Codex Pricing 2026: Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business and API Key
Every way to pay for OpenAI Codex, the per 5 hour message estimates for each model, how ChatGPT credits and speed modes change the math, and team costs.
By , research by the BestBots team · Updated Oct 19, 2026
Fact checked against each company's published pricing, documentation and verified user ratings. How we score
Codex is included with ChatGPT: Plus at $20 a month unlocks the CLI, IDE extension, web, iOS and cloud code review, Pro at $100, $200 or $500 currently has no five hour limit, and Business is $25 per user monthly or $20 billed annually. Free and Go get limited desktop access. You can also run Codex on an API key and pay API rates.
- Starting price
- $20 per month
- Pricing model
- per seat subscription plus credits
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- None listed
- Price
- $20 per month (ChatGPT Plus); Free and Go get limited desktop access
- Models
- GPT 6.1 Sol, GPT 6 Sol, GPT 6 Astra, GPT 6 Luna
- IDE support
- IDE extension, desktop app, web, iOS
- Terminal agent
- Yes, Codex CLI
- Usage limits
- Plus: about 15 to 160 GPT 6.1 Sol local messages per 5 hours; Pro no 5 hour limit; weekly limits may apply
- Team plan
- Business $25 per user monthly or $20 annually
Every plan at a glance
| Plan | Price | Codex access | Models |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Desktop app, subject to rollout | GPT 6 Luna, Standard speed |
| Go | $8 a month | Desktop app, subject to rollout | GPT 6 Luna, Standard speed |
| Plus | $20 a month | Web, CLI, IDE extension, iOS, desktop, cloud code review, Slack | GPT 6.1 Sol, GPT 6 Luna |
| Pro | $100, $200 or $500 a month | Everything in Plus; no 5 hour limit currently; Ultrafast on $500 | Same plus Pro models |
| Business | $25 per user monthly, or $20 billed annually (2+ users) | ChatGPT and Codex, larger cloud VMs, SAML SSO, no training by default | Same |
| Enterprise and Edu | Custom | SCIM, EKM, RBAC, audit logs, data residency, priority processing | Off by default for GPT 6.1 Sol until an admin enables it |
| API key | API rates | CLI, SDK, IDE extension; no cloud features | Whatever your key allows |
As listed on OpenAI's Codex pricing docs in October 2026.
What the limits mean in practice
OpenAI publishes estimated local messages per five hours for Plus and Standard Business seats:
| Model | Plus and Standard Business |
|---|---|
| GPT 6 Astra | 5 to 45 |
| GPT 6.1 Sol | 15 to 160 |
| GPT 6 Sol | 15 to 150 |
| GPT 6 Luna | 350 to 3,000 |
The ranges are wide because usage depends on the model, the size of the task, context, reasoning, tool use and caching. OpenAI says tasks that look similar can cost very different amounts and that prompt length is not a reliable guide. Cloud tasks may use more than local ones, local messages and cloud chats share one allowance, and weekly limits may also apply. Check the usage dashboard, or run /status in the CLI.
Pro. All three Pro tiers currently have no five hour limit. OpenAI does not publish how the $100, $200 and $500 tiers differ in Codex usage on this page; it links to a Pro plans comparison.
Speed modes. Fast mode uses included limits at 2.5x the Standard rate. Ultrafast on GPT 6 Astra or GPT 6.1 Sol uses them at 8x. On purchased credits the multipliers are 2x and 6x.
Shared pool. ChatGPT Work and Codex share the same usage. Image generation uses limits 3 to 5 times faster than a similar turn, and desktop Voice costs $0.05 a minute from your Codex budget.
Credits and token rates
When you run out, Plus and Pro users can buy ChatGPT credits. OpenAI lists standard speed rates in credits per million tokens:
| Model | Input | Cached input | Output |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPT 6 Astra | 250 | 25 | 1,250 |
| GPT 6.1 Sol | 50 | 2.5 | 250 |
| GPT 6 Sol | 50 | 5 | 250 |
| GPT 6 Luna | 2.5 | 0.25 | 12.5 |
| GPT 5.6 Sol (promotional through at least November 21, 2026) | 100 | 10 | 500 |
OpenAI says a typical GPT 5.6 Sol task may use 2 to 15 credits. The dollar price of a credit depends on your plan or agreement and is not listed on the Codex pricing page, so check it in ChatGPT before you buy.
Hidden costs and fine print
- Estimates, not limits. The per 5 hour ranges are not guarantees, and weekly caps can bite on heavy weeks.
- GPT 5.5 retired from Codex with ChatGPT sign in on October 14, 2026; API key sessions were not affected.
- API key mode drops cloud features: no GitHub code review, no Slack, no Codex Cloud.
