Codex (OpenAI)
Free tier available
- API -- gpt-6.1-sol (2026-09-29)$2/$10/per 1M tokens; cached input $0.10 (GPT-6 Sol: $0.20)
- Free$0
- Go$8/mo
Our pickA
8.3/10Codex (OpenAI)
GPT-6.1 Sol (added 2026-09-29 for Plus and up, rolling out from Pro; Ultrafast variant coming) + GPT-6 Sol + GPT-6 Luna (2026-09-22; Luna for Free/Go in the desktop app) + GPT-6 Astra (Ultrafast tier on Pro 500/Enterprise) alongside GPT-5.6 Sol / Terra / Luna (GA 2026-07-09; Terra default on Free/Go). GPT-5.5 remains selectable as previous-gen; GPT-5.4 retired from Codex 2026-08-31; GPT-5.2-Codex retired 2026-07-23; gpt-5.3-codex leaves the API 2027-04-01
VS
A
8.3/10GitHub Copilot
Multi-model picker: GPT-6.1 Sol (Pro+ and up, added 2026-09-29), Claude Sonnet 5.5 (Pro and up, 2026-09-28), Claude Opus 5.5 (Pro+ and up, 2026-09-22), GPT-6 Sol (Pro+ and up, 2026-09-22), GPT-6 Luna (Pro and up, 2026-09-22), Grok 4.7 (all paid SKUs, 2026-09-21), Grok 4.6 (2026-08-14), Gemini 3.7 Flash (2026-08-13, retiring 10/19), MAI-Code-1.1-Flash (2026-08-11), Kimi K3 (2026-08-06), Claude Opus 5, GPT-6 Astra, Fable 5.1, Gemini 3.8 Flash and earlier models per the model policy; HydraFusion (research preview) orchestrates several of them. Gemini 3.5 Flash, Gemini 3.6 Flash, Kimi K2.7 Code and Claude Opus 4.7 were removed 2026-10-02; six more retire 10/19
Codex (OpenAI) vs GitHub Copilot
Tier-list head-to-head. Codex (OpenAI) takes the A-tier slot — here's the breakdown.
Last reviewed October 17, 2026· sweep-fresh
Spec sheet
At a glance
| Codex (OpenAI) | GitHub Copilot | |
|---|---|---|
| Tier | A-tier | A-tier |
| Overall score | 8.3 / 10 | 8.3 / 10 |
| Powered by | GPT-6.1 Sol (added 2026-09-29 for Plus and up, rolling out from Pro; Ultrafast variant coming) + GPT-6 Sol + GPT-6 Luna (2026-09-22; Luna for Free/Go in the desktop app) + GPT-6 Astra (Ultrafast tier on Pro 500/Enterprise) alongside GPT-5.6 Sol / Terra / Luna (GA 2026-07-09; Terra default on Free/Go). GPT-5.5 remains selectable as previous-gen; GPT-5.4 retired from Codex 2026-08-31; GPT-5.2-Codex retired 2026-07-23; gpt-5.3-codex leaves the API 2027-04-01 | Multi-model picker: GPT-6.1 Sol (Pro+ and up, added 2026-09-29), Claude Sonnet 5.5 (Pro and up, 2026-09-28), Claude Opus 5.5 (Pro+ and up, 2026-09-22), GPT-6 Sol (Pro+ and up, 2026-09-22), GPT-6 Luna (Pro and up, 2026-09-22), Grok 4.7 (all paid SKUs, 2026-09-21), Grok 4.6 (2026-08-14), Gemini 3.7 Flash (2026-08-13, retiring 10/19), MAI-Code-1.1-Flash (2026-08-11), Kimi K3 (2026-08-06), Claude Opus 5, GPT-6 Astra, Fable 5.1, Gemini 3.8 Flash and earlier models per the model policy; HydraFusion (research preview) orchestrates several of them. Gemini 3.5 Flash, Gemini 3.6 Flash, Kimi K2.7 Code and Claude Opus 4.7 were removed 2026-10-02; six more retire 10/19 |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Starting price | $2/$10 | $0 |
| Best for | Developers already paying for ChatGPT Plus who want a coding agent at no extra cost. | Teams already on GitHub who want the broadest frontier-model picker in any coding tool (GPT-6 Astra, Sol an… |
| Last reviewed | 2026-10-12 | 2026-10-17 |
Head-to-head
Score showdown
Rated 1-10 on the same rubric across all 130 tools we cover.
