Head-to-head · profiles checked Sep 29, 2026
Pick Codex if ChatGPT is already your subscription: Go is $8/mo, Plus is $20/mo, and one agent spans CLI, IDE, desktop and web. Pick Cursor if you want an AI editor with cloud agents and Bugbot review, from $20/mo. Both cap usage, and we have no benchmark for either.
We wrote this from our own profiles of both tools, verified on 2026-09-29 for Codex and 2026-09-29 for Cursor; we ran no benchmark, used no third-party tests and took no vendor payments.
Pick OpenAI Codex if you already pay for ChatGPT and want one agent across a local CLI, IDE extension, desktop app and cloud, or if you need an API key for CI. Pick Cursor if you want an AI code editor with cloud agents, Bugbot pull request review and team privacy mode in one product, and you accept on-demand billing once included usage runs out. Both have a free entry point, and both cap usage by plan. Neither profile states a context window, and we ran no benchmark, so we make no claim about which writes better code.
Based on our OpenAI Codex profile verified 2026-09-29 and our Cursor profile verified 2026-09-29, both built from official vendor pages; Codex privacy and docs pages were blocked, Cursor Pro+ and Ultra prices were not shown, and no benchmark was run.
If you only want the answer, this is the table. Everything below is the evidence from the two documented profiles.
| You want to | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Refactor code in a local repository | Either | Codex lists CLI and IDE refactors; Cursor lists writing and refactoring code as a diff to review. |
| Keep working in VS Code | OpenAI Codex | The Codex extension covers VS Code, Cursor and Windsurf; Cursor is its own editor. |
| Delegate a larger feature to a cloud agent | Either | Codex has a web cloud agent on Plus; Cursor has cloud agents on Individual and above. |
| Automated pull request review | Either | Codex does GitHub code review on ChatGPT plans; Cursor Bugbot is included on Teams. |
| Start a task from a phone | OpenAI Codex | Codex on iOS is listed for Plus; Cursor lists Mobile in its nav without detail. |
| Run in CI with an API key | OpenAI Codex | Codex documents an API-key option for CI; Cursor API billing is not confirmed. |
| Trigger the agent from Slack | Cursor | Cursor lists Slack as a surface; Codex Slack integration is a cloud feature, not available via API key. |
| Pick between many model vendors | Cursor | Cursor lists models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, SpaceXAI and Cursor; Codex model choice is not stated. |
| Inspect or fork the source code | OpenAI Codex | The Codex CLI is open source; Cursor's license is not stated. |
| Team SSO and privacy mode | Cursor | Cursor Teams lists SAML/OIDC SSO and team-wide privacy mode; Codex Business lists only workspace admin features. |
| Plan | Tool | Price | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT Free | OpenAI Codex | $0/mo | Desktop app only listed; usage limits apply |
| ChatGPT Go | OpenAI Codex | $8/mo | Desktop app only listed; usage limits apply |
| ChatGPT Plus | OpenAI Codex | $20/mo | CLI, IDE, web and iOS; usage limits apply |
| ChatGPT Pro | OpenAI Codex | Tiers of $100, $200 or $500 per month; tier-to-usage mapping not confirmed | Higher usage than Plus |
| ChatGPT Business | OpenAI Codex | $25/user/mo billed monthly; $20/user/mo billed annually | Usage limits apply; workspace admin features |
| API key | OpenAI Codex | Pay per API token | No GitHub code review or Slack |
| Hobby | Cursor | $0 | Limited Agent requests; no credit card |
| Individual (Pro) | Cursor | $20/mo | Extended Agent limits; usage beyond included amount billed on demand |
| Individual (Pro+ / Ultra) | Cursor | Not confirmed | Pro+ for daily agent users, Ultra for power users |
| Teams | Cursor | $40/user/mo | Included usage plus on-demand billing |
| Enterprise | Cursor | Custom | Pooled usage |
USD as published on each vendor's pricing page, checked Sep 29, 2026. OpenAI Codex pricing in full · Cursor pricing in full
| OpenAI Codex | Cursor | |
|---|---|---|
| Messages / rate limits | Usage limits apply per plan; numbers not stated | Hobby has limited Agent requests; Individual has extended limits; numbers not stated |
| Context / file size | Not stated | Not stated |
| Seats / team | Business is priced per user; seat limits not stated | Teams is priced per user; Enterprise has pooled usage; seat limits not stated |
| Beyond the cap | Not stated; the profile lists ChatGPT credits to extend usage | On-demand usage billed in arrears |
| Feature | OpenAI Codex | Cursor |
|---|---|---|
| Image generation | Not stated | Not stated |
| Voice | Not stated | Not stated |
| File upload | Yes: works on your local repository and connected GitHub repos | Yes: your codebase plus attached docs and files |
| Web search | Not stated | Not stated |
| Agents / tools | Yes: local CLI agent and cloud agent; cloud integrations such as code review and Slack | Yes: coding agent, cloud agents, automations, Bugbot, MCPs, skills, hooks |
| API | Yes: API key at API rates | Docs list an API and SDK; billing not confirmed |
| Mobile apps | Yes: iOS on Plus | Not confirmed |
| IDE integration | VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf | Is an editor; JetBrains and Xcode listed in docs |
| OpenAI Codex | Cursor | |
|---|---|---|
| Training on your data | Not confirmed: the Codex privacy page returned 404 | Not used for training unless flagged for security review, reported as Feedback or agreed; privacy mode on means no training by Cursor or model providers |
| Retention | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Business controls | Workspace admin features on Business; Enterprise/Edu is contact sales | Team-wide privacy mode, SAML/OIDC SSO, audit logs (Enterprise) |
Taken from each vendor's published policy pages at the time of our check. Policies change; the source links are at the bottom.
OpenAI's coding agent for the CLI, IDE extension, desktop app, web and iOS, included in ChatGPT plans or billed by API.
Free stops at: Desktop app only listed, Usage limits apply
Verified developers.openai.com (opens OpenAI Codex website in a new tab)
Free · paid from $8/mo US · checked Sep 29
AI code editor with agents, cloud agents and code review, offered with a free Hobby tier and paid plans.
Free stops at: Limited Agent requests
Free · paid from $20/mo US · checked Sep 29
Codex has the lower entry: Go is $8/mo and Plus is $20/mo, and a Free ChatGPT plan includes it. Cursor Individual starts at $20/mo, with Hobby free. Cursor bills usage beyond the included amount on demand, and Codex plans also have usage limits, so real monthly cost depends on how much agent work you run.
Yes, both. The Free ChatGPT plan includes Codex, but lists the desktop app only. Cursor Hobby needs no credit card and has limited Agent requests.
Yes. The Codex IDE extension lists VS Code, Cursor and Windsurf, so the two tools are not mutually exclusive.
Cursor says code data is not used for training with privacy mode on. For Codex we could not confirm training or retention terms, because its privacy page returned 404.
Both list code review. Codex offers GitHub code review on ChatGPT plans, not with an API key. Cursor's Bugbot is included on Teams and usage-billed on Individual.
Cursor documents Teams at $40/user/mo with SSO and team-wide privacy mode. Codex lists Business at $25 per user monthly or $20 per user billed annually, but only workspace admin features are named, so compare controls before buying.
Only official vendor pages. No third-party benchmarks, forum threads or press were used. How we review.
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