Best AI for coding / head-to-head

GPT-5.3-Codex vs Kimi K3for coding

The verdict

GPT-5.3-Codex wins, 9289

Same 18 coding tasks, marked blind by three rival labs. GPT-5.3-Codex took 7 tasks, Kimi K3 took 4, 7 tied. Tested 16 Aug 2026.

Where they differed most

The task — Retry with backoff

Write an async retry wrapper in TypeScript: exponential backoff with jitter, a maximum attempt count, and it must NOT retry on 4xx responses other than 429. Maximum 30 lines. State what happens on the final failure.

```ts
type RetryOptions = {
  maxAttempts: number;
  baseDelayMs?: number;
  maxDelayMs?: number;
  jitterRatio?: number; // 0.2 => ±20%
};

export async function retryWithBackoff<T>(
  op: () => Promise<T>,
  { maxAttempts, baseDelayMs = 200, maxDelayMs = 10_000, jitterRatio = 0.2 }: RetryOptions
): Promise<T> {
  for (let attempt = 1; attempt <= maxAttempts; attempt++) {
    try {
      return await op();
    } catch (err: any) {
      const status = err?.status ?? err?.response?.status;
      const nonRetriable4xx = status >= 400 && status <…
```typescript
export async function withRetry<T>(
  task: () => Promise<T>,
  maxAttempts = 5,
  baseDelayMs = 200,
): Promise<T> {
  for (let attempt = 1; ; attempt++) {
    try {
      return await task();
    } catch (raw) {
      const e = raw as { status?: number; response?: { status?: number } };
      const status = e.status ?? e.response?.status; // fetch-style or axios-style
      const fourxx = status !== undefined && status >= 400 && status < 500;
      if ((fourxx && status !== 429) || attempt >= maxAttempts) throw raw;
      const…

Task by task

TaskGPT-5.3-CodexKimi K3
Duration parser910
Find the bug1010
SQL without window functions1010
Infinite useEffect99
Typed debounce1010
Leftmost binary search108
Security review99
Safe migration89
Fix the code not the test109
Race condition99
Retry with backoff85
Recursive type98
Bash one-liner99
Explain and cost109
Regex with limits910
Callback to async98
Diagnose from a trace89
Idempotency109

Full receipts: GPT-5.3-Codex, Kimi K3 · judges claude-sonnet-5, gemini-3.1-pro-preview, grok-4.5

Questions people ask

Which is better for coding: GPT-5.3-Codex or Kimi K3?

GPT-5.3-Codex — it scored 92/100 against 89/100 on our 18-task coding suite, winning 7 tasks to 4 with 7 tied. Every answer was marked blind by three judges from three rival AI labs.

How was this tested?

Both models answered the identical published 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 coding head-to-heads: GPT-5.3-Codex vs GPT-5.6 Luna · GPT-5.6 Luna vs Kimi K3 · GPT-5.3-Codex vs GPT-5.6 Sol · GPT-5.6 Sol vs Kimi K3 · GPT-5.3-Codex vs GPT-5.6 Terra · GPT-5.6 Terra vs Kimi K3

Full ranking: Best AI for coding · model pages: GPT-5.3-Codex, Kimi K3