codex pricing: which ChatGPT plan you need, and how far it gets you
updated · prices checked on vendor pages
quick answer: there's no separate OpenAI Codex subscription. it comes with ChatGPT: Free ($0) and Go ($8/mo) get Codex in the desktop app on GPT-6 Luna, Plus ($20/mo) is where the CLI, IDE extension, web, iOS and cloud code review turn up, and Pro comes in three sizes: $100, $200 or $500 a month. teams pay $20 a seat a month on Business (billed annually, 2+ users) or $25 monthly. or skip the subscription and pay API rates with an API key.
we rank Codex #6 in coding agents (8.0/10). if the ChatGPT sub is already on your card, you've basically paid for it. the question is which plan, so pull up a stool.
last checked: 19 oct 2026, on OpenAI's own Codex pricing page and help centre (sources at the bottom).
the plans at a glance
| plan | price | what you get in Codex |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | GPT-6 Luna at Standard speed in the desktop app, subject to rollout |
| Go | $8/mo | GPT-6 Luna at Standard speed in the desktop app, subject to rollout |
| Plus | $20/mo | Codex on the web, CLI, IDE extension and iOS; cloud integrations like automatic code review and Slack; GPT-6.1 Sol and GPT-6 Luna; extend with ChatGPT credits |
| Pro | $100, $200 or $500/mo | everything in Plus, more usage, no five-hour limit right now; ultrafast mode only on Pro $500 |
| Business | $20/user/mo billed annually (2+ users), $25 monthly | Codex across desktop and mobile, larger cloud VMs, SAML SSO and MFA, no training on business data by default |
| Enterprise and education | contact sales | everything in Business plus SCIM, EKM, RBAC, audit logs, data residency |
| API key | API rates | Codex in the CLI, SDK or IDE extension; no cloud features (no GitHub code review, no Slack) |
Codex and ChatGPT Work share the same usage, so if you lean on ChatGPT Work as well, it comes out of the same pot.
is Codex free?
a bit. ChatGPT Free includes Codex in the desktop app on GPT-6 Luna at Standard speed, and OpenAI says it's subject to rollout. image generation isn't on the Free plan. Go at $8 gets the same Codex line on the pricing page. the stuff most developers actually want (the CLI, the IDE extension, cloud tasks and GitHub code review) starts at Plus at $20/mo.
how far does Plus get you?
OpenAI publishes rough estimates of local messages per five-hour window on Plus (OpenAI quotes the same for Standard Business). its words, not ours: these are estimates, not fixed limits.
| model | local messages per 5 hours (Plus) |
|---|---|
| GPT-6 Astra | 5-45 |
| GPT-6.1 Sol | 15-160 |
| GPT-6 Sol | 15-150 |
| GPT-6 Luna | 350-3,000 |
a few things that table doesn't tell you on its own:
- weekly limits may also apply on top of the five-hour window.
- cloud tasks can use more of your allowance than local messages.
- speed costs extra. fast mode burns included usage at 2.5x the Standard rate. ultrafast (Pro $500 only, for GPT-6 Astra and GPT-6.1 Sol) burns it at 8x.
- pictures cost more. image generations use included limits about 3-5x faster on average.
- voice in the desktop app uses your Codex budget at $0.05 a minute.
that range of 15 to 160 messages is wide because a one-line fix and a long agent session across a big repo are very different pints. the honest answer is check your usage dashboard (or type /status in the CLI) for a week or two and see where you land.
Pro: $100, $200 or $500?
- Pro 100 ($100/mo): everything in Plus, with more usage and, for now, no five-hour limit.
- Pro 200 ($200/mo): more usage than Pro 100. new Pro 200 subscriptions get a lower allowance than the old Pro 200 did; people who had Pro 200 between 22 and 29 sept 2026 keep the old allowance until 29 oct 2026.
- Pro 500 ($500/mo): the most usage, and the only Pro plan with ultrafast for GPT-6 Astra and GPT-6.1 Sol. buying credits on Pro 100 or 200 doesn't unlock ultrafast.
Pro is monthly only. there's no annual billing and no paying months in advance.
what happens when you run out
- finish the job. if you hit your limit mid-turn, the agent can carry on with that turn, within fair use.
- buy ChatGPT credits. Plus and Pro can top up with credits instead of upgrading. credits are shared across Codex, ChatGPT Work, word, Excel and PowerPoint, they're valid for 12 months, and they're non-refundable except in specific cases. auto-reload is there if your account has it, with a monthly cap you set. Free and Go users can only buy credits if they're in the limited group it's been opened to.
