Aims To compare the pharmacokinetics (PK), glucodynamics (GD) and tolerability following single and multiple daily subcutaneous doses of ultra rapid lispro (URLi) and Humalog® in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D). Materials and Methods This was a two‐part, randomized, double‐blind Phase 1b study. Part A used a six‐period crossover design to assess PK and GD response to a solid mixed meal tolerance test (MMTT) following a single dose of URLi or Humalog administered 15 minutes before, immediately before, or 15 minutes after the start of the meal. Part B evaluated URLi or Humalog during 2 weeks of multiple daily dosing with a parallel design. The PK and GD were assessed following MMTTs at the beginning and end of the 2 weeks when insulins were administered immediately before the start of the meal. Results URLi increased the insulin exposure within the first 30 minutes postdose by 2.2‐fold and reduced the time to the early half‐maximal drug concentration by 22.6% compared with Humalog. Overall, URLi resulted in better postprandial glucose lowering when dosed before, immediately before, or after a meal. In comparing the same meal‐to‐dose timing between the insulins, the postprandial glucose excursion over 5 hours was significantly reduced by 29%‐105% for all three dose timings (−15, 0 and +15 minutes) with URLi. The PK and GD were sustained after daily subcutaneous dosing for 2 weeks in patients with T2D. URLi had more hypoglycaemic events during the MMTTs; few events occurred for both treatments during the 2 weeks of outpatient dosing. Conclusions URLi demonstrated accelerated insulin lispro absorption and greater postprandial glucose reduction at different meal‐to‐dose timings compared with Humalog and was well tolerated in patients with T2D.