Automate Basics

OpenAI Codex vs Claude Code vs Cursor

Pick up to 4 tools and see their free plans, entry prices, platforms and limits in one table. Every fact comes from each vendor's own pages, checked 23 September 2026.

Written head to head: Claude Code vs OpenAI Codex, with when to choose each side.

Compared on
OpenAI Codex

Free plan · from $8/mo

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Claude Code

From $17/mo

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Cursor

Free plan · from $20/mo

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What it isOpenAI's coding agent for the terminal, IDEs, desktop app and cloudAnthropic's agentic coding tool for the terminal, IDEs, desktop and webAI code editor with agents that write and change code
Free planChatGPT Free includes limited Codex use for quick coding tasks; Free and Go use GPT-6 Luna at standard speed in the desktop app, subject to rolloutNoHobby plan: limited Agent requests, access to Composer, no credit card required
Cheapest paid plan$8/mo (ChatGPT Go)OpenAI Codex pricing$17/mo billed annually (Claude Pro)Claude Code pricing$20/mo (Pro)Cursor pricing
What it coversCodex comes with ChatGPT plans; Plus ($20/month) expands Codex usage. Codex can also be used with an API key at standard API rates.Claude Code is included in Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise and shares usage limits with the subscription. Annual Pro billing is $200 up front. Console accounts pay standard API rates instead.The page says yearly billing saves 20%; yearly per-month prices were not shown.
Free trialNone statedNone statedNone stated
PlatformsmacOS, Windows, Linux, Web, APImacOS, Windows, Linux, Web, iOS, Android, APImacOS, Windows, Linux, Web
Integrations (vendor's figure)Not statedNot statedNot stated
Open sourceYesNoNo
Good for
  • Building a small feature from a plain-language description
  • Reviewing code changes before merging
  • Investigating and fixing failing builds
  • Fixing a bug by pasting in the error message
  • Writing tests and updating dependencies across a project
  • Automating code review on GitHub
  • Building or changing a small app by describing the change
  • Fixing bugs across several files
  • Running coding tasks in the cloud while away from the desk
Watch out for
  • Usage limits depend on the ChatGPT plan, the model and task size, measured per five-hour window
  • Free and Go include only limited Codex access
  • API-key use is billed separately at API rates
  • Not included in the free Claude plan
  • Usage counts against the same limits as the Claude subscription
  • The desktop app requires a paid subscription
  • The Hobby plan has limited Agent requests
  • Bugbot is billed on usage on top of the plan price
  • Enterprise pricing requires contacting sales
Made byOpenAIAnthropicAnysphere, Inc.

Entry prices are the cheapest paid plan, as each vendor publishes it; “What it covers” says what that price is per (a user, a channel, a brand, a number of contacts). The sources are listed on each tool's page.

Every tool in AI coding assistants is on its category page, with the written head-to-heads on Compare.