Codestral 2 vs GPT-5 nano
A complete head-to-head: pricing, context window, benchmarks, modality coverage, and openness, with a programmatic verdict synthesized from the underlying data.
Updated
Codestral 2 specs · GPT-5 nano specs- PriceGPT-5 nano
GPT-5 nano is roughly 2.3× cheaper on output tokens ($0.40 vs $0.90 per 1M).
- Context windowGPT-5 nano
GPT-5 nano accepts 400K tokens vs 256K, 1.6× the room for long documents and codebases.
- BenchmarksTie
No directly comparable public benchmarks are available for both models, check the spec sheets for individual scores.
- ModalitiesGPT-5 nano
GPT-5 nano supports 2 modalities (text, vision) vs 1 for Codestral 2.
- OpennessCodestral 2
Codestral 2 ships open weights (Mistral Non-Production License); GPT-5 nano is API-only.
On balance GPT-5 nano edges ahead, winning 3 of 5 categories against Codestral 2's 1. GPT-5 nano is roughly 2.3× cheaper on output tokens ($0.40 vs $0.90 per 1M). GPT-5 nano accepts 400K tokens vs 256K, 1.6× the room for long documents and codebases.
No directly comparable public benchmarks are available for both models, check the spec sheets for individual scores. They differ in modality coverage, Codestral 2 handles text while GPT-5 nano handles text, vision, which can be the deciding factor before you even look at benchmarks. Codestral 2 ships open weights (Mistral Non-Production License); GPT-5 nano is API-only.
GPT-5 nano is the newer of the two, released 7 months after Codestral 2, which usually means a more recent knowledge cutoff and updated safety post-training. Codestral 2 is usually picked for code completion and coding llm workloads, while GPT-5 nano sees more deployments in cheapest llm and fastest llm. If pricing matters more than every last benchmark point, run the numbers in the calculator below before committing.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | Codestral 2 | GPT-5 nano |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Mistral | OpenAI |
| Released | Jan 2025 | Aug 2025 |
| Modalities | text | text, vision |
| Context window | 256K tokens | 400K tokens |
| Max output | , | 128K tokens |
| Input · 1M | $0.30 / 1M tokens | $0.050 / 1M tokens |
| Output · 1M | $0.90 / 1M tokens | $0.40 / 1M tokens |
| Knowledge cutoff | , | 2024-09 |
| Open weights | Yes (Mistral Non-Production License) | No |
| API available | Yes | Yes |
Pricing at scale
What you'd actually pay at typical workloads. Numbers come from each model's published per-million-token rates.
- Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day$2.25 vs $0.750
- Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day$22.50 vs $7.50
- RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day$50.40 vs $9.90
Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day: $2.25 vs $0.750 per month, model B comes out ahead. Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day: $22.50 vs $7.50 per month, model B comes out ahead. RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day: $50.40 vs $9.90 per month, model B comes out ahead.
Estimated spend for the listed models at your usage. Numbers are derived from each model's published per-million-token rates.
- Codestral 2$0.075
- GPT-5 nano$0.025
Benchmarks compared
Only sourced numbers. Where a benchmark is missing for one model we show the available value rather than fabricating the other.
- HumanEval92.0
Codestral 2 fits when…
- Fast inline completion
- FIM support
- Self-hostable for IP-sensitive teams
- Self-hosting and on-prem requirements, open weights (Mistral Non-Production License).
GPT-5 nano fits when…
- Lowest-cost OpenAI model with vision support
- Fast P99 latency
- Good enough for routing and classification
- Cost-sensitive workloads, 2.3× cheaper than Codestral 2 on output tokens.
- Long-context tasks, handles 400K tokens vs 256K for Codestral 2.
Consider Mistral Large 2
Mistral's flagship API model, strong on code and reasoning, EU-friendly hosting.
Frequently asked
Is Codestral 2 or GPT-5 nano cheaper?
GPT-5 nano is cheaper at $0.40 / 1M tokens per million output tokens, vs $0.90 / 1M tokens for Codestral 2.Which has the larger context window?
GPT-5 nano accepts 400K tokens vs 256K for Codestral 2.Is Codestral 2 or GPT-5 nano better for coding?
Both Codestral 2 and GPT-5 nano are competitive on coding benchmarks. See each model's individual spec page for HumanEval and SWE-bench scores where published. For an opinionated pick, consult our Best LLM for Coding ranking.Are either of these models open source?
Codestral 2 ships open weights (Mistral Non-Production License). GPT-5 nano is API-only.When were Codestral 2 and GPT-5 nano released?
Codestral 2 was released by Mistral on 2025-01-14. GPT-5 nano was released by OpenAI on 2025-08-07.
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