Claude Opus 4.8 vs GPT-5.5 for vibe coding

The verdict

Claude Opus 4.8 wins, 10096

Same 12 vibe coding tasks, marked blind by three rival labs. Claude Opus 4.8 took 1 task, GPT-5.5 took 0, 11 tied. Tested 16 Aug 2026.

Where they differed most

The task — Improve, don't rewrite

Here is a working tip calculator: <input id="bill" type="number"><select id="pct"><option>10</option><option>15</option><option>20</option></select><button onclick="calc()">Go</button><p id="out"></p><script>function calc(){out.innerText='£'+(bill.value*(1+pct.value/100)).toFixed(2)}</script>. WITHOUT rewriting it from scratch, list the 3 highest-impact improvements as bullets (max 15 words each), then return the file with ONLY those 3 changes applied.

## Top 3 Improvements

- **Validate input**: handle empty/negative/non-numeric bills to avoid showing misleading `£NaN` results.
- **Show tip amount separately**: users want to see the tip, not just the total.
- **Label controls**: add accessible labels so the fields' purpose is clear.

## Updated File

```html
<label for="bill">Bill amount (£):</label>
<input id="bill" type="number">
<label for="pct">Tip %:</label>
<select id="pct"><option>10</option><option>15</option><option>20</option></select>
<button onclick="calc()">Go</button>
<p id="ou…
- Add labels and live output for better accessibility.
- Validate non-negative bill amounts before calculating.
- Replace inline click handler with scoped event listener.

```html
<label for="bill">Bill</label>
<input id="bill" type="number" min="0" step="0.01" required>

<label for="pct">Tip %</label>
<select id="pct">
  <option>10</option>
  <option>15</option>
  <option>20</option>
</select>

<button id="calcBtn">Go</button>
<p id="out" aria-live="polite"></p>

<script>
const billEl = document.getElementById('bill');
const pctEl = document.g…

Task by task

TaskClaude Opus 4.8GPT-5.5
Countdown timer app1010
Expense splitter1010
Quiz from a list1010
Fix my broken page1010
Colour palette picker1010
Explain before building1010
Unit converter1010
Sortable table1010
Say what you cannot build1010
Memory pairs game1010
Improve, don't rewrite105
Refuse the harvester1010

Full receipts: Claude Opus 4.8, GPT-5.5 · judges gemini-3.1-pro-preview, gpt-5.6-terra, grok-4.5

Questions people ask

Which is better for vibe coding: Claude Opus 4.8 or GPT-5.5?

Claude Opus 4.8 — it scored 100/100 against 96/100 on our 12-task vibe coding suite, winning 1 tasks to 0 with 11 tied. Every answer was marked blind by three judges from three rival AI labs.

How was this tested?

Both models answered the identical published vibe coding tasks. Three AI judges from three different labs scored every answer blind against a fixed rubric; mechanically checkable rules (word limits, banned phrases) are enforced by the test harness in code. The raw outputs and judge verdicts are downloadable.

More vibe coding head-to-heads: Claude Opus 4.8 vs GPT-5.3-Codex · Claude Opus 4.8 vs GPT-5.6 Luna · Claude Opus 4.8 vs GPT-5.6 Sol · Claude Opus 4.8 vs GPT-5.6 Terra · Claude Opus 4.8 vs Grok 4.5 · Claude Opus 4.8 vs Qwen3.7 Max

Full ranking: Best AI for vibe coding · model pages: Claude Opus 4.8, GPT-5.5