# Codex Pricing: What Each ChatGPT Plan Gets, and Whether It's Free

> Codex comes with every ChatGPT plan, from a limited free version to Pro at $500 a month. What each plan gets, how the limits and credits work, and how the prices compare with Claude Code, from OpenAI's own pages.

By Pat Simmons · November 4, 2026 · 12 min read

Canonical: https://www.aiformortals.co/blog/codex-pricing

Codex comes with every ChatGPT plan, and the free ChatGPT plan includes limited Codex access. On OpenAI's Codex pricing page, Free costs $0 and Go costs $8 a month, and both get GPT-6 Luna at standard speed in the desktop app, which is still rolling out. Plus, at $20 a month, adds Codex on the web, in the CLI, in code editors and on iOS, plus cloud tasks and automatic code review. Pro comes in three tiers, at $100, $200 or $500 a month.

For teams, Business costs $20 per user a month billed yearly, or $25 billed monthly, with at least two users, and Enterprise and Edu are priced through OpenAI's sales team. Developers can skip the plans and pay per token with an API key. Every price on this page is from OpenAI's own pages, checked November 4, 2026.

_The four individual Codex plans. Screenshot of OpenAI's Codex pricing page, November 4, 2026._

## How much does Codex cost on each ChatGPT plan?

Codex costs whatever your ChatGPT plan costs: $0 to $500 a month for one person, or $20 to $25 per user a month on Business. Here is what each plan gets in Codex, from OpenAI's Codex pricing page and its Pro tiers help article.

PlanMonthly priceWhere you can use CodexCloud tasks and GitHub code reviewUltrafast mode

Free$0Desktop app, GPT-6 Luna at standard speed (rolling out)Not listedNo
Go$8Desktop app, GPT-6 Luna at standard speed (rolling out)Not listedNo
Plus$20Desktop app, web, CLI, IDE extension and iOS, with GPT-6.1 Sol and GPT-6 LunaYesNo
Pro 100$100Everything in Plus, with a bigger allowanceYesNo
Pro 200$200Everything in Plus, with more allowance than Pro 100YesNo
Pro 500$500Everything in Plus, with the most allowance of the three Pro plansYesYes
Business$20 per user billed yearly, $25 billed monthly (2+ users)Desktop and mobile apps, with larger cloud machinesYesNo
Enterprise and EduThrough OpenAI salesEverything in Business, plus priority processing and admin controlsYesOn eligible plans

Source: learn.chatgpt.com/docs/pricing and About ChatGPT Pro tiers, checked November 4, 2026. "Not listed" means OpenAI's page doesn't list that feature for the plan.

OpenAI describes Go as for "lightweight coding tasks" and Plus for "a few focused coding sessions each week." Among the Pro plans, Pro 200 includes more usage than Pro 100, and Pro 500 has the most. Pro is billed monthly, and annual billing isn't available.

Ultrafast is a faster speed setting for GPT-6 Astra and GPT-6.1 Sol. OpenAI's feature table lists it on Pro 500 and eligible Enterprise and Edu plans, and buying credits on Pro 100 or Pro 200 doesn't unlock it, per the Pro tiers article. Our Codex page tracks what Codex does and what changed with each update, and our OpenAI page covers the company's other products.

_The Business and Enterprise & Edu cards. The page's footnote for the Business asterisk says two or more users, billed annually, or $25 per user a month billed monthly. Screenshot of OpenAI's Codex pricing page, November 4, 2026._

## Is Codex free?

Yes, in a limited form. ChatGPT's pricing page lists "Limited Codex access" on the Free plan, and OpenAI's Codex pricing page says that means GPT-6 Luna at standard speed in the desktop app, still rolling out. Go, at $8 a month, gets the same Codex line.

The free version leaves out what Plus adds. OpenAI lists Codex on the web, in the CLI and in code editors, cloud tasks and GitHub code review starting at Plus, and its pricing FAQ says image generation in Codex isn't available on Free.

No paid plan charges extra for Codex itself. On Plus, Pro and Business, Codex draws from the allowance your plan includes, and on Plus and Pro you can buy credits once that runs out.

## What is the difference between credits and tokens in Codex?

Tokens measure the work and credits pay for it. OpenAI's pricing FAQ calls tokens "small units of information that ChatGPT reads and writes," and your prompt, files, chat history, tool results and the reply all use them. Credits are "the unit used to pay for eligible usage on credit-based plans," and they let you keep working after you reach your included limit.

Each model turns tokens into credits at its own rate. At standard speed, GPT-6.1 Sol costs 50 credits per million input tokens and 250 per million output tokens, while the smaller GPT-6 Luna costs 2.5 and 12.5. OpenAI's page says a typical GPT-5.6 Sol task may use 2 to 15 credits, and that what you pay for credits depends on your plan or agreement.

On Plus and Pro, your included allowance gets used first and your credit balance second. You can see your balance and buy credits in Settings > Usage in ChatGPT, or Usage & Billing in Codex, according to OpenAI's Pro tiers article. API prices are a separate thing, and OpenAI's pricing page says they shouldn't be used to estimate how many tasks a plan includes.

