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  1. Home/
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  3. OpenAI Codex Mini vs Qwen3.6 Plus Preview (free)
Updated Mar 2026

OpenAI Codex Mini vs Qwen3.6 Plus Preview (free)

Qwen3.6 Plus Preview (free) is cheaper than OpenAI Codex Mini at $0/M vs $1.5/M input tokens.

Pokémon Battle UI Recreation

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

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OpenAI Codex Mini
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Qwen3.6 Plus Preview (free)

Which answer wins?

Written rounds

2 prompts
  • 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.

    Qwen3.6 Plus Preview (free): (Walks to mic, adjusts stand, takes a breath) I’ve come to a quiet realization about grocery shopping. We don’t go to stores anymore. We go to unpaid internships. I used to walk into a supermarket with a cart, buy my food, and leave. Now I walk in, grab a basket, and get handed a shift. No onboarding.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • 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.

    Qwen3.6 Plus Preview (free): Here are 5 jokes: Why don’t scientists trust atoms? Because they make up everything. What do you call fake spaghetti? An impasta. Why did the scarecrow win an award? Because he was outstanding in his field. How does a penguin build its house? Igloos it together. Why don’t eggs tell jokes? They’d crack each other up.

    Every model's answer to this prompt

Price and specs

Not enough votes to call it. On the specs, Qwen3.6 Plus Preview (free) has the edge: bigger model tier, newer, bigger context window.

OpenAI Codex Mini and Qwen3.6 Plus Preview (free) compared across 10 shared prompts
SpecOpenAI Codex MiniQwen3.6 Plus Preview (free)
Input price$1.5/M tokensFree
Output price$6/M tokensFree
Context window200K tokens1.0M tokens
Free API (OpenRouter)NoNo
ReleasedMay 2025Mar 2026
At 10M a month$15.00$15.00$0$0
1M10M100M1B10M tokens

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

Common questions

What is the difference between OpenAI Codex Mini and Qwen3.6 Plus Preview (free)?

OpenAI Codex Mini is developed by OpenAI while Qwen3.6 Plus Preview (free) is developed by Qwen. OpenAI Codex Mini has a 200K token context window vs Qwen3.6 Plus Preview (free)'s 1.0M. 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 Qwen3.6 Plus Preview (free)?

It depends on your use case. OpenAI Codex Mini and Qwen3.6 Plus Preview (free) 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 Qwen3.6 Plus Preview (free)?

OpenAI Codex Mini costs $1.5/M input tokens and Qwen3.6 Plus Preview (free) costs $0/M input tokens. Qwen3.6 Plus Preview (free) is $1.50/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 Qwen3.6 Plus Preview (free) on Rival?

This page shows a side-by-side comparison of OpenAI Codex Mini and Qwen3.6 Plus Preview (free) 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
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  • Qwen3.6 Plus Preview (free) vs Mistral Large 4Landed Oct 2026
  • OpenAI Codex Mini vs GPT-6.1 SolLanded Sep 2026
  • Qwen3.6 Plus Preview (free) vs Claude Sonnet 5.5Landed Sep 2026
  • OpenAI Codex Mini vs Solar Mini 4Landed Sep 2026
  • Qwen3.6 Plus Preview (free) 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
  • Qwen3.6 Plus Preview (free) vs Qwen3.8 Omni FlashSame lab
  • Qwen3.6 Plus Preview (free) vs Qwen3.7 FlashSame lab
  • Qwen3.6 Plus Preview (free) vs Mistral Large 2Same size
  • Qwen3.6 Plus Preview (free) vs Mistral Large 3 2512New provider
  • OpenAI Codex Mini vs Mistral Large 4New provider
  • Qwen3.6 Plus Preview (free) vs Mistral Medium 3Same size

Model pages

  • OpenAI Codex Mini10 outputs, specs and price
  • Qwen3.6 Plus Preview (free)58 outputs, specs and price
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