Claude Code vs OpenAI Codex
Claude Code and OpenAI Codex side by side: what each one is, verified plan pricing and install commands where we have them, and the full review of each.
Claude Code
Daily DriverAnthropic's agentic coding CLI. Runs in your terminal, edits files autonomously, spawns sub-agents, and maintains memory across sessions. Defaults to Claude Opus 5.5 on paid plans as of October 2026.
OpenAI Codex
AgentOpenAI's coding agent for terminal, cloud, IDE, GitHub, Slack, and Linear workflows. Reads repos, edits files, runs commands, and returns reviewable diffs.
At a glance
| Field | | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | AI Coding | AI Coding |
| Website | docs.anthropic.com | developers.openai.com |
| Pricing | Pro - $20/mo, or $17/mo billed annually ($200 up front): includes Claude Code; Max - $100/mo (5x Pro usage) or $200/mo (20x Pro usage), plus $100 to $200/mo in API credits; Team - Standard seat $20/seat/mo billed annually ($25 monthly); Premium seat $100/seat/mo billed annually ($125 monthly); 2 to 150 seats; Enterprise - $20/seat/mo billed annually, 20 seat minimum, plus usage at API rates; Console (API key) - pay per token at Anthropic API rates; Free claude.ai plan - does not include Claude Code | Free - $0 and Go - $8/mo: GPT-6 Luna at Standard speed in the desktop app, subject to rollout; Plus - $20/mo: Codex on the web, in the CLI, IDE extension, and iOS, plus cloud code review and Slack; GPT-6.1 Sol and GPT-6 Luna; Pro - $100, $200, or $500/mo: everything in Plus, currently no five-hour limit; Ultrafast mode on Pro $500; Business - $20/user/mo billed annually ($25 monthly), 2+ users; Enterprise and Edu - contact sales; API key - pay per token at OpenAI API rates; no cloud features such as GitHub code review or Slack |
| Install | curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash or brew install --cask claude-code or npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code | curl -fsSL https://chatgpt.com/codex/install.sh | sh or npm install -g @openai/codex or brew install --cask codex |
| Models | Defaults to Claude Opus 5.5 on Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise, and the Anthropic API (Sonnet 4.5 on Microsoft Foundry). Switch with /model, claude --model, or ANTHROPIC_MODEL using the opus, sonnet, haiku, and fable aliases (Opus 5.5, Sonnet 5.5, Haiku 5.5, Fable 5.1 on the Anthropic API) or a full model name; Fable is never the default and must be picked explicitly. | GPT-6.1 Sol is the recommended model for complex coding and the CLI default, with GPT-6 Astra, GPT-6 Sol, and GPT-6 Luna also available and GPT-5.6 Sol, Terra, and Luna kept during the rollout. Switch with /model in a session, codex --model (or -m) at launch, or a model entry in config.toml; API-key sessions get whatever models the key can access. |
| Last verified | October 25, 2026 | October 17, 2026 |
In Depth
Claude Code
Claude Code is a terminal-based coding agent from Anthropic. You give it a prompt, and it reads your codebase, plans changes, edits files, runs tests, and commits - all autonomously. It spawns sub-agents for parallel work, uses persistent memory (CLAUDE.md files) to remember project context between sessions, and integrates with MCP servers for external tools. I run it on the Max plan (from $100/mo) and it handles everything from multi-file refactors to full feature builds. My video on Claude Code sub-agents hit 160,000 views - it's the tool my audience asks about most. As of October 2026 it defaults to Claude Opus 5.5 on Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise, and API accounts, and you can switch models per session.
OpenAI Codex
Codex is OpenAI's autonomous coding agent for local CLI work and cloud task delegation. It can inspect a repository, make multi-file edits, run tests, and create reviewable diffs or pull requests depending on the workflow. Use the CLI when local services and immediate feedback matter. Use cloud tasks when branch isolation, async completion, and GitHub review loops matter more.
FAQ
Answers taken from each tool's verified fact sheet, with the date it was last checked.
How much does Claude Code cost?
As of October 25, 2026: Pro - $20/mo, or $17/mo billed annually ($200 up front): includes Claude Code; Max - $100/mo (5x Pro usage) or $200/mo (20x Pro usage), plus $100 to $200/mo in API credits; Team - Standard seat $20/seat/mo billed annually ($25 monthly); Premium seat $100/seat/mo billed annually ($125 monthly); 2 to 150 seats; Enterprise - $20/seat/mo billed annually, 20 seat minimum, plus usage at API rates; Console (API key) - pay per token at Anthropic API rates; Free claude.ai plan - does not include Claude Code. Source: Claude Code setup docs, Claude Code model configuration, Claude pricing, anthropics/claude-code CHANGELOG, anthropics/claude-code releases, @anthropic-ai/claude-code on npm (release dates).
How do I install Claude Code?
Official install commands as of October 25, 2026: curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash or brew install --cask claude-code or npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code.
Which models does Claude Code use?
As of October 25, 2026: Defaults to Claude Opus 5.5 on Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise, and the Anthropic API (Sonnet 4.5 on Microsoft Foundry). Switch with /model, claude --model, or ANTHROPIC_MODEL using the opus, sonnet, haiku, and fable aliases (Opus 5.5, Sonnet 5.5, Haiku 5.5, Fable 5.1 on the Anthropic API) or a full model name; Fable is never the default and must be picked explicitly.
How much does OpenAI Codex cost?
As of October 17, 2026: Free - $0 and Go - $8/mo: GPT-6 Luna at Standard speed in the desktop app, subject to rollout; Plus - $20/mo: Codex on the web, in the CLI, IDE extension, and iOS, plus cloud code review and Slack; GPT-6.1 Sol and GPT-6 Luna; Pro - $100, $200, or $500/mo: everything in Plus, currently no five-hour limit; Ultrafast mode on Pro $500; Business - $20/user/mo billed annually ($25 monthly), 2+ users; Enterprise and Edu - contact sales; API key - pay per token at OpenAI API rates; no cloud features such as GitHub code review or Slack. Source: Codex pricing, Codex changelog, Models, Codex CLI docs, openai/codex README.
How do I install OpenAI Codex?
Official install commands as of October 17, 2026: curl -fsSL https://chatgpt.com/codex/install.sh | sh or npm install -g @openai/codex or brew install --cask codex.
Which models does OpenAI Codex use?
As of October 17, 2026: GPT-6.1 Sol is the recommended model for complex coding and the CLI default, with GPT-6 Astra, GPT-6 Sol, and GPT-6 Luna also available and GPT-5.6 Sol, Terra, and Luna kept during the rollout. Switch with /model in a session, codex --model (or -m) at launch, or a model entry in config.toml; API-key sessions get whatever models the key can access.
