Model comparison · YOLOv8 vs YOLOv5 (v5u)

YOLOv8 vs YOLOv5 (v5u)

A size-tier-by-size-tier comparison of Ultralytics YOLOv8 and Ultralytics YOLOv5 (v5u): published COCO accuracy, parameter counts, licensing and which one to reach for. Every figure is the model authors' own, linked to its source.

CompareYOLOv8
AgainstYOLOv5 (v5u)
30%fewer params

mAP comparison

YOLOv8YOLOv5 (v5u)
31.037.544.050.557.0mAPNanoSmallMediumLargeExtra largeModel size tierYOLOv8n: 37.3 mAP, 3.2M paramsYOLOv8s: 44.9 mAP, 11.2M paramsYOLOv8m: 50.2 mAP, 25.9M paramsYOLOv8l: 52.9 mAP, 43.7M paramsYOLOv8x: 53.9 mAP, 68.2M paramsYOLOv5nu: 34.3 mAP, 2.6M paramsYOLOv5su: 43.0 mAP, 9.1M paramsYOLOv5mu: 49.0 mAP, 25.1M paramsYOLOv5lu: 52.2 mAP, 53.2M paramsYOLOv5xu: 53.2 mAP, 97.2M params

YOLOv8

  • Nano 37.3
  • Small 44.9
  • Medium 50.2
  • Large 52.9
  • Extra large 53.9

YOLOv5 (v5u)

  • Nano 34.3
  • Small 43.0
  • Medium 49.0
  • Large 52.2
  • Extra large 53.2
COCO mAP at 640px, as published by each model’s authors. The y axis spans 31.0 to 57.0 rather than starting at zero, so small differences stay visible. Points are the published checkpoints; the joining lines are for reading order only.

Accuracy and size, tier by tier

Each row pairs the equivalent rung of both size ladders, so the numbers sit side by side at comparable capacity. Every figure is the model authors’ own.

  • COCO mAP50-95 @ 640px
  • mAP: higher is better
  • Params (M): lower is better
YOLOv8 and YOLOv5 (v5u) compared at each size tier: published COCO mAP50-95 at 640px and parameter counts in millions.
TierYOLOv8YOLOv5 (v5u)Δ mAP
ModelmAPParamsModelmAPParams
NanoYOLOv8n37.33.2MYOLOv5nu34.32.6M+3.0
SmallYOLOv8s44.911.2MYOLOv5su43.09.1M+1.9
MediumYOLOv8m50.225.9MYOLOv5mu49.025.1M+1.2
LargeYOLOv8l52.943.7MYOLOv5lu52.253.2M+0.7
Extra largeYOLOv8x53.968.2MYOLOv5xu53.297.2M+0.7

Δ mAP is YOLOv8 minus YOLOv5 (v5u): positive means YOLOv8 is ahead at that tier. Sources: YOLOv8 docs · YOLOv5 (v5u) docs

Additional information

  • YOLOv8 posts the higher published COCO mAP at all 5 matched size tiers, averaging 1.50 mAP ahead of YOLOv5 (v5u). The gap is widest at the nano tier, where YOLOv8 leads by 3.0 mAP. At the top of each range, YOLOv8 reaches 53.9 mAP against 53.2.

  • 30% fewer parameters, same accuracy. YOLOv8x reaches 53.9 mAP from 68.2M parameters, matching or beating YOLOv5xu at 53.2 mAP from 97.2M.

    Parameter count is not latency. It is a good proxy for download size and memory, but throughput depends on your hardware, batch size and export format, so measure on your own target.

YOLOv8

The workhorse that made anchor-free multi-task YOLO mainstream.

Released
2023 · Ultralytics
License
AGPL-3.0
Framework
Ultralytics (PyTorch)
Tasks
Detect, Segment, Classify, Pose, OBB

The anchor-free model that made multi-task YOLO mainstream: one architecture for detection, segmentation, pose, classification and OBB, with the largest ecosystem.

Download YOLOv8 weights →

YOLOv5 (v5u)

The classic that made YOLO easy to ship, retrained anchor-free.

Released
2020 · Ultralytics
License
AGPL-3.0
Framework
Ultralytics (PyTorch)
Tasks
Detect, Segment, Classify

The anchor-free v5u retrain of the classic PyTorch YOLO, keeping its easy training and export while adopting the newer YOLOv8 detection head for better accuracy.

Download YOLOv5 (v5u) weights →

YOLOv8 and YOLOv5 (v5u) against the whole lineage

YOLOv8 and YOLOv5 (v5u) against every other detector here, on one shared scale. The rest are dimmed; hover any row to bring it back.

Every YOLO detector in this section, with release year, publisher, published COCO mAP50-95 range at 640px, parameter-count range and licence.
ModelReleasedmAP rangeParams rangeLicence
YOLO26202640.9 to 57.52.4M to 55.7MAGPL-3.0
YOLO12202540.6 to 55.22.6M to 59.1MAGPL-3.0
YOLO11202439.5 to 54.72.6M to 56.9MAGPL-3.0
YOLOv10202438.5 to 54.42.3M to 29.5MAGPL-3.0
YOLOv9202438.3 to 55.62.0M to 58.1MGPL-3.0
YOLOv8202337.3 to 53.93.2M to 68.2MAGPL-3.0
YOLOv5 (v5u)202034.3 to 53.22.6M to 97.2MAGPL-3.0

Every matchup

YOLO26 vs YOLO12YOLO26 vs YOLO11YOLO26 vs YOLOv10YOLO26 vs YOLOv9YOLO26 vs YOLOv8YOLO26 vs YOLOv5 (v5u)YOLO12 vs YOLO11YOLO12 vs YOLOv10YOLO12 vs YOLOv9YOLO12 vs YOLOv8YOLO12 vs YOLOv5 (v5u)YOLO11 vs YOLOv10YOLO11 vs YOLOv9YOLO11 vs YOLOv8YOLO11 vs YOLOv5 (v5u)YOLOv10 vs YOLOv9YOLOv10 vs YOLOv8YOLOv10 vs YOLOv5 (v5u)YOLOv9 vs YOLOv8YOLOv9 vs YOLOv5 (v5u)YOLOv8 vs YOLOv5 (v5u)

Looking for the weights themselves? Download any of these checkpoints from the model-weights hub, or see how the trackers behind them compare in the YOLO tracker benchmarks.