Unlocking AI Performance in UI/UX and Coding: Insights from a Global Survey

In recent months, I embarked on a comprehensive research project to evaluate how leading AI models perform in designing user interfaces, enhancing user experience, and coding tasks. By gathering feedback from a diverse international audience, I analyzed nearly 4,000 votes from over 5,000 platform users to identify which AI tools stand out in these areas.

Please note: All data points and model outputs are sourced from open-source tools, with no financial gain on my part—just a dedicated effort to share valuable insights with the community.

Introducing a Crowd-Sourced Benchmark for AI in Design and Development

To facilitate transparent comparison, I developed a crowdsourced benchmarking platform, DesignArena.ai. This platform allows users to generate websites, games, 3D models, and data visualizations across different AI models, enabling direct performance comparisons.

Key Findings from the Survey

1. Claude and DeepSeek Lead in Coding and Design Performance
   According to user preferences, OpenAI’s Claude models—particularly Claude Opus—are highly regarded for their capabilities in UI/UX and programming tasks. The leaderboard highlights DeepSeek’s models (especially v0) and Grok as notable contenders, with Grok emerging as a dark horse due to its surprising speed and quality. However, it’s important to note that DeepSeek models tend to be slower, positioning Claude as a more practical choice for interface development and real-time applications.

2. Grok 3: An Emerging Powerhouse
   While not as prominently discussed as Claude or GPT, Grok 3 stands out as an underrated performer. Despite limited online hype—partly influenced by Elon Musk’s visibility—this model ranks consistently in the top five for UI/UX tasks and notably boasts faster response times compared to many peers.

3. Gemini 2.5-Pro: A Mixed Bag
   Responses regarding Gemini 2.5-Pro are polarized. Some users praise its UI/UX outputs, but others report inconsistent results, citing a tendency to generate poorly designed applications. Nonetheless, it remains competent at coding business logic, making it a versatile tool depending on your needs.

4. Comparative Status of Popular Models
   OpenAI’s GPT series sits in the middle tier—generally reliable but not leading. Meanwhile, Meta’s Llama models lag significantly behind their competitors in UI/UX and coding performance, which aligns