Model Comparison

GPT-5.1 Codex vs MAI-Thinking-1Which is better in 2026?

GPT-5.1 Codex significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Verdict: GPT-5.1 Codex vs MAI-Thinking-1 — which is better?

GPT-5.1 Codex (by OpenAI) and MAI-Thinking-1 (by Microsoft) are two of the AI models people compare most. Here is how they stack up on benchmarks, price and capabilities, and which one to pick in 2026.

GPT-5.1 Codex outperforms in 2 benchmarks (SWE-Bench Verified, Terminal-Bench 2.0), while MAI-Thinking-1 is better at 0 benchmarks. GPT-5.1 Codex significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Choose GPT-5.1 Codex if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 2 shared benchmarks

Choose MAI-Thinking-1 if…

  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jun 2026

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

2 benchmarks

GPT-5.1 Codex outperforms in 2 benchmarks (SWE-Bench Verified, Terminal-Bench 2.0), while MAI-Thinking-1 is better at 0 benchmarks.

GPT-5.1 Codex significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Sat Jul 25 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only GPT-5.1 Codex specifies input context (400,000 tokens). Only GPT-5.1 Codex specifies output context (128,000 tokens).

OpenAI
GPT-5.1 Codex
Input400,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Microsoft
MAI-Thinking-1
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
Sat Jul 25 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

GPT-5.1 Codex supports multimodal inputs, whereas MAI-Thinking-1 does not.

GPT-5.1 Codex can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

GPT-5.1 Codex

Text
Images
Audio
Video

MAI-Thinking-1

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Both models are licensed under proprietary licenses.

Both models have usage restrictions defined by their respective organizations.

GPT-5.1 Codex

Proprietary

Closed source

MAI-Thinking-1

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

GPT-5.1 Codex was released on 2025-11-19, while MAI-Thinking-1 was released on 2026-06-02.

MAI-Thinking-1 is 7 months newer than GPT-5.1 Codex.

GPT-5.1 Codex

Nov 19, 2025

8 months ago

MAI-Thinking-1

Jun 2, 2026

1 months ago

6mo newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

GPT-5.1 Codex has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-09-30, while MAI-Thinking-1's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm GPT-5.1 Codex's training data extends to 2024-09-30, but cannot make a direct comparison without MAI-Thinking-1's cutoff date.

GPT-5.1 Codex

Sep 2024

MAI-Thinking-1

—

Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

OpenAI
Larger context window (400,000 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Higher SWE-Bench Verified score (73.7% vs 73.5%)
Higher Terminal-Bench 2.0 score (52.8% vs 46.0%)
Microsoft

No standout differentiators in the data we have for this pair.

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against GPT-5.1 Codex and MAI-Thinking-1 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

GPT-5.1 Codex
✓ Preferred
MAI-Thinking-1
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
OpenAI
GPT-5.1 Codex
Microsoft
MAI-Thinking-1

FAQ

Common questions about GPT-5.1 Codex vs MAI-Thinking-1.

Which is better, GPT-5.1 Codex or MAI-Thinking-1?

GPT-5.1 Codex significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. GPT-5.1 Codex is made by OpenAI and MAI-Thinking-1 is made by Microsoft. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does GPT-5.1 Codex compare to MAI-Thinking-1 in benchmarks?

GPT-5.1 Codex scores SWE-Bench Verified: 73.7%, SWE-Lancer: 66.3%, Terminal-Bench 2.0: 52.8%. MAI-Thinking-1 scores LongFact: 98.0%, AIME 2025: 97.0%, AIME 2026: 94.5%, GraphWalks: 90.0%, AIR-Bench: 88.0%.

What are the context window sizes for GPT-5.1 Codex and MAI-Thinking-1?

GPT-5.1 Codex supports 400K tokens and MAI-Thinking-1 supports an unknown number of tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between GPT-5.1 Codex and MAI-Thinking-1?

Key differences include multimodal support (yes vs no). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes GPT-5.1 Codex and MAI-Thinking-1?

GPT-5.1 Codex is developed by OpenAI and MAI-Thinking-1 is developed by Microsoft.

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