Side-by-side benchmark comparison across agentic, coding, multimodal, knowledge, reasoning, and math workflows.
GPT-5.2 Instant and GPT-5.2-Codex finish on the same overall score, so this is less about a single winner and more about where the edge shows up. The headline says tie; the benchmark table is where the real choice happens.
GPT-5.2-Codex is also the more expensive model on tokens at $2.00 input / $8.00 output per 1M tokens, versus $1.50 input / $6.00 output per 1M tokens for GPT-5.2 Instant. GPT-5.2-Codex gives you the larger context window at 400K, compared with 128K for GPT-5.2 Instant.
Treat this as a split decision. GPT-5.2 Instant makes more sense if knowledge is the priority or you want the cheaper token bill; GPT-5.2-Codex is the better fit if agentic is the priority or you need the larger 400K context window.
GPT-5.2 Instant
79.6
GPT-5.2-Codex
87
GPT-5.2 Instant
75.5
GPT-5.2-Codex
76
GPT-5.2 Instant
93.1
GPT-5.2-Codex
87.6
GPT-5.2 Instant
90.9
GPT-5.2-Codex
92
GPT-5.2 Instant
79.8
GPT-5.2-Codex
72.5
GPT-5.2 Instant
95
GPT-5.2-Codex
92
GPT-5.2 Instant
94.4
GPT-5.2-Codex
88.4
GPT-5.2 Instant
97.2
GPT-5.2-Codex
95.4
GPT-5.2 Instant and GPT-5.2-Codex are tied on overall score, so the right pick depends on which category matters most for your use case.
GPT-5.2 Instant has the edge for knowledge tasks in this comparison, averaging 79.8 versus 72.5. Inside this category, HLE is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
GPT-5.2-Codex has the edge for coding in this comparison, averaging 76 versus 75.5. Inside this category, SWE-bench Pro is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
GPT-5.2 Instant has the edge for math in this comparison, averaging 97.2 versus 95.4. Inside this category, MATH-500 is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
GPT-5.2-Codex has the edge for reasoning in this comparison, averaging 92 versus 90.9. Inside this category, MRCRv2 is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
GPT-5.2-Codex has the edge for agentic tasks in this comparison, averaging 87 versus 79.6. Inside this category, OSWorld-Verified is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
GPT-5.2 Instant has the edge for multimodal and grounded tasks in this comparison, averaging 93.1 versus 87.6. Inside this category, MMMU-Pro is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
GPT-5.2 Instant has the edge for instruction following in this comparison, averaging 95 versus 92. Inside this category, IFEval is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
GPT-5.2 Instant has the edge for multilingual tasks in this comparison, averaging 94.4 versus 88.4. Inside this category, MMLU-ProX is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
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