- Business annual pricing needs 2 or more users.
- Enterprise admins must enable GPT 6.1 Sol before users can choose it.
- Code review on GitHub counts as Code Review usage; reviews run locally count toward general limits.
Worked examples
ChatGPT subscriber who codes a few evenings a week. Plus at $20 a month, $240 a year, covering chat and Codex.
Daily professional. If Plus runs out midweek, the choice is credits or Pro $100. Since Pro currently has no 5 hour limit, many daily users will find $100 simpler than topping up.
Team of 5 on Business. $100 a month on annual billing ($1,200 a year), or $125 monthly.
CI on an API key. Codex in the CLI or SDK bills at OpenAI API rates per token, with no cloud features. Use this for pipelines and keep subscriptions for people.
How it compares
| Tool | Entry paid | Heavy | Team seat | Models on the plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Codex | $20 (Plus) | $100, $200, $500 | $25 or $20 annually | OpenAI |
| Claude Code | $20 (Pro) | $100, $200 | $25 or $20 annually | Anthropic |
| GitHub Copilot | $10 (Pro) | $39, $100 | $19 | Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, xAI and others |
| Cursor | $30 (Premium) | $100, $200 | From $30 | Grok and Composer; others at API list price |
| Windsurf (Devin Desktop) | $20 (Pro) | $200 | $80 plus $40 per seat | OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, SpaceXAI, SWE-2 |
Codex and Claude Code are priced identically at entry and team level. Copilot is half the price to start and spans more labs. See Claude Code pricing, GitHub Copilot pricing, ChatGPT pricing and the Price Index.
Which plan to pick
- Curious, no budget: Free or Go in the desktop app.
- Already pay for ChatGPT Plus: use the Codex you already have.
- Hitting the 5 hour wall often: Pro $100.
- Teams: Business on annual billing at $20 a seat.
- Automation: an API key.
Read our Codex review for features and ratings, or Codex alternatives for other options.
OpenAI Codex plans and pricing
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | GPT 6 Luna at Standard speed in the desktop app, subject to rollout |
| Go | $8 per month | GPT 6 Luna at Standard speed in the desktop app, subject to rollout |
| Plus | $20 per month | Codex on web, CLI, IDE extension and iOS, cloud code review, Slack, GPT 6.1 Sol and GPT 6 Luna |
| Pro | $100, $200 or $500 per month | Everything in Plus, no 5 hour limit currently, Ultrafast mode on Pro $500 |
| Business | $25 per user per month, or $20 billed annually | 2+ users, SAML SSO, no training on business data by default |
| Enterprise and Edu | Custom | SCIM, EKM, RBAC, audit logs, data residency |
Frequently asked questions
How much does Codex cost?
Codex is included with ChatGPT plans. Free and Go ($8 a month) get GPT 6 Luna in the desktop app, subject to rollout. Plus is $20 a month, Pro is $100, $200 or $500, Business is $25 per user monthly or $20 billed annually, and Enterprise and Edu are custom. You can also run Codex on an API key at API rates.
Is Codex free?
Partly. Free and Go users get GPT 6 Luna at Standard speed in the ChatGPT desktop app, subject to rollout. The CLI, IDE extension, web, iOS, cloud code review and Slack integration start at Plus.
What are Codex usage limits on Plus?
OpenAI estimates local messages per five hours on Plus at 5 to 45 for GPT 6 Astra, 15 to 160 for GPT 6.1 Sol, 15 to 150 for GPT 6 Sol and 350 to 3,000 for GPT 6 Luna. These are estimates, not fixed limits; cloud tasks may use more, and weekly limits may apply.
Does Codex Pro have limits?
OpenAI says Pro plans currently have no five hour limit. Pro $500 adds Ultrafast mode, which uses included limits 8x faster than Standard on GPT 6 Astra and GPT 6.1 Sol.
What happens when I hit my Codex limit?
An active turn can finish, subject to fair use. Plus and Pro users can then buy ChatGPT credits to keep working without upgrading, Business and Enterprise plans with flexible pricing can buy workspace credits, and anyone can run extra local chats on an API key at standard API rates.
Do Codex and ChatGPT share limits?
Yes. OpenAI says ChatGPT Work and Codex share usage, credits and limits, and that this also includes ChatGPT for Excel on Plus and Pro. Voice in the desktop app uses your Codex budget at $0.05 a minute.
Is Codex cheaper than Claude Code?
At the entry level they cost the same: $20 a month on ChatGPT Plus or Claude Pro, and $25 monthly or $20 annually per team seat. Above that, Codex Pro tiers are $100, $200 and $500 with no current 5 hour limit, while Claude Max is $100 or $200. See our Claude Code vs Codex comparison.