Codex vs Claude Code: what each plan actually lets you do
Codex comes with a ChatGPT plan, Claude Code with a Claude plan. Both start at $20 a month, both count your work in usage windows, and both stop you when a window runs out. Here is how they compare on what limits you day to day — windows, plans, sign-in, platforms — and what it takes to run both.
Checked on , on each publisher's documentation and pricing pages (see Sources). Prices in US dollars, as displayed. This page does not rank the quality of the models or of the code they write: that depends on your work, and changes with every release.
Side by side
| Criterion | Codex | Claude Code |
|---|---|---|
| Included in | ChatGPT Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Edu and Enterprise | Claude Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise; not the free plan |
| Individual prices | Go $8, Plus $20, Pro from $100 ($100, $200 or $500) a month | Pro $20, Max 5x $100, Max 20x $200 a month |
| Usage windows | A five-hour window on Plus and Business Standard; none on Pro; weekly limits may also apply | A five-hour session and a weekly limit, shared with claude.ai and Claude Desktop |
| Past the limit | Banked resets, when the account has one; credits | Usage credits at API rates; occasional free limit resets |
| Checking usage |
|
|
| Sign-in | ChatGPT account, or an API key at API prices | Claude subscription, Console account or API key, or a cloud provider |
| Source code | Open source, Apache-2.0 | Not open source; all rights reserved |
| Systems | macOS, Linux, Windows | macOS 13+, Windows 10 1809+, Ubuntu 20.04+, Debian 10+, Alpine 3.19+ |
| Editors and apps | VS Code and compatible editors, Xcode, JetBrains; the ChatGPT desktop app | VS Code and Cursor, JetBrains; the Claude desktop app; the web |
The difference that matters day to day: the windows
Claude Code counts your work in two windows at once: a five-hour session and a week. Max multiplies the session allowance — five or twenty times Pro's — and the weekly limit still applies. Codex depends more on the plan: OpenAI describes a five-hour window on Plus and Business Standard, says that Pro plans currently have no five-hour limit, and adds that weekly limits may also apply. On the Codex plans we measured in September 2026, only the seven-day window was published.
So the same day can stop you in two different ways: Claude Code at the end of a heavy session, Codex at the end of a heavy week. Details for each: Claude Pro vs Max and how to check your Codex usage.
What happens at the limit
- Claude Code warns you before the end of a window, then stops with “You've hit your session limit” or “You've hit your weekly limit” and the reset time. Switching models does not restore access. Usage credits, once turned on and prepaid, let you continue at standard API rates.
- Codex stops until the window resets, unless you spend a banked reset, which refreshes both the five-hour and the weekly window. OpenAI's support does not grant manual resets. See Codex resets.
Running both
With a Claude plan and a ChatGPT plan, you can move the work to whichever one still has room. That only works if you know, before you start, which one does — and the two publishers each show only their own usage, for the account you are signed in to.
Quotum puts both in your Mac menu bar: Claude's five-hour and weekly windows, Codex's weekly window and five-hour one when the plan has it, for each of your accounts, with when each resets and how old each figure is. Then it opens the right account: its desktop app, its Chrome profile, or a terminal pinned to it.
Free trial for fourteen days, on the first two lines of the panel. Launch price: €4.99, then €9.99. Reading a provider's quota from a third-party app is not something the providers provide for: the pricing page explains the risk.
Sources
Consulted on .
- OpenAI, Codex pricing:
learn.chatgpt.com/docs/pricing - OpenAI, Codex authentication:
learn.chatgpt.com/docs/auth - OpenAI, Codex in your IDE:
learn.chatgpt.com/docs/ide - OpenAI, Codex CLI slash commands:
learn.chatgpt.com/docs/cli/slash-commands - OpenAI, How banked Codex resets work:
help.openai.com/en/articles/20001498 - OpenAI, Codex credits (consulted September 29, 2026):
help.openai.com/en/articles/12642688 - OpenAI, Codex repository and license:
github.com/openai/codex - Claude, Pricing:
claude.com/pricing - Claude Code, Set up:
code.claude.com/docs/en/setup - Claude Code, Overview:
code.claude.com/docs/en/overview - Claude Code, Authentication:
code.claude.com/docs/en/authentication - Claude Code, Errors:
code.claude.com/docs/en/errors - Claude Code, repository and license:
github.com/anthropics/claude-code
FAQ
Which is cheaper, Claude Code or Codex?
Both start at $20 a month on an individual plan: Claude Pro and ChatGPT Plus. Codex is also included in ChatGPT Free and Go ($8), which Claude Code has no equivalent of; at the top, Claude Max costs $100 or $200 and ChatGPT Pro $100 to $500, as displayed on October 2, 2026.
Is Codex better than Claude Code?
This page does not rank them: model quality depends on your work and changes with each release. What differs measurably is how each one limits you: Claude Code by a five-hour session and a week, Codex mostly by the week, with a five-hour window on some plans.
Is Codex open source?
The Codex CLI is, under the Apache-2.0 license. Claude Code is not: its repository states that all rights are reserved.
Can I use Codex and Claude Code at the same time?
Yes, they are separate tools with separate plans and limits. Quotum shows the usage of both in the Mac menu bar, for each of your accounts, so you know which one still has room.