Codex vs Cursor (2026): pricing, limits and models compared

Codex compared with Cursor
	Codex	Cursor
What it is	OpenAI's coding agent, included in ChatGPT plans: a desktop app, open-source CLI, IDE extension, cloud tasks and code review.	An AI code editor with an agent built in, plus cloud agents, Bugbot code review and code hosting on higher plans.
Where it runs	ChatGPT desktop app (macOS, Windows, Linux), CLI, IDE extension for VS Code, Cursor and Windsurf, Codex Cloud, iOS, GitHub, Slack and Linear.	The Cursor editor (macOS, Windows, Linux), CLI, cloud agents and an iOS app in beta.
Free option	ChatGPT Free and Go: GPT-6 Luna in the desktop app, subject to rollout.	Cursor Free: limited agent and chat requests.
Cheapest full plan	ChatGPT Plus, $20/month: every surface and the GPT-6.1 models.	Plus, $8/month (Grok models only). Third-party models need Premium at $30/month.
Plan ladder	Free · Go $8 · Plus $20 · Pro $100/$200/$500 · Business $20/user (annual)	Free · Plus $8 · Premium $30 · Super $100 · Ultra $200 · Teams $30/$100/$200 per seat
How usage is counted	Five-hour and weekly limits that vary by model. Pro has no five-hour limit.	A weekly pool for Grok and Cursor's own models. Premium gets 4x Plus, Super 15x, Ultra 50x.
Models	GPT-6 Astra, GPT-6.1 Sol, GPT-6.1 Terra and GPT-6 Luna.	Grok and Composer in the plan. Claude, GPT and Gemini on Premium and up at API list price from the first request.
Bring your own key	Yes: an OpenAI API key in the CLI, SDK and IDE extension, without cloud features.	Yes, on Premium and up, for chat models only. Not on Plus.
Open source	The CLI is open source (Apache 2.0).	No.
Recent changes to know	codex mcp-server removed; press reports a shared ChatGPT + Codex allowance from December.	Acquired by SpaceX in August; Grok-centred plans since October; a marketplace security incident on October 29.

Codex

Cursor

What it is

OpenAI's coding agent, included in ChatGPT plans: a desktop app, open-source CLI, IDE extension, cloud tasks and code review.

An AI code editor with an agent built in, plus cloud agents, Bugbot code review and code hosting on higher plans.

Where it runs

ChatGPT desktop app (macOS, Windows, Linux), CLI, IDE extension for VS Code, Cursor and Windsurf, Codex Cloud, iOS, GitHub, Slack and Linear.

The Cursor editor (macOS, Windows, Linux), CLI, cloud agents and an iOS app in beta.

Free option

ChatGPT Free and Go: GPT-6 Luna in the desktop app, subject to rollout.

Cursor Free: limited agent and chat requests.

Cheapest full plan

ChatGPT Plus, $20/month: every surface and the GPT-6.1 models.

Plus, $8/month (Grok models only). Third-party models need Premium at $30/month.

Plan ladder

Free · Go $8 · Plus $20 · Pro $100/$200/$500 · Business $20/user (annual)

Free · Plus $8 · Premium $30 · Super $100 · Ultra $200 · Teams $30/$100/$200 per seat

How usage is counted

Five-hour and weekly limits that vary by model. Pro has no five-hour limit.

A weekly pool for Grok and Cursor's own models. Premium gets 4x Plus, Super 15x, Ultra 50x.

Models

GPT-6 Astra, GPT-6.1 Sol, GPT-6.1 Terra and GPT-6 Luna.

Grok and Composer in the plan. Claude, GPT and Gemini on Premium and up at API list price from the first request.

Bring your own key

Yes: an OpenAI API key in the CLI, SDK and IDE extension, without cloud features.

Yes, on Premium and up, for chat models only. Not on Plus.

Open source

The CLI is open source (Apache 2.0).

No.

Recent changes to know

codex mcp-server removed; press reports a shared ChatGPT + Codex allowance from December.

Acquired by SpaceX in August; Grok-centred plans since October; a marketplace security incident on October 29.

Verdict

Pick Codex if you want OpenAI’s models without paying per token. ChatGPT Plus at $20 a month gives you Codex everywhere, from the desktop app and CLI to cloud tasks and GitHub code review, with GPT-6.1 Sol and Terra inside your allowance. Pro removes the five-hour limit entirely. The CLI is open source, and you can run the Codex extension inside VS Code, Windsurf or even Cursor.

Pick Cursor if you want a full AI editor with agents, Bugbot reviews and cloud agents in one product, and you’re happy with Grok and Cursor’s own Composer models as your everyday models. Plus is only $8 a month, the cheapest paid plan here.

The catch with Cursor is third-party models. Since October, Claude, GPT and Gemini aren’t part of your allowance: they’re billed at API list price from the first request, on Premium and up. If you mostly want GPT, Codex on a ChatGPT plan will almost always cost less.

A common setup is to use both: Cursor as the editor, with the Codex extension running on your ChatGPT plan for OpenAI’s models.

Also weigh Cursor’s recent changes. SpaceX now owns it, and its October 29 marketplace incident served a tampered extension for about 11 hours; Cursor says it’s contained.

Frequently asked questions

Is Codex or Cursor cheaper?

Cursor Plus is cheaper at $8 a month, but it only runs Grok models. If you want OpenAI's models, ChatGPT Plus at $20 includes Codex with GPT-6.1; getting GPT in Cursor needs Premium at $30 plus API list price for every GPT request.

Can I use Codex inside Cursor?

Yes. The Codex IDE extension supports Cursor as well as VS Code and Windsurf, so you can run Codex on your ChatGPT plan inside the Cursor editor.

Which has better models?

They're different. Codex gives you OpenAI's GPT-6 and GPT-6.1 family within your ChatGPT allowance. Cursor includes Grok and its own Composer models, and charges extra for Claude, GPT and Gemini.

Codex × Cursor

Verdict

Frequently asked questions

Sources