| Signal | GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct | Delta | Mellum |
|---|---|---|---|
Capabilities | 33 | +17 | |
Pricing | 2 | +2 | |
Context window size | 57 | +57 | |
Recency | 0 | -78 | |
Output Capacity | 60 | +40 | |
| Overall Result | 4 wins | of 5 | 1 wins |
9
days higher
5
days
16
days higher
OpenAI
JetBrains
Mellum saves you $250.00/month
That's $3000.00/year compared to GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct at your current usage level of 100K calls/month.
| Metric | GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct | Mellum | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 32 | 32 | -- |
| Rank | #304 | #305 | GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct |
| Quality Rank | #304 | #305 | GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct |
| Adoption Rank | #304 | #305 | GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct |
| Parameters | -- | -- | -- |
| Context Window | 4K | -- | -- |
| Pricing | $1.50/$2.00/M | Free | -- |
| Signal Scores | |||
| Capabilities | 33 | 17 | GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct |
| Pricing | 2 | 0 | GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct |
| Context window size | 57 | 0 | GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct |
| Recency | 0 | 78 | Mellum |
| Output Capacity | 60 | 20 | GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct |
Our composite score (0–100) combines six weighted signals: benchmark performance (25%), pricing efficiency (25%), context window size (15%), model recency (15%), output capacity (10%), and capability versatility (10%). Here's what the scores mean for these two models:
Scores 32/100 (rank #304), placing it in the top -4% of all 290 models tracked.
Scores 32/100 (rank #305), placing it in the top -5% of all 290 models tracked.
With only a 0-point gap, these models are in the same performance tier. The practical difference in output quality is minimal - your choice should depend on pricing, latency requirements, and specific feature needs.
Both models are priced similarly, so the decision comes down to quality and features rather than cost.
Both models have comparable response speeds. For most applications, the latency difference is negligible.
When latency matters most: Interactive chatbots, IDE code completion, real-time translation, and user-facing applications where response time directly impacts experience. For batch processing, background summarization, or offline analysis, latency is less critical.
Code generation & review
Higher benchmark score (0/100) indicates stronger performance on coding tasks like generating functions, debugging, and refactoring
Customer support chatbot
Faster response time (speed score 0/100) is critical for user-facing chat. Mellum also offers lower per-token costs for high-volume support
Long document analysis
Larger context window (4K tokens) can process longer documents, contracts, and research papers in a single pass
Batch data extraction
Lower output pricing ($0.00/M) reduces costs when processing thousands of records daily
Creative writing & content
Higher overall composite score (32/100) correlates with better nuance, coherence, and style in long-form content
GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct and Mellum are extremely close in overall performance (only 0 points apart). Your best choice depends entirely on which specific strengths matter most for your use case.
Best for Quality
GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct
Marginally better benchmark scores; both are excellent
Best for Cost
Mellum
100% lower pricing; better value at scale
Best for Reliability
GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct
Higher uptime and faster response speeds
Best for Prototyping
GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct
Stronger community support and better developer experience
Best for Production
GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct
Wider enterprise adoption and proven at scale
by OpenAI
| Capability | GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct | Mellum |
|---|---|---|
| Vision (Image Input) | ||
| Function Calling | ||
| Streaming | ||
| JSON Modediffers | ||
| Reasoning | ||
| Web Search | ||
| Image Output |
OpenAI
JetBrains
Mellum saves you $5.10/month
That's 100% cheaper than GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct at 1,000 tokens/request and 100 requests/day.
Assumes 60% input / 40% output token ratio per request. Actual costs may vary based on your usage pattern.
| Parameter | GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct | Mellum |
|---|---|---|
| Context Window | 4K | -- |
| Max Output Tokens | 4,096 | -- |
| Open Source | No | No |
| Created | Sep 28, 2023 | Jun 1, 2025 |
Both GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct and Mellum score 32/100, making them extremely close competitors. Choose based on pricing, provider ecosystem, or specific capability requirements.
GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct is ranked #304 and Mellum is ranked #305 out of 290+ AI models. Rankings use a composite score combining benchmark performance (25%), pricing (25%), context window (15%), recency (15%), output capacity (10%), and versatility (10%). Scores update hourly.
Mellum is cheaper at $0.00/M output tokens vs GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct's $2.00/M output tokens - 2000.0x more expensive. Input token pricing: GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct at $1.50/M vs Mellum at $0.00/M.
Context window information is available on the individual model pages.