GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark vs GPT-4.1 nano

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 49. 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 9.8. The single biggest benchmark swing on the page is AIME 2024, 98 to 9.8.

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark is also the more expensive model on tokens at $2.00 input / $8.00 output per 1M tokens, versus $0.10 input / $0.40 output per 1M tokens for GPT-4.1 nano. That is roughly 20.0x on output cost alone. GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark is the reasoning model in the pair, while GPT-4.1 nano 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 nano 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 nano 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 nano

47.4

90
Terminal-Bench 2.0
43
82
BrowseComp
62
83
OSWorld-Verified
42

Coding

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark

82.3

GPT-4.1 nano

18

91
HumanEval
Coming soon
80
SWE-bench Verified
Coming soon
80
LiveCodeBench
Coming soon
85
SWE-bench Pro
18

Multimodal & Grounded

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark

88.3

GPT-4.1 nano

59.3

86
MMMU-Pro
53
91
OfficeQA Pro
67

Reasoning

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark

92.7

GPT-4.1 nano

74.1

94
SimpleQA
Coming soon
92
MuSR
Coming soon
97
BBH
Coming soon
91
LongBench v2
75
92
MRCRv2
73

Knowledge

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark

78.3

GPT-4.1 nano

50.7

97
MMLU
80.1
95
GPQA
50.3
93
SuperGPQA
Coming soon
91
OpenBookQA
Coming soon
88
MMLU-Pro
Coming soon
42
HLE
Coming soon
88
FrontierScience
51

Instruction Following

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark

92

GPT-4.1 nano

83.2

92
IFEval
83.2

Multilingual

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark

90.8

GPT-4.1 nano

59

94
MGSM
Coming soon
89
MMLU-ProX
59

Mathematics

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark

96.7

GPT-4.1 nano

9.8

98
AIME 2023
Coming soon
98
AIME 2024
9.8
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 nano?

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark is ahead overall, 87 to 49. The biggest single separator in this matchup is AIME 2024, where the scores are 98 and 9.8.

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

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark has the edge for knowledge tasks in this comparison, averaging 78.3 versus 50.7. 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 nano?

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark has the edge for coding in this comparison, averaging 82.3 versus 18. Inside this category, SWE-bench Pro is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

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

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark has the edge for math in this comparison, averaging 96.7 versus 9.8. 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 nano?

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark has the edge for reasoning in this comparison, averaging 92.7 versus 74.1. Inside this category, MRCRv2 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 nano?

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark has the edge for agentic tasks in this comparison, averaging 85.6 versus 47.4. 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 nano?

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark has the edge for multimodal and grounded tasks in this comparison, averaging 88.3 versus 59.3. 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 nano?

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark has the edge for instruction following in this comparison, averaging 92 versus 83.2. 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 nano?

GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark has the edge for multilingual tasks in this comparison, averaging 90.8 versus 59. Inside this category, MMLU-ProX is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Last updated: March 12, 2026

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