## How do Codex usage limits and resets work?

Codex usage refills on a timer. On Plus and Business, OpenAI's pricing FAQ measures usage in five-hour periods and says weekly limits may also apply, while Pro plans currently have no five-hour limit. ChatGPT Work, ChatGPT's mode for research and finished deliverables, already shares the same limits as Codex.

OpenAI gives estimates instead of fixed numbers. For Plus and Standard Business, it estimates 15 to 160 local messages every five hours with GPT-6.1 Sol, and 350 to 3,000 with GPT-6 Luna. Cloud tasks can use more, and the page says "these estimates are not fixed message limits."

Speed settings use the allowance faster. Compared with standard speed, Fast mode uses your included allowance at 2.5 times the rate, and Ultrafast at 8 times for GPT-6 Astra and GPT-6.1 Sol.

To check where you stand, open the usage dashboard, or type /status during a Codex CLI session, per OpenAI's FAQ. If you hit the limit in the middle of a task, Codex can finish the turn it's on, subject to fair use. After that you can wait for the reset, buy credits on Plus or Pro, or run local chats with an API key at API rates.

The rules change in December, when Plus, Pro and Business will start sharing one allowance across ChatGPT and Codex, measured in tokens, and Instant chat won't draw from it. OpenAI says you'll see your combined usage and reset times in Settings > Usage. We covered how ChatGPT and Codex will share one usage allowance in more detail.

OpenAI has also handed back usage early. On October 4, Tibo Sottiaux, who runs ChatGPT and Codex at OpenAI, promised that for 28 days his team would either "ship one thing that is a clear improvement" or "ship a full reset." On day one, the default speed of GPT-6 Astra and GPT-6.1 Sol got about 50% faster for subscribers. By day 25, twelve of the days had included a reset, and our DevDay guide lists every Codex usage reset from the 28 days.

Over the next 28 days, each day we'll either ship one thing that is a clear improvement and relevant for most codex/work users or ship a full reset. Let the improvements begin.

Tibo Sottiaux on X, October 4, 2026

## Is the $200 Codex plan worth it?

Pro 200 sits in the middle of the three Pro plans: it includes more usage than Pro 100 and less than Pro 500, and it doesn't include Ultrafast. It costs $200 a month, billed monthly.

The plan changed on October 29, 2026. That day OpenAI doubled the Work and Codex allowance on Pro 100 and Pro 500 and canceled a cut to Pro 200 it had announced on September 29. Pro 200 subscribers who were on the lower allowance had it doubled to match the higher one, and new Pro 200 subscriptions get that same allowance, while Plus usage didn't change. Our post on how OpenAI doubled usage on the $100 and $500 Pro plans walks through each plan.

OpenAI adds that a bigger allowance "does not guarantee twice as many completed tasks," since usage depends on the model, the task and the settings. Pat's own plan advice, further down, predates Pro 500, which OpenAI introduced on September 29, 2026, and covers the $100 plan.

## Is Codex cheaper than Claude Code?

At list price, both have plans at $20, $100 and $200 a month, and Codex has two cheaper ways in. Claude Code isn't on Claude's Free plan and starts with Claude Pro at $20 a month, or $17 a month on a yearly plan. Codex has a limited free version and the $8 Go plan.

Monthly priceCodex (ChatGPT plans)Claude Code (Claude plans)

$0Free, limited CodexFree, no Claude Code
$8GoNo plan at this price
$20PlusPro ($17 a month billed yearly)
$100Pro 100Max
$200Pro 200Ultra
$500Pro 500No plan at this price

Sources: OpenAI and Claude pricing pages, checked November 4, 2026. Claude's prices exclude tax.

This compares list prices only. Each company measures its allowance its own way, so the same dollar doesn't buy a comparable amount of work on both. Both share limits across the whole plan: Claude Code draws from the same pool as your Claude chats, and Codex shares with ChatGPT Work today and with the rest of ChatGPT, except Instant chat, from December. We broke down a third option in Cursor's pricing.

## Codex app, CLI and cloud: what you get on Mac and Windows

The Codex app is now part of the ChatGPT desktop app. OpenAI's release notes say the new app "combines Chat for questions and conversation, Work for research and finished deliverables, and Codex for software development in one app," and it's available for macOS and Windows. If you already had the Codex app, updating it moves you to the new one. A Linux version is in public preview on Ubuntu, Debian and Fedora.

To get it, OpenAI's desktop app guide says to download ChatGPT for macOS or Windows, sign in with your ChatGPT account, then choose Codex to start a coding chat. Free and Go users get Codex in this app. OpenAI's feature table lists the CLI, the IDE extension and the cloud from Plus up, and the CLI and IDE extension also work with an API key.

On Windows, OpenAI's Windows docs say you can use Codex in the native desktop app, the CLI or the IDE extension. The app runs in PowerShell with a Windows sandbox (a walled-off space that limits which files and network connections Codex can touch), so it doesn't need WSL, Windows' built-in Linux layer, or a virtual machine.

The CLI is Codex in your terminal. OpenAI's CLI page gives a one-line installer for macOS and Linux and another for Windows PowerShell, and you can also install it with npm (npm install -g @openai/codex) or Homebrew. Then you run codex in a project folder and choose Sign in with ChatGPT. The IDE extension puts Codex inside code editors: OpenAI lists VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Xcode and JetBrains IDEs.

