Claude Code vs OpenAI Codex pricing (October 2026)

Generated from vendor pricing pages, fetched 2026-10-16. Always confirm on the vendor page.

Which is cheaper for you?

Both list a free plan. Claude Code free: No Claude Code. OpenAI Codex free: Quick tasks, GPT-6 Luna.

OpenAI Codex is cheaper to start paying for: Go at $8/month (Lightweight tasks) vs Claude Code Pro at $20/month (Includes Claude Code; usage limits apply).

Price is not the whole story: Claude Code bills as "Subscription with session/weekly usage limits; or API pay-as-you-go", OpenAI Codex as "Included in ChatGPT plans with shared limits; or API key pay-as-you-go". Heavy users should compare the limits below.

Try your own numbers in the workload calculator.

Side by side

	Claude Code	OpenAI Codex
Billing model	Subscription with session/weekly usage limits; or API pay-as-you-go	Included in ChatGPT plans with shared limits; or API key pay-as-you-go
Free plan	No Claude Code	Quick tasks, GPT-6 Luna
Cheapest paid plan	Pro $20/mo - Includes Claude Code; usage limits apply	Go $8/mo - Lightweight tasks
Top individual plan	Max 20x $200/mo - 20x Pro usage; $200/mo API credits	Pro $100/mo - Tiers at $100, $200, $500

Claude Code plans

Plan	USD/month	Limits
Free	Free	No Claude Code
Pro	$20 ($17 annual)	Includes Claude Code; usage limits apply
Max 5x	$100	5x Pro usage; $100/mo API credits
Max 20x	$200	20x Pro usage; $200/mo API credits

Source: https://claude.com/pricing, fetched 2026-10-16.

OpenAI Codex plans

Plan	USD/month	Limits
Free	Free	Quick tasks, GPT-6 Luna
Go	$8	Lightweight tasks
Plus	$20	A few focused sessions per week
Pro	$100	Tiers at $100, $200, $500
Business	$20/seat	Per user

Source: https://developers.openai.com/codex/pricing, fetched 2026-10-16.

Recent pricing changes

2026-01-29 Claude Code: Claude Team Standard seats now include Claude Code and got cheaper. Premium seats dropped from $150 to $100 a month on annual billing. source
2025-08-28 Claude Code: Anthropic added weekly caps for Claude Pro and Max on top of the rolling 5-hour limits, including a separate Opus weekly cap. source
2025-04-09 Claude Code: Anthropic launched Claude Max at $100 (5x Pro usage) and $200 (20x Pro usage). source