GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark vs GPT-4.1 mini

Side-by-side benchmark comparison across agentic, coding, multimodal, knowledge, reasoning, and math workflows.

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark is clearly ahead on the aggregate, 87 to 58. The gap is large enough that you do not need to squint at the spreadsheet to see the difference.

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark's sharpest advantage is in mathematics, where it averages 96.7 against 23.1. The single biggest benchmark swing on the page is AIME 2024, 98 to 23.1.

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark is also the more expensive model on tokens at $2.00 input / $8.00 output per 1M tokens, versus $0.40 input / $1.60 output per 1M tokens for GPT-4.1 mini. That is roughly 5.0x on output cost alone. GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark is the reasoning model in the pair, while GPT-4.1 mini 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 mini gives you the larger context window at 1M, compared with 256K for GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark.

Quick Verdict

Pick GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark if you want the stronger benchmark profile. GPT-4.1 mini only becomes the better choice if you want the cheaper token bill or you need the larger 1M context window.

Agentic

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark

85.6

GPT-4.1 mini

56.5

90
Terminal-Bench 2.0
54
82
BrowseComp
71
83
OSWorld-Verified
49

Coding

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark

82.3

GPT-4.1 mini

28.8

91
HumanEval
Coming soon
80
SWE-bench Verified
23.6
80
LiveCodeBench
Coming soon
85
SWE-bench Pro
30

Multimodal & Grounded

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark

88.3

GPT-4.1 mini

69.6

86
MMMU-Pro
66
91
OfficeQA Pro
74

Reasoning

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark

92.7

GPT-4.1 mini

80.9

94
SimpleQA
Coming soon
92
MuSR
Coming soon
97
BBH
Coming soon
91
LongBench v2
80
92
MRCRv2
82

Knowledge

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark

78.3

GPT-4.1 mini

62.4

97
MMLU
87.5
95
GPQA
64.2
93
SuperGPQA
Coming soon
91
OpenBookQA
Coming soon
88
MMLU-Pro
Coming soon
42
HLE
Coming soon
88
FrontierScience
61

Instruction Following

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark

92

GPT-4.1 mini

88.5

92
IFEval
88.5

Multilingual

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark

90.8

GPT-4.1 mini

72

94
MGSM
Coming soon
89
MMLU-ProX
72

Mathematics

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark

96.7

GPT-4.1 mini

23.1

98
AIME 2023
Coming soon
98
AIME 2024
23.1
97
AIME 2025
Coming soon
94
HMMT Feb 2023
Coming soon
96
HMMT Feb 2024
Coming soon
95
HMMT Feb 2025
Coming soon
95
BRUMO 2025
Coming soon
98
MATH-500
Coming soon

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark or GPT-4.1 mini?

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark is ahead overall, 87 to 58. The biggest single separator in this matchup is AIME 2024, where the scores are 98 and 23.1.

Which is better for knowledge tasks, GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark or GPT-4.1 mini?

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark has the edge for knowledge tasks in this comparison, averaging 78.3 versus 62.4. Inside this category, GPQA is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Which is better for coding, GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark or GPT-4.1 mini?

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark has the edge for coding in this comparison, averaging 82.3 versus 28.8. Inside this category, SWE-bench Verified is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Which is better for math, GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark or GPT-4.1 mini?

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark has the edge for math in this comparison, averaging 96.7 versus 23.1. Inside this category, AIME 2024 is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Which is better for reasoning, GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark or GPT-4.1 mini?

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark has the edge for reasoning in this comparison, averaging 92.7 versus 80.9. Inside this category, LongBench v2 is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Which is better for agentic tasks, GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark or GPT-4.1 mini?

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark has the edge for agentic tasks in this comparison, averaging 85.6 versus 56.5. Inside this category, Terminal-Bench 2.0 is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Which is better for multimodal and grounded tasks, GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark or GPT-4.1 mini?

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark has the edge for multimodal and grounded tasks in this comparison, averaging 88.3 versus 69.6. Inside this category, MMMU-Pro is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Which is better for instruction following, GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark or GPT-4.1 mini?

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark has the edge for instruction following in this comparison, averaging 92 versus 88.5. Inside this category, IFEval is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Which is better for multilingual tasks, GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark or GPT-4.1 mini?

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark has the edge for multilingual tasks in this comparison, averaging 90.8 versus 72. Inside this category, MMLU-ProX is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Last updated: March 12, 2026

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