Claude Code vs OpenAI Codex: price and usage limits
OpenAI Codex is cheaper to start: ChatGPT Go costs $8/month vs $20/month for Claude Pro. Top individual plans: Claude Max 20x $200 and ChatGPT Pro $100 (Plans at $100, $200, or $500 USD per month). Both have a $0 plan. Same price points: $20 (Claude Pro vs ChatGPT Plus); $100 (Claude Max 5x vs ChatGPT Pro).
Claude Code does not publish an exact usage allowance; it describes plans in relative terms such as "Max 5x includes five times the Pro plan's per-session usage allowance". OpenAI Codex does not publish an exact usage allowance; OpenAI says "These estimates are not fixed message limits; check your usage dashboard for current limits and reset times".
Check my Claude Code usage →Plan by plan, by price
Individual monthly plans. Team and per-seat plans are in the full tables below.
| Price / month | Claude Code | OpenAI Codex |
|---|---|---|
| $0 | Free | Free |
| $8 | — | Go |
| $20 | Pro | Plus |
| $100 | Max 5x | Pro |
| $200 | Max 20x | — |
What each vendor says about limits
Quoted verbatim from the vendor's page, linked to the source.
Claude (Claude Code)
Both Pro and Max plans have a five-hour session limit and a weekly limit. Max plans also have a separate weekly limit for Fable.source
| Plan | Price | What the vendor says about limits | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0per month | Free covers everyday questions.source |
price verified |
| Pro | $20per month · $17 Per month with annual subscription discount | Every plan has usage limits that reset on a rolling five-hour session window, and paid plans add weekly limits on top.source |
price verified |
| Max 5x | $100per month | Max 5x includes five times the Pro plan's per-session usage allowance.source |
price verified |
| Max 20x | $200per month | Max 20x includes 20 times the Pro plan's per-session usage allowance.source |
price verified |
OpenAI Codex (ChatGPT plans)
These estimates are not fixed message limits; check your usage dashboard for current limits and reset times.source
| Plan | Price | What the vendor says about limits | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0per month | unknown — not stated on the pricing page | limit not published |
| Go | $8per month | unknown — not stated on the pricing page | limit not published |
| Plus | $20per month | Est. local messages per 5h: GPT-6.1 Sol 15-160source |
price verified |
| Pro | $100per month · Plans at $100, $200, or $500 USD per month | Pro plans currently have no five-hour limit.source |
price verified |
| Business | $20per user, annual · $25 per user per month when billed monthly | unknown — not stated on the pricing page | limit not published |
Claude Code vs OpenAI Codex: FAQ
Straight answers from today's data (2026-10-18).
Is Claude Code or OpenAI Codex cheaper?
OpenAI Codex is cheaper to start: ChatGPT Go costs $8/month vs $20/month for Claude Pro. Top individual plans: Claude Max 20x $200 and ChatGPT Pro $100 (Plans at $100, $200, or $500 USD per month). Both have a $0 plan. Same price points: $20 (Claude Pro vs ChatGPT Plus); $100 (Claude Max 5x vs ChatGPT Pro). Prices are the vendors' own monthly USD list prices, checked 2026-10-18.
Do Claude Code and OpenAI Codex publish exact usage limits?
Claude Code does not publish an exact usage allowance; it describes plans in relative terms such as "Max 5x includes five times the Pro plan's per-session usage allowance". OpenAI Codex does not publish an exact usage allowance; OpenAI says "These estimates are not fixed message limits; check your usage dashboard for current limits and reset times".
What does each Claude Code plan say about limits?
Anthropic: "Both Pro and Max plans have a five-hour session limit and a weekly limit. Max plans also have a separate weekly limit for Fable". Per plan (checked 2026-10-18): Claude Free $0/month ("Free covers everyday questions"); Claude Pro $20/month ("Every plan has usage limits that reset on a rolling five-hour session window, and paid plans add weekly limits on top"); Claude Max 5x $100/month ("Max 5x includes five times the Pro plan's per-session usage allowance"); Claude Max 20x $200/month ("Max 20x includes 20 times the Pro plan's per-session usage allowance").
What does each OpenAI Codex plan say about limits?
OpenAI: "These estimates are not fixed message limits; check your usage dashboard for current limits and reset times". Per plan (checked 2026-10-18): ChatGPT Free $0/month (no limit stated on the pricing page); ChatGPT Go $8/month (no limit stated on the pricing page); ChatGPT Plus $20/month ("Est. local messages per 5h: GPT-6.1 Sol 15-160"); ChatGPT Pro $100/month ("Pro plans currently have no five-hour limit").
How do I know if my Claude Code plan is enough?
Run npx ccusage@latest weekly --json in a terminal and paste the output into https://limitdex.com/check. It values your weekly Claude Code usage at API list prices, compares it with what you pay and suggests a plan. It runs in your browser.
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