GPT-5.1-Codex vs Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct
GPT-5.1-Codex leads Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, 23.7 to 7.3, and Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct costs 13.3x less per output token ($0.75 vs $10.00 per million). Updated October 21, 2026; 11 benchmarks have a result for both.
GPT-5.1-Codex or Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct: which to pick
Only GPT-5.1-Codex has a coding score, 15.3 on the Vibe Coding Index; Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct has none, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.
Pick Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct for output tokens 13.3x cheaper ($0.75 vs $10.00 per million).
- Shared results
- 11
- GPT-5.1-Codex only
- 15
- Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct only
- 0
- Like-for-like categories
- 7 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-5.1-Codex has a coding score, so no call is made.
One side not measured
Intelligence
AA Intelligence Index
GPT-5.1-Codex
GPT-5.1-Codex leads, 23.7 against 7.3.
Same board, both measured
Web design
Design Arena: websites
No call
Only GPT-5.1-Codex has a Design Arena: websites result, 1162.
Directional only
Long documents
Listed context window
GPT-5.1-Codex
GPT-5.1-Codex takes 400K tokens against 262K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct
GPT-5.1-Codex $0.0063, Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct $0.0006 per turn.
List prices
Cost per solved task
One SWE-bench Verified task, solved
No call
Only GPT-5.1-Codex has the number, $0.892.
Directional only
At a glance
- Coding index
- GPT-5.1-Codex 15.3 from 2 benchmarks, Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct not benchmarked.
- Widest category
- Math, 65.0 points apart on average over 2 shared benchmarks.
- Widest single gap
- AA Math Index: GPT-5.1-Codex 95.7 against Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct 30.7, 65.0 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
- Output price
- GPT-5.1-Codex $10.00 against Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct $0.75 per million output tokens, 13.3x apart.
- Context window
- GPT-5.1-Codex takes 400K tokens, Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct 262K.
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 | GPT-5.1-Codex | Bars | Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct | Ties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coding | 2 | 0 | ||
| Intelligence | 1 | 0 | ||
| Agentic work | 1 | 0 | ||
| Reasoning | 2 | 0 | ||
| Math | 2 | 0 | ||
| Knowledge | 1 | 0 | ||
| General | 2 | 0 | ||
| All shared boards | 11 | 0 |
CodingLike-for-likeSix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index20
| Benchmark | GPT-5.1-Codex | Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| SWE-bench Verified | 66.0% | Not measured | Only GPT-5.1-Codex measured |
| LMArena WebDev | 1337 | Not measured | Only GPT-5.1-Codex measured |
| LiveCodeBench (Vals AI) | 85.5% | Not measured | Only GPT-5.1-Codex measured |
| Vibe Code Bench (Vals AI) | 13.1% | Not measured | Only GPT-5.1-Codex measured |
| LiveCodeBench (Artificial Analysis run) | 84.9% | 35.3% | GPT-5.1-Codex |
| Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run) | 34.8% | 3.8% | GPT-5.1-Codex |
| Terminal-Bench | 57.8% | Not measured | Only GPT-5.1-Codex measured |
| ALE-Bench | 1244.9 | Not measured | Only GPT-5.1-Codex measured |
| LMArena WebDev: HTML | 1346 | Not measured | Only GPT-5.1-Codex measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 30 boards here | |||
IntelligenceLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index10
| Benchmark | GPT-5.1-Codex | Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | 23.7 | 7.3 | GPT-5.1-Codex |
| Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here | |||
Agentic workLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index10
| Benchmark | GPT-5.1-Codex | Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena: agents building web apps | 1018 | Not measured | Only GPT-5.1-Codex measured |
| Design Arena: agents building full-stack apps | 1086 | Not measured | Only GPT-5.1-Codex measured |
| Design Arena: agents building mobile apps | 1191 | Not measured | Only GPT-5.1-Codex measured |
| τ²-Bench Telecom | 83.0% | 29.2% | GPT-5.1-Codex |
| Neither model has a result on the other 37 boards here | |||
ReasoningLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index20
| Benchmark | GPT-5.1-Codex | Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run) | 86.0% | 57.9% | GPT-5.1-Codex |
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | 25.7% | 3.8% | GPT-5.1-Codex |
| Neither model has a result on the other 20 boards here | |||
MathLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index20
| Benchmark | GPT-5.1-Codex | Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Math Index | 95.7 | 30.7 | GPT-5.1-Codex |
| AIME 2025 (Artificial Analysis run) | 95.7% | 30.7% | GPT-5.1-Codex |
| Neither model has a result on the other 11 boards here | |||
KnowledgeLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index10
| Benchmark | GPT-5.1-Codex | Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| MMLU Pro (Artificial Analysis run) | 86.0% | 74.9% | GPT-5.1-Codex |
| Neither model has a result on the other 17 boards here | |||
Web designDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index5 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | GPT-5.1-Codex | Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena: websites | 1162 | Not measured | Only GPT-5.1-Codex measured |
| Design Arena: UI components | 1237 | Not measured | Only GPT-5.1-Codex measured |
| Design Arena: game dev | 1138 | Not measured | Only GPT-5.1-Codex measured |
| Design Arena: data viz | 1213 | Not measured | Only GPT-5.1-Codex measured |
| Design Arena: all code categories | 1152 | Not measured | Only GPT-5.1-Codex measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 4 boards here | |||
GeneralLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index20
| Benchmark | GPT-5.1-Codex | Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| IFBench | 70.0% | 39.9% | GPT-5.1-Codex |
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | 69.3% | 33.3% | GPT-5.1-Codex |
| Neither model has a result on the other 44 boards here | |||
Image generationNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | GPT-5.1-Codex | Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct | 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
Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct costs less
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct costs less
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct 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 | OpenAI GPT-5.1-Codex | Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | OpenAI | Qwen |
| Weights | No public weights listed | Open weights |
| Released | November 13, 2025 | October 14, 2025 |
| Context window | 400K | 262K |
| Input $/Mtok | $1.25 | $0.25 |
| Output $/Mtok | $10.00 | $0.75 |
| Coding index | 15.3 | Not benchmarked |
| Independent measurements behind it | 2 | 0 |
| Cost per solved task | $0.892 | Not computable |
| Source | OpenRouter listing | OpenRouter listing |
Questions
Is GPT-5.1-Codex better than Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct for coding?
Only GPT-5.1-Codex has a coding score, 15.3 on the Vibe Coding Index; Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct has none, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Pick Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct for output tokens 13.3x cheaper ($0.75 vs $10.00 per million).
Which is cheaper, GPT-5.1-Codex or Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct?
GPT-5.1-Codex costs $1.25 per million input tokens and $10.00 per million output tokens; Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct costs $0.25 and $0.75. Cost per solved task is known for GPT-5.1-Codex only.
Which has the bigger context window, GPT-5.1-Codex or Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct?
GPT-5.1-Codex, with 400K tokens against 262K.
How many benchmarks is the GPT-5.1-Codex vs Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct comparison based on?
11 benchmarks have a result for both models as of October 21, 2026. GPT-5.1-Codex's coding index rests on 2 independent benchmarks and Qwen3 VL 8B Instruct's on 0. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.