Nova 2 Lite vs GPT-5.3-Codex
GPT-5.3-Codex leads Nova 2 Lite on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, 32.5 to 13.4, and Nova 2 Lite costs 5.6x less per output token ($2.50 vs $14.00 per million). Updated October 21, 2026; 2 benchmarks have a result for both.
Nova 2 Lite or GPT-5.3-Codex: which to pick
Only GPT-5.3-Codex has a coding score, 60.0 on the Vibe Coding Index; Nova 2 Lite has none, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.
Pick Nova 2 Lite for output tokens 5.6x cheaper ($2.50 vs $14.00 per million) and a larger context window (1M against 400K tokens).
- Shared results
- 2
- Nova 2 Lite only
- 29
- GPT-5.3-Codex only
- 32
- Like-for-like categories
- 2 of 9
Only benchmarks that tested both models count toward a pick; a result only one model has is shown but not compared.
Which one for your work
Each card is decided by one number both models carry. Where only one has it, the card says so and makes no call.
Coding
Vibe Coding Index, six public coding benchmarks
No call
Only GPT-5.3-Codex has a coding score, so no call is made.
One side not measured
Intelligence
AA Intelligence Index
GPT-5.3-Codex
GPT-5.3-Codex leads, 32.5 against 13.4.
Same board, both measured
Web design
Design Arena: websites
No call
Only GPT-5.3-Codex has a Design Arena: websites result, 1163.
Directional only
Long documents
Listed context window
Nova 2 Lite
Nova 2 Lite takes 1M tokens against 400K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Nova 2 Lite
Nova 2 Lite $0.0015, GPT-5.3-Codex $0.0088 per turn.
List prices
Cost per solved task
One SWE-bench Verified task, solved
No call
Only GPT-5.3-Codex has the number, $0.59.
Directional only
At a glance
- Coding index
- Nova 2 Lite not benchmarked, GPT-5.3-Codex 60.0 from 3 benchmarks.
- Widest category
- Coding, 47.3 points apart on average over 1 shared benchmark.
- Widest single gap
- ALE-Bench: Nova 2 Lite 236.3 against GPT-5.3-Codex 1655.2, 47.3 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
- Output price
- Nova 2 Lite $2.50 against GPT-5.3-Codex $14.00 per million output tokens, 5.6x apart.
- Context window
- Nova 2 Lite takes 1M tokens, GPT-5.3-Codex 400K.
Benchmark by benchmark
First the score: boards each model leads, per category, where both have a result. Then every board, a category to a fold; bars are each result on a 0 to 100 scale, so compare the two in a row, not one row with another.
| Category | Nova 2 Lite | Bars | GPT-5.3-Codex | Ties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coding | 0 | 1 | ||
| Intelligence | 0 | 1 | ||
| All shared boards | 0 | 2 |
CodingLike-for-likeSix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index01
| Benchmark | Nova 2 Lite | GPT-5.3-Codex | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena WebDev | Not measured | 1407 | Only GPT-5.3-Codex measured |
| AA Coding Index | 23.0 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LiveCodeBench (Vals AI) | Not measured | 87.3% | Only GPT-5.3-Codex measured |
| SWE-bench Verified (Vals AI) | Not measured | 78.0% | Only GPT-5.3-Codex measured |
| Vibe Code Bench (Vals AI) | Not measured | 61.8% | Only GPT-5.3-Codex measured |
| IOI (Vals AI) | Not measured | 53.8% | Only GPT-5.3-Codex measured |
| Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 53.0% | Only GPT-5.3-Codex measured |
| Terminal-Bench | Not measured | 78.4% | Only GPT-5.3-Codex measured |
| WeirdML | Not measured | 79.3% | Only GPT-5.3-Codex measured |
| ALE-Bench | 236.3 | 1655.2 | GPT-5.3-Codex |
| LMArena Text: coding | 1385 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: software and IT | 1394 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena WebDev: React | Not measured | 1395 | Only GPT-5.3-Codex measured |
| LMArena WebDev: HTML | Not measured | 1422 | Only GPT-5.3-Codex measured |
| LMArena WebDev: from an image | Not measured | 1443 | Only GPT-5.3-Codex measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 24 boards here | |||
IntelligenceLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index01
| Benchmark | Nova 2 Lite | GPT-5.3-Codex | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | 13.4 | 32.5 | GPT-5.3-Codex |
| Epoch Capabilities Index | Not measured | 157.1 | Only GPT-5.3-Codex measured |
Agentic workDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index8 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Nova 2 Lite | GPT-5.3-Codex | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena: agents building web apps | Not measured | 1032 | Only GPT-5.3-Codex measured |
| Design Arena: agents building full-stack apps | Not measured | 983 | Only GPT-5.3-Codex measured |
| Design Arena: agents building mobile apps | Not measured | 1054 | Only GPT-5.3-Codex measured |
| Design Arena: agents building Android apps | Not measured | 1084 | Only GPT-5.3-Codex measured |
| Design Arena: agents building Godot games | Not measured | 1124 | Only GPT-5.3-Codex measured |
| τ²-Bench Telecom | Not measured | 86.0% | Only GPT-5.3-Codex measured |
| METR time horizons | Not measured | 74.5% | Only GPT-5.3-Codex measured |
| Vending-Bench 2 | Not measured | $5,940 | Only GPT-5.3-Codex measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 33 boards here | |||
ReasoningDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index5 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Nova 2 Lite | GPT-5.3-Codex | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 91.5% | Only GPT-5.3-Codex measured |
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 42.5% | Only GPT-5.3-Codex measured |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts | 1364 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: expert | 1359 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts in English | 1385 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 17 boards here | |||
MathDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Nova 2 Lite | GPT-5.3-Codex | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text: math | 1359 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: mathematical work | 1369 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 11 boards here | |||
KnowledgeDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index4 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Nova 2 Lite | GPT-5.3-Codex | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text: science | 1382 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: medicine and healthcare | 1386 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: legal and government | 1359 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: business and finance | 1369 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 14 boards here | |||
Web designDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index8 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Nova 2 Lite | GPT-5.3-Codex | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena: websites | Not measured | 1163 | Only GPT-5.3-Codex measured |
| Design Arena: UI components | Not measured | 1137 | Only GPT-5.3-Codex measured |
| Design Arena: game dev | Not measured | 1161 | Only GPT-5.3-Codex measured |
| Design Arena: data viz | Not measured | 1164 | Only GPT-5.3-Codex measured |
| Design Arena: 3D | Not measured | 1008 | Only GPT-5.3-Codex measured |
| Design Arena: all code categories | Not measured | 1145 | Only GPT-5.3-Codex measured |
| Design Arena: SVG | Not measured | 1129 | Only GPT-5.3-Codex measured |
| Design Arena: ASCII art | Not measured | 1152 | Only GPT-5.3-Codex measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here | |||
GeneralDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index19 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Nova 2 Lite | GPT-5.3-Codex | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| IFBench | Not measured | 75.4% | Only GPT-5.3-Codex measured |
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | Not measured | 83.3% | Only GPT-5.3-Codex measured |
| LMArena Text | 1362 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: instruction following | 1335 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: creative writing | 1292 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: English | 1385 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: non-English | 1337 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: Chinese | 1364 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: German | 1343 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: Japanese | 1273 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: Korean | 1281 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: French | 1381 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: Spanish | 1375 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: Russian | 1342 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: Polish | 1327 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: multi-turn | 1338 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: longer queries | 1335 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: writing and language | 1318 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| LMArena Text: entertainment and media | 1309 | Not measured | Only Nova 2 Lite measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 27 boards here | |||
Image generationNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Nova 2 Lite | GPT-5.3-Codex | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither model has a result on 5 boards here | |||
What each workload costs
Three fixed token mixes at each model's listed price, so per-token rates become a bill.
Chat turn
1K input + 500 output tokens
Nova 2 Lite costs less
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
Nova 2 Lite costs less
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
Nova 2 Lite costs less
Listed OpenRouter rates, without cache or batch discounts. A workload that does not fit a model's context window would need splitting.
Specification differences
The leading value in a row is marked; a row with a missing value names no leader. Our two rows are marked in red.
| Specification | Amazon Nova 2 Lite | OpenAI GPT-5.3-Codex |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Amazon | OpenAI |
| Weights | No public weights listed | No public weights listed |
| Released | December 2, 2025 | February 24, 2026 |
| Context window | 1M | 400K |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.30 | $1.75 |
| Output $/Mtok | $2.50 | $14.00 |
| Coding index | Not benchmarked | 60.0 |
| Independent measurements behind it | 0 | 3 |
| Cost per solved task | Not computable | $0.59 |
| Source | OpenRouter listing | OpenRouter listing |
Questions
Is Nova 2 Lite better than GPT-5.3-Codex for coding?
Only GPT-5.3-Codex has a coding score, 60.0 on the Vibe Coding Index; Nova 2 Lite has none, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Pick Nova 2 Lite for output tokens 5.6x cheaper ($2.50 vs $14.00 per million) and a larger context window (1M against 400K tokens).
Which is cheaper, Nova 2 Lite or GPT-5.3-Codex?
Nova 2 Lite costs $0.30 per million input tokens and $2.50 per million output tokens; GPT-5.3-Codex costs $1.75 and $14.00. Cost per solved task is known for GPT-5.3-Codex only.
Which has the bigger context window, Nova 2 Lite or GPT-5.3-Codex?
Nova 2 Lite, with 1M tokens against 400K.
How many benchmarks is the Nova 2 Lite vs GPT-5.3-Codex comparison based on?
2 benchmarks have a result for both models as of October 21, 2026. Nova 2 Lite's coding index rests on 0 independent benchmarks and GPT-5.3-Codex's on 3. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.