Ease of use+1.0 GitHub Copilot
Codex (OpenAI)
8.0
GitHub Copilot
9.0
Output qualityTie
Codex (OpenAI)
8.0
GitHub Copilot
8.0
ValueTie
Codex (OpenAI)
8.0
GitHub Copilot
8.0
Features+1.0 Codex (OpenAI)
Codex (OpenAI)
9.0
GitHub Copilot
8.0
OverallTie
Codex (OpenAI)
8.3
GitHub Copilot
8.3
What you'll pay
Pricing snapshot
Look past the headline number -- entry-tier limits drive most cost surprises.
GitHub Copilot
Free tier available
- Free$0
- Pro$10/mo
- Pro+$39/mo
Benchmark Head-to-Head
GPT-5.2-Codex (HISTORICAL -- this model was RETIRED 2026-07-23; scores retained for trend context only). GPT-6 Sol and Luna joined Codex 2026-09-22: OpenAI reports DeepSWE v1.1 68.8% (Sol, max effort) and 66.6% (Luna, max) -- first-party, third-party verification pending; see Known Issues benchmarks — GitHub Copilot has no published benchmarks
| Benchmark | Description | Score |
|---|---|---|
| SWE-bench | Real GitHub issue fixing | 72% |
| HumanEval | Python code generation | 95% |
The decision
Which should you pick?
Use-case anchors and category strengths, side by side.
Pick Codex (OpenAI)if…
A
8.3/10- ✓More feature surface area for power users who'll use the depth
- ✓Developers already paying for ChatGPT Plus who want a coding agent at no extra cost.
- ✓Especially good for parallel task execution -- assign multiple bug fixes or feature branches and let Codex work them simultaneously.
Developers already paying for ChatGPT Plus who want a coding agent at no extra cost. Especially good for parallel task execution -- assign multiple bug fixes or feature branches and let Codex work them simultaneously.
Visit Codex (OpenAI)Pick GitHub Copilotif…
A
8.3/10- ✓Easier to learn and use day-to-day -- friendlier onboarding curve
- ✓Teams already on GitHub who want the broadest frontier-model picker in any coding tool (GPT-6 Astra, Sol and Luna, Claude Opus 5.
- ✓7 as of 2026-09-28) with enterprise-managed defaults, agent-operation guardrails and usage analytics.
Teams already on GitHub who want the broadest frontier-model picker in any coding tool (GPT-6 Astra, Sol and Luna, Claude Opus 5.5, Sonnet 5.5 and Fable 5.1, Gemini 3.8 Flash, Grok 4.7 as of 2026-09-28) with enterprise-managed defaults, agent-operation guardrails and usage analytics. Business/Enterprise signups reopened 2026-09-03; Free-tier users still get best-in-class inline completions.
Visit GitHub CopilotBottom line
The verdict
Codex (OpenAI) (A-tier, 8.3/10) and GitHub Copilot (A-tier, 8.3/10) are within margin-of-error of each other on overall score. There's no decisive winner -- the right pick comes down to how you'll actually use the tool, not which scored higher in the abstract. We rate them on the same rubric (ease of use, output quality, value, features), and on this pair the rubric is calling it a draw.
Pricing-wise, both tools have a free tier (Codex (OpenAI) starts $2/$10, GitHub Copilot starts $0), so you can test either without committing. Compare what each free tier actually unlocks -- usage caps, model access, and feature gates differ a lot more than the headline price suggests, especially as both vendors have tightened limits in 2026.
By use case: pick Codex (OpenAI) when developers already paying for chatgpt plus who want a coding agent at no extra cost. Pick GitHub Copilot when teams already on github who want the broadest frontier-model picker in any coding tool (gpt-6 astra, sol and luna, claude opus 5. The two tools aren't fighting for the same person -- they're aiming at adjacent jobs that occasionally overlap. If you're squarely in Codex (OpenAI)'s lane, the tier-list ranking and the use-case fit point the same direction; if you're in GitHub Copilot's lane, the score gap matters less than the fit.
Bottom line: this pair is a coin flip on raw scores. Choose by use-case fit, free-tier availability, and which one you can actually try without committing. Re-evaluate in 60-90 days -- both vendors are shipping fast in 2026.
Keep digging
Compare more & explore
Full Codex (OpenAI) review
Tier A · 8.3/10
Full GitHub Copilot review
Tier A · 8.3/10
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Built from our daily AI-tool sweep, last touched October 17, 2026. Honest tier-list reviews — no affiliate-link pieces disguised as advice. See the rubric or how we review.