# GitHub Copilot vs Codex CLI

> Copilot is GitHub's assistant for your editor, terminal and pull requests. Codex CLI is OpenAI's open-source terminal agent that runs on your ChatGPT plan or an API key.

- Page: https://digidle.com/compare/github-copilot-vs-codex-cli/
- All comparisons: https://digidle.com/compare/

## Side by side

### GitHub Copilot

- What it is: GitHub's AI pair programmer with completions, chat and coding agent across popular editors.
- Category: AI Editors & Agents (https://digidle.com/category/ai-editors/)
- Tags: extension, agent
- Where It Runs: Agent mode in VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains, Eclipse and Xcode, plus the Copilot CLI and github.com.
- Models: Claude, GPT, Gemini, Grok and more. Agent mode, chat, code review and the CLI spend GitHub AI Credits, at a rate that varies by model.
- Free Option: Copilot Free: limited chat and agent usage, with agent mode, MCP and the CLI.
- Cloud Agents: Pro and up: assign work to Copilot and it opens a pull request. Pro+ and Max can also hand tasks to Claude and Codex agents (preview).
- Pricing: Pro $10/mo, Pro+ $39/mo, Max $100/mo. They include $15, $70 and $200 of GitHub AI Credits a month, part of it a flex allotment that may change. Paid plans can buy more.
- Official site: https://github.com/features/copilot
- Listing: https://digidle.com/tools/github-copilot/ (Markdown: https://digidle.com/tools/github-copilot.md)
- Alternatives: https://digidle.com/alternatives/github-copilot/

### OpenAI Codex CLI

- What it is: OpenAI's open-source (Apache-2.0) coding agent that runs locally in your terminal: it reads your repo, edits files and runs commands, with codex exec for scripts and CI. Sign in with ChatGPT or use an API key.
- Category: AI Editors & Agents (https://digidle.com/category/ai-editors/)
- Tags: cli, agent, open-source
- Where It Runs: Terminal on macOS, Linux and Windows. The same plan covers the Codex IDE extension, desktop app and Codex cloud.
- Models: Sign in with ChatGPT, or use an API key, where model access follows your key. Open source under Apache-2.0.
- Free Option: The CLI is free to install. Using it starts with ChatGPT Plus, or an API key billed at API rates.
- Cloud Agents: Codex cloud comes with your ChatGPT plan. codex exec runs non-interactive tasks in scripts and pipelines.
- Pricing: Included with ChatGPT Plus at $20/mo: CLI, IDE extension, web and iOS. Pro is $100, $200 or $500 a month. Business is $25 per user a month billed monthly. Or bring an API key and pay API rates.
- Official site: https://developers.openai.com/codex/cli
- Listing: https://digidle.com/tools/codex-cli/ (Markdown: https://digidle.com/tools/codex-cli.md)
- Alternatives: https://digidle.com/alternatives/codex-cli/

Pricing and plan details checked 2026-10-29 on the official pages: Copilot plans (https://github.com/features/copilot/plans), Codex pricing (https://developers.openai.com/codex/pricing), Codex CLI (https://developers.openai.com/codex/cli), openai/codex on GitHub (https://github.com/openai/codex). Plans change, so confirm before you buy.

## Which one to pick

- Pick GitHub Copilot if: You want to keep your editor, live on GitHub, and assign work that comes back as a pull request, starting at $10 a month.
- Pick Codex CLI if: You want OpenAI's own open-source agent in the terminal, already pay for ChatGPT, or want codex exec running in CI.

## On these best-of lists

- [AI coding agents](https://digidle.com/best/ai-coding-agents/)

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Source: Digidle Tools (https://digidle.com/). Full index: https://digidle.com/llms.txt