Comprehensive side-by-side LLM comparison
GPT-5.1 Instant leads with 1.8% higher average benchmark score. GPT-5.1 Instant supports multimodal inputs. Both models have their strengths depending on your specific coding needs.
OpenAI
GPT-5 Codex, released by OpenAI in August 2025, is a coding-specialized large language model from the GPT-5 family engineered for software engineering, code generation, and agentic development workflows. It builds on GPT-5's architecture with optimizations targeting multi-file code editing, test generation, and automated debugging. GPT-5 Codex targets developers and agentic coding tools requiring a model tuned specifically for programming tasks.
OpenAI
GPT-5.1 Instant, released by OpenAI in November 2025, is a low-latency variant from the GPT-5.1 family optimized for fast response times and high-throughput workloads. It targets real-time applications, conversational assistants, and production APIs where response speed is a primary requirement alongside GPT-5.1-generation reasoning quality.
3 months newer

GPT-5 Codex
OpenAI
2025-08

GPT-5.1 Instant
OpenAI
2025-11
Average performance across 1 common benchmarks
GPT-5 Codex
GPT-5.1 Instant
Performance comparison across key benchmark categories
GPT-5 Codex
GPT-5.1 Instant
Available providers and their performance metrics
GPT-5 Codex
GPT-5.1 Instant
GPT-5 Codex
GPT-5.1 Instant