen. OpenAI Codex Mini has a 200K token context window vs Qwen3.5 35B A3B's 262K. You can compare their actual outputs across 10 challenges on Rival to see how they differ in practice.

Which is better, OpenAI Codex Mini or Qwen3.5 35B A3B?

It depends on your use case. OpenAI Codex Mini and Qwen3.5 35B A3B each have strengths in different areas. Rival lets you compare their real outputs side-by-side across 10 challenges so you can judge which fits your needs best.

How much does OpenAI Codex Mini cost compared to Qwen3.5 35B A3B?

OpenAI Codex Mini costs $1.5/M input tokens and Qwen3.5 35B A3B costs $0.25/M input tokens. Qwen3.5 35B A3B is $1.25/M cheaper per input. Check their side-by-side outputs on Rival to see if the price difference is justified by quality.

How can I compare OpenAI Codex Mini and Qwen3.5 35B A3B on Rival?

This page shows a side-by-side comparison of OpenAI Codex Mini and Qwen3.5 35B A3B across shared challenges. You can vote on which model produced the better output in a blind duel. Browsing and voting are free. No account is needed to look; signing in only saves your votes and likes.

More comparisons

Against the newest arrivals

  • OpenAI Codex Mini vs Step 5 PreviewLanded Oct 2026
  • Qwen3.5 35B A3B vs Claude Haiku 5.5Landed Oct 2026
  • OpenAI Codex Mini vs Ling 3.1 FlashLanded Oct 2026
  • Qwen3.5 35B A3B vs Mistral Large 4Landed Oct 2026
  • OpenAI Codex Mini vs GPT-6.1 SolLanded Sep 2026
  • Qwen3.5 35B A3B vs Claude Sonnet 5.5Landed Sep 2026
  • OpenAI Codex Mini vs Solar Mini 4Landed Sep 2026
  • Qwen3.5 35B A3B vs Qwen3.8 Max PrimeLanded Sep 2026

Same lab, same size, long tail

  • OpenAI Codex Mini vs GPT-6 Luna ProSame lab
  • OpenAI Codex Mini vs GPT-6 Sol ProSame lab
  • Qwen3.5 35B A3B vs Qwen3.5 122B A10BVersion compare
  • Qwen3.5 35B A3B vs Qwen3.8 Omni FlashSame lab
  • OpenAI Codex Mini vs DeepSeek V4 Pro 0813New provider
  • OpenAI Codex Mini vs DeepSeek V4.1 FlashNew provider
  • Qwen3.5 35B A3B vs Devstral 2 2512New provider
  • Qwen3.5 35B A3B vs Mistral Devstral MediumSame size

Model pages

  • OpenAI Codex Mini10 outputs, specs and price
  • Qwen3.5 35B A3B53 outputs, specs and price
Workshop · 150 skills

Build your own version.

Editable skills and working examples for your agent.

Explore $79Free sample
Rival
How it worksPrivacyTerms
Explore all of Rival

Explore

  • Compare models
  • All models
  • Image comparison
  • Audio comparison
  • Image generation
  • Best AI for...
  • Arena
  • API pricing
  • Challenges

Discover

  • SubjectiveBench
  • Default Index
  • Research
  • Research downloads
  • Rival Kits
  • Find your AI taste
  • UI Glow-Up
  • VoiceLock
  • Cost Cutter
  • Agent skills
  • Benchmarks vs Vibes
  • Brief
  • Jailbreak
  • Model updates
  • Provider status
  • AI creators

Connect

  • Methodology
  • Advertise
  • Partnerships
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms
  • RSS feed