Build AI powered apps for your work

Get started free
LLM ComparisonGPT-5 CodexGPT-5 Nano

GPT-5 Codex vs GPT-5 Nano

Compare GPT-5 Codex and GPT-5 Nano. Build AI products powered by either model on Appaca.

Model Comparison

FeatureGPT-5 CodexGPT-5 Nano
ProviderOpenAIOpenAI
Model Typetexttext
Context Window400,000 tokens400,000 tokens
Input Cost
$1.25/ 1M tokens
$0.05/ 1M tokens
Output Cost
$10.00/ 1M tokens
$0.40/ 1M tokens

Stop choosing. Use both.

With Appaca you don't have to pick — build apps that are powered by GPT-5 Codex, GPT-5 Nano, for your specific use case.

Build your first app free

Strengths & Best Use Cases

GPT-5 Codex

OpenAI

1. Purpose-Built for Agentic Coding

  • Optimized specifically for scenarios where the model must act as an autonomous or semi-autonomous coding agent.
  • Tailored for Codex workflows such as planning, editing, debugging, and multi-step tool-driven code tasks.

2. Advanced Coding Reasoning

  • Extends GPT-5's higher reasoning mode to better handle complex software logic and multi-file dependencies.
  • Produces more accurate, structured, and maintainable code across modern programming languages.

3. Strong Tool Use in Developer-Like Environments

  • Designed for Codex's agent environment, enabling the model to:
    • Read and modify files
    • Follow function signatures and API contracts
    • Navigate codebases with awareness of context and structure

4. Large Context Window for Full-Project Understanding

  • 400,000-token context allows ingestion of:
    • Entire repositories
    • Multiple files at once
    • Architectural descriptions
  • Enables long-range reasoning across codebases rather than isolated snippets.

5. Multimodal Capability for Development Tasks

  • Accepts text and image as input (great for screenshots of error logs, UI mocks, whiteboards).
  • Outputs text only, focusing its output precision on code, reasoning, and documentation.

6. Continuous Snapshot Updates

  • The underlying model version is regularly upgraded behind the scenes.
  • Ensures developers always use the best coding-enhanced GPT-5 variant without changing model names.

7. Reliable Instruction Following

  • Very strong adherence to constraints like:
    • File/folder structure requirements
    • Framework conventions
    • Naming patterns
    • Linting rules
  • Makes it suitable for production coding agents.

8. Broad API Integration

  • Available only in the Responses API, giving you:
    • Streaming
    • Structured outputs
    • Function calling
  • Allows creation of interactive coding tools and agent workflows with tight model control.

GPT-5 Nano

OpenAI

1. Extremely fast performance

  • Fastest model in the GPT-5 family.
  • Great for real-time workflows, rapid responses, and high-throughput systems.

2. Most cost-efficient GPT-5 model

  • Lowest input and output token costs.
  • Suitable for large-scale or budget-sensitive applications.

3. Ideal for lightweight, well-scoped tasks

  • Excels at summarization, classification, text extraction, and simple logic tasks.
  • Best used when tasks are narrow and well-defined.

4. Multimodal input

  • Accepts text + image as input.
  • Outputs text only.

5. Broad tool support

  • Supports Web Search, File Search, Image Generation (as a tool), Code Interpreter, and MCP.
  • (Does not support Computer Use.)