Claude Code vs Codex
Short answer
Choose Claude Code if you work in the terminal and want Claude's own tools for running many sessions at once. Choose Codex if you already pay for ChatGPT and like a desktop app that mixes local worktree chats with cloud tasks. Both start at $20 a month, and we use both every day.
Side by side
| Feature | Claude Code | Codex |
|---|---|---|
| Made by | Anthropic | OpenAI |
| Where it runs | Terminal, IDE extensions, a desktop app and the web | The ChatGPT desktop app, a CLI, an IDE extension, the web and iOS |
| How you sign in | Claude subscription, or an Anthropic API key | Sign in with ChatGPT, or an OpenAI API key |
| Cheapest plan that includes it | Claude Pro: $20 a month, or $17 a month billed yearly | ChatGPT Free and Go ($8) with limited Codex; Plus at $20 for the CLI, IDE extension, web and iOS |
| Bigger plans | Max $100, Ultra $200 a month | Pro at $100, $200 or $500 a month |
| Usage limits | Reset every 5 hours and every week. Ultra has no 5-hour limit. | Estimated messages per 5 hours by model on Plus. Pro has no five-hour limit. Weekly limits may apply. |
| Running several at once | Agent view, subagents, agent teams (experimental), claude --worktree | Worktree chats with Handoff, cloud tasks, scheduled tasks on background worktrees, subagents |
| Resume a past chat | claude --resume | codex resume |
| API list price, one current model | Opus 5.5: $4 input, $20 output per million tokens | GPT-6.1 Sol: $2 input, $10 output per million tokens |
Where Claude Code wins
- Claude Code has more built-in ways to run many sessions. Its docs list subagents, agent view, agent teams, dynamic workflows and projects, and agent view (
claude agents) puts every background session on one screen, grouped by which ones need you. - Every feature works from the terminal, and
claude -ppipes into scripts, hooks and CI. - Cross-session messaging lets Claude sessions on your machine pass findings and status between themselves.
- The plans go higher. Ultra at $200 a month removes the 5-hour limit and gives 10x Pro usage each week. Max and Ultra also include monthly API credits, $100 and $200.
Where Codex wins
- Local and cloud work share one app. Codex chats live in the ChatGPT desktop app: pick Worktree under the composer to keep a chat off your main checkout, and hand it back to Local when you want to run it in your usual dev setup.
- It costs less to start. ChatGPT Free and Go include limited Codex use and Go costs $8, while Claude Code needs at least Claude Pro.
- GPT-6.1 Sol lists at half the per-token price of Claude Opus 5.5. Models use different numbers of tokens for the same job, so compare real runs before you switch to save money.
- The ChatGPT mobile app can start, guide, approve and review Codex tasks running in the cloud or on your connected computer.
What they have in common
Both read your repository, edit files, run commands and ask before risky actions, with permission settings you can tighten. Sessions stay on your machine, so you can resume them later. Usage limits in each depend on the model, the size of the task and how much context the agent carries, so neither vendor can tell you exactly how many tasks a plan buys.
Text version of this diagram
Left: a terminal runs Claude Code. Agent view lists background sessions, each in its own worktree, and subagents report back to the main session. Right: the ChatGPT desktop app runs Codex chats. Each chat runs in Local or in a worktree and can be handed between them, and cloud tasks run on OpenAI's servers.
How we use them together
We don't pick one. A pattern that works for us: one agent makes the change and the other reviews the diff, because a different model tends to catch different mistakes. Splitting work across both also means two separate usage allowances, so one tool hitting its 5-hour limit doesn't stop the day.
Or run both side by side in Zoltbot
Zoltbot runs Claude Code and Codex through their own CLIs with the logins you already have, in one project tree. Give one sub-project a Claude Code profile and another a Codex profile, send each task straight to where it belongs, and review results from both on one screen. A Claude Code manager chat can hand a bounded brief to a Codex chat when you ask it to.
Conversations stay in each tool's own session store, so nothing is locked inside Zoltbot. Tasks that share a code folder run one at a time, so the two agents never edit the same checkout at once.
Questions
Is Claude Code better than Codex?
Neither wins every task. Claude Code has more built-in ways to coordinate many sessions from the terminal, and Codex pairs a desktop app with cloud tasks and cheaper entry plans. Try both on the same real task from your own codebase before you decide.
Which is cheaper, Claude Code or Codex?
Both entry plans cost $20 a month. Codex also has limited use on ChatGPT Free and Go, and its GPT-6.1 Sol API price is lower per token than Claude Opus 5.5. Our cost guide has every plan and API price.
Can I use my ChatGPT plan with the Codex CLI?
Yes. Run codex and choose Sign in with ChatGPT. Details are in our short answer.
Can Claude Code and Codex work on the same repository?
Yes, with one git worktree and branch for each. See how to run them on one repo.
Sources
Checked on . Claims about other tools come from their own docs and pricing pages:
