GPT-5.1 Codex vs Grok 5 for coding
GPT-5.1 Codex is the stronger coder of the two on benchmarks, but Grok 5 can be the better pick when cost, speed, or context window matter more. Below: a side-by-side spec table and exactly when to pick each.
At a glance
| Spec | GPT-5.1 Codex | Grok 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | OpenAI | xAI |
| Released | Nov 2025 | Jan 2026 |
| SWE-bench Verified | 75% | 72% |
| HumanEval | 95% | 94% |
| MMLU | 88% | 89% |
| Context window | 400K | 1M+ |
| Max output | 128K | 64K |
| Input price (per 1M) | $1.25 | $5 |
| Output price (per 1M) | $10 | $25 |
| Price tier | Mid | Premium |
| Speed | Medium | Medium |
| Hosting | Closed/API | Closed/API |
| Modality | Text + Vision | Multimodal (vision) |
| Knowledge cutoff | Oct 2025 | Dec 2025 |
Pick GPT-5.1 Codex if…
- It scores higher on SWE-bench Verified (75% vs 72%), the best proxy for real-world coding.
- It's cheaper (Mid tier vs Premium).
- It's tuned for codex CLI and long-horizon coding agents; engineered for terminal-driven workflows.
Pick Grok 5 if…
- It has a larger context window (1M+ vs 400K).
- It's tuned for real-time web/X context, long-context analysis, and agentic browsing.
GPT-5.1 Codex vs Grok 5: which is better for coding?
GPT-5.1 Codex is the stronger coder of the two on benchmarks, but Grok 5 can be the better pick when cost, speed, or context window matter more. See the full spec table for SWE-bench, HumanEval, MMLU, context window, and pricing on both. Benchmarks are a directional signal, not a guarantee for your codebase — the most reliable test is running both on a real task you care about.
Compare these head-to-head with live data, or build a full stack around your pick — Flowpicker shows compatibility and monthly cost.
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See the full model leaderboard ranked by SWE-bench, HumanEval, and MMLU.