Side-by-side facts from official pages, checked 2026-10-15. Prices change often, so always confirm on the official site. Not sure which tool fits? Take the quiz.
| Claude Code | OpenAI Codex | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Anthropic's agentic coding tool for terminal/IDE, included in Claude paid plans. | OpenAI coding agent across ChatGPT, cloud, IDE extension and CLI; parallel agents. |
| Category | AI coding tools | AI coding tools |
| Free tier | No | Not confirmed |
| Pricing | Not in Free plan. Claude Pro $20/mo ($17/mo annual); Max from $100/mo. | Included in ChatGPT Plus $20, Pro $100, Business $20/seat (annual, 2+ seats). |
| Platforms | cli | web, cli, ide |
| Best for | autonomous multi-file changes, terminal users | delegating tasks to cloud agents, ChatGPT subscribers |
| Skill level | intermediate, advanced | intermediate, advanced |
| Latest release | 2026-09-18: Claude Code v2.1.277 (AGENTS.md support) (source) | 2026-09-29: GPT-6.1 Sol released (noted on GPT-6 Astra page) (source) |
| Rubric score | 45.0/100 | 55.0/100 |
| Source | official pricing | official pricing |
These "pick if" points come only from the listed facts. They don't judge output quality. Our scores follow the methodology. Read more: Claude Code · OpenAI Codex · Quiz