The closest alternative to GPT-4.1 is GLM 4.5 — comparable intelligence (26.4 vs 26.3); for a cheaper option, Qwen3.7 Max runs $1.25/M vs $2.00/M; for more speed, gpt-oss-120b (free) hits 554 t/s; and the best open-weight substitute is MiniMax M3.
GLM 4.5 is the closest alternative to GPT-4.1, with an Intelligence Index of 26.4 (GPT-4.1 scores 26.3) at $0.600 per million input tokens.
Yes — Qwen3.7 Max costs $1.25 per million input tokens versus $2.00 for GPT-4.1, while staying within ~8 points of its Intelligence Index.
MiniMax M3 is the strongest open-weight alternative to GPT-4.1 — downloadable from Hugging Face and self-hostable, scoring 54.7 on intelligence.