Model Comparison

MAI-Code-1-Flash vs GPT-5.5 InstantWhich is better in 2026?

GPT-5.5 Instant significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Verdict: MAI-Code-1-Flash vs GPT-5.5 Instant — which is better?

MAI-Code-1-Flash (by Microsoft) and GPT-5.5 Instant (by OpenAI) 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.

MAI-Code-1-Flash outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while GPT-5.5 Instant is better at 1 benchmark (GPQA). GPT-5.5 Instant significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Choose MAI-Code-1-Flash if…

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

Choose GPT-5.5 Instant if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 1 of 1 shared benchmarks

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

1 benchmarks

MAI-Code-1-Flash outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while GPT-5.5 Instant is better at 1 benchmark (GPQA).

GPT-5.5 Instant significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Fri Jul 17 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only GPT-5.5 Instant specifies input context (400,000 tokens). Only GPT-5.5 Instant specifies output context (128,000 tokens).

Microsoft
MAI-Code-1-Flash
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
OpenAI
GPT-5.5 Instant
Input400,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Fri Jul 17 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

GPT-5.5 Instant supports multimodal inputs, whereas MAI-Code-1-Flash does not.

GPT-5.5 Instant can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

MAI-Code-1-Flash

Text
Images
Audio
Video

GPT-5.5 Instant

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.

MAI-Code-1-Flash

Proprietary

Closed source

GPT-5.5 Instant

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

MAI-Code-1-Flash was released on 2026-06-02, while GPT-5.5 Instant was released on 2026-05-05.

MAI-Code-1-Flash is 1 month newer than GPT-5.5 Instant.

MAI-Code-1-Flash

Jun 2, 2026

1 months ago

4w newer
GPT-5.5 Instant

May 5, 2026

2 months ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

GPT-5.5 Instant has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2025-08-31, while MAI-Code-1-Flash's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm GPT-5.5 Instant's training data extends to 2025-08-31, but cannot make a direct comparison without MAI-Code-1-Flash's cutoff date.

MAI-Code-1-Flash

—

GPT-5.5 Instant

Aug 2025

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Microsoft

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

OpenAI
Larger context window (400,000 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Higher GPQA score (85.6% vs 84.6%)

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against MAI-Code-1-Flash and GPT-5.5 Instant side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

MAI-Code-1-Flash
✓ Preferred
GPT-5.5 Instant
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Microsoft
MAI-Code-1-Flash
OpenAI
GPT-5.5 Instant

FAQ

Common questions about MAI-Code-1-Flash vs GPT-5.5 Instant.

Which is better, MAI-Code-1-Flash or GPT-5.5 Instant?

GPT-5.5 Instant significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. MAI-Code-1-Flash is made by Microsoft and GPT-5.5 Instant is made by OpenAI. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does MAI-Code-1-Flash compare to GPT-5.5 Instant in benchmarks?

MAI-Code-1-Flash scores AIME 2026: 92.5%, GPQA: 84.6%, IFBench: 75.0%, Tau2 Telecom: 71.7%, SWE-Bench Verified: 71.6%. GPT-5.5 Instant scores HealthBench Consensus: 94.7%, OmniDocBench 1.5: 87.5%, GPQA: 85.6%, CharXiv-R: 81.6%, AIME 2025: 81.2%.

What are the context window sizes for MAI-Code-1-Flash and GPT-5.5 Instant?

MAI-Code-1-Flash supports an unknown number of tokens and GPT-5.5 Instant supports 400K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between MAI-Code-1-Flash and GPT-5.5 Instant?

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

Who makes MAI-Code-1-Flash and GPT-5.5 Instant?

MAI-Code-1-Flash is developed by Microsoft and GPT-5.5 Instant is developed by OpenAI.

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