YOLOv8 to YOLO11 Performance Benchmark and Comprehensive Architectural Comparative Review

In the domain of deep learning-driven computer vision, YOLO is revolutionary. However, not all YOLO models are accompanied by academic articles and architectural diagrams. It complicates the comprehension of the model's operation. Moreover, the existing review papers fail to examine each model comprehensively. This work aims to provide a thorough comparative analysis of the architectures from YOLOv8 to YOLO11, allowing readers to swiftly understand the operational mechanisms and differences among the models. We analyzed the architecture of each YOLO version by reviewing relevant scholarly articles, official documentation, and examining the source code. In particular, we discovered that YOLOv8 through YOLO11…