GPT-5.1-Codex-Max vs GPT-5 nano

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

GPT-5.1-Codex-Max is clearly ahead on the aggregate, 87 to 31. The gap is large enough that you do not need to squint at the spreadsheet to see the difference.

GPT-5.1-Codex-Max's sharpest advantage is in mathematics, where it averages 96.6 against 85.2. The single biggest benchmark swing on the page is GPQA, 96 to 71.2.

GPT-5.1-Codex-Max is also the more expensive model on tokens at $2.00 input / $8.00 output per 1M tokens, versus $0.05 input / $0.40 output per 1M tokens for GPT-5 nano. That is roughly 20.0x on output cost alone.

Quick Verdict

Pick GPT-5.1-Codex-Max if you want the stronger benchmark profile. GPT-5 nano only becomes the better choice if you want the cheaper token bill.

Knowledge

GPT-5.1-Codex-Max

GPT-5.1-Codex-Max

81.5

GPT-5 nano

71.2

98
MMLU
-
96
GPQA
71.2
94
SuperGPQA
-
92
OpenBookQA
-
82
MMLU-Pro
-
27
HLE
-

Coding

GPT-5.1-Codex-Max
94
HumanEval
-
75
SWE-bench Verified
-
67
LiveCodeBench
-

Mathematics

GPT-5.1-Codex-Max

GPT-5.1-Codex-Max

96.6

GPT-5 nano

85.2

99
AIME 2023
-
99
AIME 2024
-
98
AIME 2025
85.2
95
HMMT Feb 2023
-
97
HMMT Feb 2024
-
96
HMMT Feb 2025
-
96
BRUMO 2025
-
93
MATH-500
-

Reasoning

GPT-5.1-Codex-Max
94
SimpleQA
-
92
MuSR
-
92
BBH
-

Instruction Following

GPT-5.1-Codex-Max
91
IFEval
-

Multilingual

GPT-5.1-Codex-Max
89
MGSM
-

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, GPT-5.1-Codex-Max or GPT-5 nano?

GPT-5.1-Codex-Max is ahead overall, 87 to 31. The biggest single separator in this matchup is GPQA, where the scores are 96 and 71.2.

Which is better for knowledge tasks, GPT-5.1-Codex-Max or GPT-5 nano?

GPT-5.1-Codex-Max has the edge for knowledge tasks in this comparison, averaging 81.5 versus 71.2. Inside this category, GPQA is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Which is better for math, GPT-5.1-Codex-Max or GPT-5 nano?

GPT-5.1-Codex-Max has the edge for math in this comparison, averaging 96.6 versus 85.2. Inside this category, AIME 2025 is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Last updated: March 9, 2026

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