- use an API key. anyone can run extra local chats with an API key at standard API rates.
- switch model. GPT-6 Luna stretches a lot further than GPT-6 Astra (see the table above).
for the curious, OpenAI's credit rates at Standard speed are 50 credits per million input tokens and 250 per million output tokens for GPT-6.1 Sol, and 2.5 and 12.5 for GPT-6 Luna. what a credit costs in dollars depends on your plan or agreement, so we won't pretend to know your bill.
Business, Enterprise and the API key
Business is $20 a user a month billed annually for 2+ users, or $25 monthly. on top of Plus-style Codex you get larger virtual machines for cloud chats, a dedicated workspace with SAML SSO and MFA, and no training on your business data by default.
Enterprise and education plans are contact-sales. you get priority processing, SCIM, EKM, RBAC, audit logs via the compliance API, and data retention and residency controls. Enterprise and education users on flexible pricing have no fixed rate limits; usage scales with credits.
API key is the one for CI and shared machines. you get Codex in the CLI, SDK or IDE extension and pay API pricing for what you use. no cloud features, so no GitHub code review and no Slack, and the models you get follow whatever your key can access.
one housekeeping note: GPT-5.5 was retired from Codex with ChatGPT sign-in on 14 oct 2026. API-key sessions weren't affected.
which plan should you pick?
- curious, not committed: Free. see if you like it in the desktop app.
- want the CLI, IDE and GitHub reviews: Plus at $20/mo. this is the real starting point.
- using it all day and hitting the five-hour wall: Pro 100. it has no five-hour limit right now.
- need ultrafast or the biggest allowance: Pro 500. expensive, so be sure.
- a team of 2+: Business, $20 a seat on annual billing.
- CI and automation: an API key.
Codex vs the other coding agents on price
| free way in | entry plan | numptr rank | |
|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAI Codex | ChatGPT Free (desktop app, GPT-6 Luna) | ChatGPT Plus $20/mo for the CLI, IDE and cloud | #6 (8.0) |
| Claude Code | none, needs a paid Claude plan | Claude Pro $20/mo ($17/mo billed annually) | #1 (9.0) |
| Cursor | limited agent and chat requests | Plus $8/mo (Grok models only), Premium $30/mo | #2 (8.5) |
| GitHub Copilot | 2,000 inline suggestions a month plus limited chat and agent use | Pro $10/mo ($15 of GitHub AI Credits) | #4 (8.0) |
if you're choosing between the two $20 agents, we've done the full face-off in Codex vs Claude Code. for heavy repo-wide graft, Claude Code is still our #1. and if you fancy a different front end on the same sub, OpenCode (our #3) is open source, comes with free models, connects to any model provider, and can log in with your ChatGPT Plus or Pro account. every plan from every coding agent is on the ai coding agent price sheet.
faq
how much does OpenAI Codex cost?
Codex comes with ChatGPT. Free is $0 and Go $8/mo (desktop app, GPT-6 Luna), Plus is $20/mo, Pro is $100, $200 or $500/mo, and Business is $20 a user a month billed annually or $25 monthly. you can also pay API rates with an API key.
is Codex free?
partly. ChatGPT Free includes Codex in the desktop app on GPT-6 Luna, subject to rollout. the CLI, IDE extension, web and cloud features start with Plus at $20/mo.
what are the Codex usage limits on ChatGPT Plus?
OpenAI estimates 15-160 local messages per five hours on GPT-6.1 Sol and 350-3,000 on GPT-6 Luna. these are estimates, weekly limits may also apply, and cloud tasks can use more.
can i buy more Codex usage?
yes. Plus and Pro can buy ChatGPT credits, which last 12 months. anyone can also use an API key at API rates.
does Codex Pro have annual billing?
no. Pro is billed monthly only. Business has annual billing at $20 a seat.
tools in this guide
sources
checked oct 19, 2026
- Codex pricing, usage limits and token rates: https://developers.openai.com/codex/pricing
- about ChatGPT Pro tiers: https://help.openai.com/en/articles/9793128-about-chatgpt-pro-plans
- using credits for flexible usage in ChatGPT (personal plans): https://help.openai.com/en/articles/12642688
- Claude plans (Claude Code needs Pro or Max): https://claude.com/pricing
- Cursor pricing: https://cursor.com/pricing
- GitHub Copilot plans: https://github.com/features/copilot/plans
- OpenCode: https://opencode.ai