Codex Cloud runs coding tasks on OpenAI's computers. Each task gets its own workspace and keeps going while your computer is asleep, and you can start and pick up tasks on the web, on mobile or in the desktop app. OpenAI's feature table lists it for Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise, and not for API-key users.

Some features are Mac-only. Codex Record & Replay, which learns a task by watching you do it once, runs only on macOS, needs Computer Use turned on, and at launch wasn't available in the European Economic Area, the UK or Switzerland.

## What Pat uses Codex for

Pat's Codex course, the video at the top of this page, sets Codex up from zero and walks through five office-work demos. He published it in May 2026, right after OpenAI released GPT-5.5; OpenAI retired GPT-5.5 from Codex for ChatGPT sign-ins on October 14, 2026.

On the price, at 1:29 in that video, Pat says: "Codex is free with any paid ChatGPT plan. If you're already on Plus, the $20 a month plan, you're good to go. If you're using Codex every day, if this really becomes your daily driver, highly recommend upgrading to the Pro plan, the $100 a month. It's worth the investment... But if you're just testing it day-to-day, if you just want to see its capabilities, the Plus plan is plenty."

At 1:04 he describes how Codex differs from ChatGPT: "Codex is fully agentic, meaning Codex can open your apps, it can edit your files, it can use your computer." For permissions, he says at 2:14, "I just default to full access, so that allows Codex to just run."

_Pat's first project in the Codex app, with Full access on and "5.5 High" in the model menu. Frame from Pat's Codex course at 3:50._

Pat has made several more Codex videos: the seven Codex plugins he uses every day, Codex Sites, role-specific plugins, and design and motion-graphics builds with Codex plus Paper and Hyperframes. Here they are:

## Questions people ask about Codex pricing

What is Codex in ChatGPT?
Codex is OpenAI's agent for software development, and it lives in the ChatGPT desktop app next to Chat and Work, per OpenAI's release notes. You can also use it on the web, in the terminal, in code editors and on iOS from Plus up.

Is Codex included with ChatGPT Plus?
Yes. Plus at $20 a month includes Codex on the web, in the CLI, in the IDE extension and on iOS, cloud integrations like automatic code review and Slack, and GPT-6.1 Sol and GPT-6 Luna.

Can I use Codex with an API key instead of a plan?
Yes. With an API key, Codex works in the CLI, SDK and IDE extension, without cloud features like GitHub code review or Slack, and you pay API prices. On OpenAI's API pricing page, GPT-6.1 Sol costs $2 per million input tokens and $10 per million output tokens at standard speed for shorter prompts.

How much does GPT-5.3-Codex cost?
On OpenAI's API pricing page, gpt-5.3-codex costs $1.75 per million input tokens and $14 per million output tokens at standard speed.

Where is the Codex usage dashboard?
In ChatGPT it's under Settings > Usage, and in Codex under Usage & Billing, per OpenAI's Pro tiers article. In a Codex CLI session, /status shows your remaining limits.

What happens when I hit my Codex usage limit?
Codex finishes the turn it's working on, subject to fair use, according to OpenAI. Then you can wait for the reset, buy credits on Plus or Pro, or keep going on local chats with an API key at API rates. OpenAI Support can't reset your limits for you.

What happened to GPT-5.5 in Codex?
It retired from Codex with ChatGPT sign-in on October 14, 2026, at noon Pacific. Codex sessions that use an API key weren't affected.

How much does Codex cost for a business?
ChatGPT Business is $20 per user a month billed yearly, or $25 billed monthly, for two or more users, and it adds larger cloud machines, admin controls and no training on your business data by default. Enterprise and Edu go through OpenAI's sales team.

Does OpenAI train on my Codex work?
ChatGPT's pricing page says content on Free, Go, Plus and Pro is used to train OpenAI's models, with an opt-out available. Business, per the Codex pricing page, has no training on your business data by default.

Can I use Codex in VS Code or Cursor?
Yes. OpenAI's IDE extension works in VS Code, Cursor and Windsurf, and Xcode and JetBrains IDEs have their own Codex integrations.

Can Codex make images, and does that cost more?
Yes on Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise, and it uses more allowance: image generations use included limits about 3 to 5 times faster than similar turns without images. Image generation isn't available in Codex on the Free plan.

## Sources

- OpenAI: Codex pricing (checked November 4, 2026)

- OpenAI Help: About ChatGPT Pro tiers

- OpenAI Help: ChatGPT release notes

- OpenAI Help: Understanding ChatGPT and Codex usage limits

- ChatGPT: Pricing

- OpenAI API: Pricing

- OpenAI: Codex CLI

- OpenAI: Codex on Windows

- Claude: Pricing (checked November 4, 2026)

- Tibo Sottiaux on X: the 28-day promise

- Tibo Sottiaux on X: day one speed boost

- AI for Mortals: Everything OpenAI announced at DevDay 2026

- AI for Mortals: OpenAI promises 28 days of ChatGPT and Codex upgrades