OpenAI Codex vs GitHub Copilot: Features, Pricing and User Reviews 2026
Compare features, pricing, reviews, and more to make an informed decision
OpenAI Codex
OpenAI Codex is an AI-powered coding assistant that writes, tests, and reviews code in your development environment and cloud.
GitHub Copilot
GitHub Copilot is an AI-powered coding assistant that provides code completions and chat assistance directly in your editor.
OpenAI Codex
OpenAI Codex is an AI-powered coding assistant that writes, tests, and reviews code in your development environment and cloud.
GitHub Copilot
GitHub Copilot is an AI-powered coding assistant that provides code completions and chat assistance directly in your editor.
OpenAI Codex
Writes code, fixes bugs, and adds tests
Works in terminal, IDE, cloud, and mobile
Automatic pull request reviews on GitHub
Runs multiple tasks at the same time
Provides detailed logs and test results
Supports custom setup through AGENTS.md files
Secure isolated environment for each task
Integrates with VS Code, Cursor, and Windsurf
Background cloud processing
Mobile app support for task management
GitHub Copilot
AI-powered code completion and suggestions
Interactive chat assistant for coding help
Support for 40+ programming languages
Multi-model AI access (GPT-4, Claude, Gemini)
Real-time bug detection and fixes
Automatic test case generation
Multi-file code editing capabilities
IDE integration (VS Code, JetBrains, Visual Studio)
Code explanation in natural language
Team collaboration and management tools
OpenAI Codex
OpenAI Codex is included as part of your ChatGPT subscription and does not require a separate purchase. It is available across multiple plan levels, each with different usage limits.
ChatGPT Plus costs $20 per month and includes Codex with usage limits that allow about 30 to 150 local messages or 5 to 40 cloud tasks every 5 hours. This plan is best for developers working on a few focused coding sessions each week.
ChatGPT Pro costs $200 per month and provides significantly higher limits, allowing about 300 to 1,500 local messages or 50 to 400 cloud tasks every 5 hours. This plan suits developers who need Codex throughout their full workday across multiple projects.
Business, Education, and Enterprise plans include the same per-seat limits as Plus. However, plans with flexible pricing can purchase additional credits to go beyond included limits. For automatic pull request reviews on all repositories, flexible pricing is required.
GitHub Copilot
GitHub Copilot offers flexible pricing plans for different user types. The Free plan provides 2,000 code completions and 50 chat requests monthly, perfect for trying out the service. Individual developers can upgrade to Copilot Pro at $10 per month or $100 annually, which includes unlimited completions and access to premium AI models.
For power users, Copilot Pro+ costs $39 per month or $390 yearly and offers 1,500 premium requests monthly with access to the latest AI models including GPT-4.5 and Claude Opus 4.
Business teams can choose Copilot Business at $19 per user monthly with team management features, while Enterprise customers pay $39 per user monthly for advanced security, compliance tools, and custom model access.
Students, teachers, and open source maintainers can access Copilot Pro for free through GitHub's education program.
