All comparisons / Claude Code vs OpenAI Codex
Prices checked 2026-10-24Claude Code vs OpenAI Codex: what they really cost
Claude Code bills by: Subscription limits (5-hour + weekly) or API tokens. OpenAI Codex bills by: ChatGPT plan limits + credits, or API tokens. Here is the side-by-side, including where each one hurts.
Summary
| Claude Code | OpenAI Codex | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Anthropic's coding agent for the terminal and IDE | OpenAI's coding agent (web, CLI, IDE, app) |
| Free tier | No | Quick coding tasks; GPT-6 Luna in the desktop app (subject to rollout) |
| Entry paid plan | Pro | Go |
| Billed monthly | $20/mo | $8/mo |
| Billed yearly | $17/mo | unknown |
| Usage billed by | Subscription limits (5-hour + weekly) or API tokens | ChatGPT plan limits + credits, or API tokens |
| Team pricing | Per seat: Team $20-25 standard, $100-125 premium | Per user: Business $20-25/user/mo |
| Backend | Whatever you code yourself | Whatever you code yourself |
| Best for | Developers who want an agent that edits a real codebase | ChatGPT subscribers who want cloud and local coding tasks |
| Weakest spot | No fixed message count: chat and Claude Code share 5-hour and weekly limits, then extra usage bills at API rates source ↗ | Usage is a wide range per 5-hour window (e.g. 15-160 messages on Plus for GPT-6.1 Sol), so capacity is hard to predict source ↗ |
Tier for tier
Individual plans lined up low vs low and high vs high by price. Seat-based team plans are on each tool's page.
| Claude Code | OpenAI Codex | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | Pro: $20/mo ($17 yearly) 1× (at least 5× Free per 5-hour session) | Go: $8/mo Lightweight tasks, GPT-6 Luna |
| Mid | Max 5x: $100/mo 5× Pro per 5-hour session + $100/mo API credits | Pro $100: $100/mo No 5-hour limit currently; weekly limits: unknown |
| Top | Max 20x: unknown 20× Pro per 5-hour session + $200/mo API credits | Pro $500: $500/mo Adds Ultrafast mode; limits vs $200: unknown |
Claude Code: what a credit buys
No fixed message count. Claude Code shares one usage pool with Claude chat; limits reset on a rolling 5-hour window, with weekly limits on paid plans. Usage depends on conversation length, model and features. When you hit a limit you can wait, upgrade, or turn on usage credits billed at standard API rates.
All Claude Code plans →OpenAI Codex: what a credit buys
Subscription usage is counted per message and depends on model, task size, context and tool use; local messages and cloud tasks share the allowance. After the limit, ChatGPT credits keep you going (e.g. GPT-6.1 Sol: 50 credits per 1M input tokens, 250 per 1M output; a typical GPT-5.6 Sol task "may use 2-15 credits"). Fast mode uses 2x credits, Ultrafast 6x.
All OpenAI Codex plans →Which is cheaper for you?
It depends on how many prompts you send and how big the project gets. Plug in your app size and see both side by side, with every assumption shown.
Open the cost calculator → Take the 4-question quizDisclosure: some links on CreditBurn are or may become affiliate links, which means we could earn a commission at no cost to you. It never changes the prices we report. Right now all links go straight to the official pricing pages with no tracking.