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Model comparison

GPT-5.3 Codex vs GPT-5.4 nano

Data verified

Head-to-head evidence from 15 shared benchmark results across 6 categories. Overall scores shown here use the public BenchAlign v5 ranking lane.

66.69/100
Margin
0.1pts
winning →
66.79/100
1 category wins0 category wins

Public leaderboard positions: GPT-5.3 Codex #26 (Supported); GPT-5.4 nano #25 (Supported). Intervals and evidence labels describe ranking uncertainty, not a guarantee for a specific workload.

Evidence parity. GPT-5.3 Codex and GPT-5.4 nano share 15 comparable benchmark results. 1 of 8 categories are comparable. 6 results are unique to GPT-5.3 Codex; 14 to GPT-5.4 nano.

Updated July 23, 2026
Shared results
15
GPT-5.3 Codex only
6
GPT-5.4 nano only
14
Comparable categories
1 / 8

Pick GPT-5.4 nano if you want the stronger benchmark profile. GPT-5.3 Codex only becomes the better choice if agentic is the priority.

Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 15 shared benchmark results across 6 evidence categories; 1 of 8 categories currently have scoreable aggregates for both models. Treat the verdict as directional until coverage is more balanced.

Why this result

GPT-5.4 nano has the cleaner BenchAlign overall profile here, landing at 66.79 versus 66.69. It is a real lead, but still close enough that category-level strengths matter more than the headline number.

GPT-5.3 Codex is also the more expensive model on tokens at $1.75 input / $14.00 output per 1M tokens, versus $0.20 input / $1.25 output per 1M tokens for GPT-5.4 nano. That is roughly 11.2x on output cost alone.

Category breakdown

Exact category averages are shown below. Not measured means BenchLM does not have enough sourced public coverage for that model and category.

Category scores and score margins for GPT-5.3 Codex and GPT-5.4 nano
CategoryGPT-5.3 CodexΔGPT-5.4 nano
AgenticGPT-5.3 Codex71.4Margin 28.5GPT-5.4 nano42.9
CodingGPT-5.3 Codex67.2MarginNo overlapGPT-5.4 nanoNot measured
KnowledgeGPT-5.3 CodexNot measuredMarginNo overlapGPT-5.4 nano43.8
MathGPT-5.3 CodexNot measuredMarginNo overlapGPT-5.4 nano21.0
MultimodalGPT-5.3 CodexNot measuredMarginNo overlapGPT-5.4 nano66.1

Decisive benchmark drivers

The largest measured benchmark gaps in this matchup, with exact reported values.

More
A · GPT-5.3 CodexB · GPT-5.4 nano
  1. Terminal-Bench 2.0

    Agentic
    Source ↗
    A 77.3%B 46.3%
    Winner: GPT-5.3 CodexΔ 31
    Terminal-Bench 2.0: GPT-5.3 Codex scored 77.3%; GPT-5.4 nano scored 46.3%. GPT-5.3 Codex wins this benchmark.
  2. OSWorld-Verified

    Agentic
    Source ↗
    A 64.7%B 39%
    Winner: GPT-5.3 CodexΔ 25.7
    OSWorld-Verified: GPT-5.3 Codex scored 64.7%; GPT-5.4 nano scored 39%. GPT-5.3 Codex wins this benchmark.

Operational comparison

Runtime and commercial metrics are compared only when both models have a complete sourced value.

MetricGPT-5.3 CodexGPT-5.4 nanoComparison
Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokensGPT-5.3 Codex$1.75 input / $14 outputGPT-5.4 nano$0.2 input / $1.25 outputGPT-5.4 nano has the lower combined listed price.
Generation speedtokens per secondGPT-5.3 Codex79 tok/sGPT-5.4 nano191 tok/sGPT-5.4 nano has the higher measured throughput.
First-answer latencyseconds to first tokenGPT-5.3 Codex88.26 sGPT-5.4 nano3.64 sGPT-5.4 nano reaches the first token sooner.
Context windowmaximum listed tokensGPT-5.3 Codex400KGPT-5.4 nano400KListed context windows are equal.

Benchmark Deep Dive

AgenticGPT-5.3 Codex wins
BenchmarkGPT-5.3 CodexGPT-5.4 nanoResult
Terminal-Bench 2.0Source 77.3%46.3%GPT-5.3 Codex leads
OSWorld-VerifiedSource 64.7%39%GPT-5.3 Codex leads
τ²-bench resultsSource 86%76%GPT-5.3 Codex leads
Gert LabsSource 57.47%Not comparable
JobBenchSource 33.7%Not comparable
MCP AtlasSource 56.1%Not comparable
ToolathlonSource 35.5%Not comparable
AA Agentic IndexSource 27.5%Not comparable
APEX-Agents-AASource 24.9%Not comparable
GDPval-AASource 30.0%Not comparable
GDPval-AASource 1100Not comparable
Coding
BenchmarkGPT-5.3 CodexGPT-5.4 nanoResult
SWE-bench VerifiedSource 85%Not comparable
SWE-bench ProSource 56.8%Not comparable
SWE-RebenchSource 58.2%Not comparable
Vibe Code BenchSource 61.77%26.10%GPT-5.3 Codex leads
AA-SciCodeSource 53.2%46.9%GPT-5.3 Codex leads
AA Coding IndexSource 56.1%Not comparable
Reasoning
BenchmarkGPT-5.3 CodexGPT-5.4 nanoResult
AA-LCRSource 74.0%66.0%GPT-5.3 Codex leads
CritPtSource 16.9%9.3%GPT-5.3 Codex leads
Knowledge
BenchmarkGPT-5.3 CodexGPT-5.4 nanoResult
Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexSource 44.3%38.2%GPT-5.3 Codex leads
AA-GPQA DiamondSource 91.5%81.7%GPT-5.3 Codex leads
AA-HLESource 39.9%26.5%GPT-5.3 Codex leads
AA-Omniscience IndexSource 9.9%-29.5%GPT-5.3 Codex leads
AA-Omniscience AccuracySource 51.8%25.4%GPT-5.3 Codex leads
AA-Omniscience Hallucination RateSource 86.9%73.6%GPT-5.4 nano leads
GPQASource 82.8%Not comparable
HLESource 37.7%Not comparable
HLE w/o toolsSource 24.3%Not comparable
Math
BenchmarkGPT-5.3 CodexGPT-5.4 nanoResult
FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3)Source 25.860%Not comparable
FrontierMath v2 (Tier 4)Source 6.250%Not comparable
Multimodal
BenchmarkGPT-5.3 CodexGPT-5.4 nanoResult
AA-MMMU-ProSource 78.5%65.4%GPT-5.3 Codex leads
Design Arena WebsiteSource 1193Not comparable
MMMU-ProSource 66.1%Not comparable
MMMU-Pro w/ PythonSource 69.5%Not comparable
Inst. Following
BenchmarkGPT-5.3 CodexGPT-5.4 nanoResult
AA-IFBenchSource 75.4%75.9%GPT-5.4 nano leads
Frequently Asked Questions (2)

Which is better, GPT-5.3 Codex or GPT-5.4 nano?

GPT-5.4 nano is ahead on BenchLM's BenchAlign leaderboard, 66.79 to 66.69. The biggest single separator in this matchup is Terminal-Bench 2.0, where the scores are 77.3% and 46.3%.

Which is better for agentic tasks, GPT-5.3 Codex or GPT-5.4 nano?

GPT-5.3 Codex has the edge for agentic tasks in this comparison, averaging 71.4 versus 42.9. Inside this category, Terminal-Bench 2.0 is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Related Comparisons

Last updated: July 23, 2026

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