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GPT-4.1 vs Qwen 3.6 Max (preview)

Head-to-head comparison across 2benchmark categories. Overall scores shown here use BenchLM's provisional ranking lane.

GPT-4.1

60

VS

Qwen 3.6 Max (preview)

72

1 categoriesvs1 categories

Pick Qwen 3.6 Max (preview) if you want the stronger benchmark profile. GPT-4.1 only becomes the better choice if coding is the priority or you need the larger 1M context window.

Category Radar

Head-to-Head by Category

Category Breakdown

Coding

GPT-4.1
54.6vs54.1

+0.5 difference

Knowledge

Qwen 3.6 Max (preview)
66.3vs73.9

+7.6 difference

Operational Comparison

GPT-4.1

Qwen 3.6 Max (preview)

Price (per 1M tokens)

$2 / $8

N/A

Speed

108 t/s

N/A

Latency (TTFT)

1.02s

N/A

Context Window

1M

256K

Quick Verdict

Pick Qwen 3.6 Max (preview) if you want the stronger benchmark profile. GPT-4.1 only becomes the better choice if coding is the priority or you need the larger 1M context window.

Qwen 3.6 Max (preview) is clearly ahead on the provisional aggregate, 72 to 60. The gap is large enough that you do not need to squint at the spreadsheet to see the difference.

Qwen 3.6 Max (preview)'s sharpest advantage is in knowledge, where it averages 73.9 against 66.3. GPT-4.1 does hit back in coding, so the answer changes if that is the part of the workload you care about most.

Qwen 3.6 Max (preview) is the reasoning model in the pair, while GPT-4.1 is not. That usually helps on harder chain-of-thought-heavy tests, but it can also mean more latency and more token spend in real use. GPT-4.1 gives you the larger context window at 1M, compared with 256K for Qwen 3.6 Max (preview).

Benchmark Deep Dive

Frequently Asked Questions (3)

Which is better, GPT-4.1 or Qwen 3.6 Max (preview)?

Qwen 3.6 Max (preview) is ahead on BenchLM's provisional leaderboard, 72 to 60.

Which is better for knowledge tasks, GPT-4.1 or Qwen 3.6 Max (preview)?

Qwen 3.6 Max (preview) has the edge for knowledge tasks in this comparison, averaging 73.9 versus 66.3. GPT-4.1 stays close enough that the answer can still flip depending on your workload.

Which is better for coding, GPT-4.1 or Qwen 3.6 Max (preview)?

GPT-4.1 has the edge for coding in this comparison, averaging 54.6 versus 54.1. Qwen 3.6 Max (preview) stays close enough that the answer can still flip depending on your workload.

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Last updated: April 20, 2026

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