Which fits your task?
Both are agents, not autocomplete: you describe a change and they read the code, edit files and run commands. The practical choice usually follows the subscription you already have, because each agent is included in its company's chat plan and shares its usage limits.
What we compared
We compared where each agent runs, which plans include it, how usage is limited and how it is priced for individuals. The comparison is based on official documentation and pricing pages checked on October 23, 2026, and on our Claude Code and OpenAI Codex profiles.
AppFor.ai has not run both agents on the same set of coding tasks, so there are no scores or winner from our own testing.
The differences that matter
Where they run: Claude Code works in the terminal, in IDEs and on the web and desktop. Codex runs in its desktop app, in a CLI, in IDE extensions and as a cloud agent that works on tasks in the background.
Access: Codex is available in a limited form on ChatGPT Free and Go, but only in the desktop app; web, CLI, IDE and cloud tasks start at ChatGPT Plus. Claude Code is not included in Claude Free and starts with Claude Pro.
API use: both can be used with API billing instead of a subscription. With Codex, signing in with an API key gives no cloud features.
Cost and constraints
Claude Code (US prices): Claude Pro at $20 per month, or $17 per month billed annually; Max from $100 per month. Coding sessions draw on the same usage pool as your Claude chats.
Codex (US prices): ChatGPT Plus at $20 per month; Pro from $100 per month. OpenAI estimates roughly 15 to 160 local messages per five hours on Plus with GPT-6.1 Sol, depending on task size.
At $20 the two entry tiers cost the same; the useful test is how quickly your real tasks hit the limit on each.
Choose based on your needs
Not sure? Give both the same small task in a test repository, such as fixing a failing test, and compare the diff, how many corrections you needed and how much of your limit it used. If you are also weighing an AI editor, see Cursor vs Claude Code.
Go to the source
Sources & further reading
Based on the official documentation below. Features and access can change; check the provider before making a decision.
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