OpenAI Codex Pricing 2026: Free, Plus, Pro & Business

OpenAI Codex does not have one standalone consumer subscription. Instead, Codex is included across current ChatGPT plans, including Free and Go, with usage limits that vary by plan. The amount of work a plan can support depends on task complexity, model choice, execution environment, context size, reasoning depth and tools.

For individuals, Plus costs $20 per month. OpenAI's current Pro lineup includes a $100 plan designed for longer, high-intensity Codex sessions. The $200 Pro tier remains the highest-usage option for existing subscribers, but new sign-ups and upgrades to that tier have been temporarily paused since September 10, 2026.

OpenAI Codex pricing at a glance

ChatGPT Free and Codex

OpenAI's current Codex documentation says Codex is included across ChatGPT plans, including Free. Free has lower usage limits than paid plans.

Free is useful for testing the agent workflow: repository inspection, edits, commands and basic tasks. It is not the right plan to assume for sustained production coding because the allowance is intentionally lower.

ChatGPT Go and Codex

Codex is also included with ChatGPT Go in supported markets. Go pricing varies by country, so SearchSagar does not publish one global dollar price here.

Go can be attractive where it provides a lower-cost step between Free and Plus, but the actual Codex allowance should be checked in the account usage screen because limits vary by plan and rollout.

ChatGPT Plus pricing for Codex

ChatGPT Plus costs $20 per month and remains the most straightforward paid individual plan for steady day-to-day Codex use. Plus includes broader ChatGPT model and tool access alongside Codex.

OpenAI's current pricing guidance treats Plus as the regular individual coding tier, while Pro is aimed at users who need longer uninterrupted sessions.

Plus does not include API usage. Developers who call OpenAI models directly through an API key pay API charges separately.

ChatGPT Pro $100 pricing

The current $100-per-month Pro tier is designed for longer, high-intensity Codex sessions. OpenAI says it provides 5x higher usage than Plus.

Pro also includes access to Pro-level ChatGPT models and other advanced ChatGPT features. For developers who use Codex heavily throughout the workday, the larger allowance can reduce the need for frequent credit top-ups.

ChatGPT Pro $200 status

The $200 Pro tier remains the highest-usage personal plan at 20x Plus usage, but OpenAI temporarily paused new sign-ups and upgrades to this tier on September 10, 2026. Existing subscribers can keep the plan.

Because this status can change, new buyers should not assume that Pro $200 is currently purchasable. The available $100 Pro tier is the current mainstream Pro option for new subscriptions.

ChatGPT Business Standard pricing

Business Standard costs $20 per user per month when billed annually or $25 per user per month on monthly billing. A Business workspace requires at least two paid seats.

Standard includes ChatGPT, ChatGPT Work and Codex, plus a secure team workspace, SAML SSO, MFA, administration, usage analytics, spend controls and no training on business data by default.

Included Codex usage is plan-limited, and teams can purchase workspace credits for additional eligible usage.

ChatGPT Business Premium pricing

Business Premium costs $100 per user per month billed annually or $125 monthly. Premium includes 5x more usage than Standard and removes the five-hour usage limit that applies to Standard.

Business organizations can mix Standard and Premium seats, which is useful when only a small number of engineers need the highest coding capacity.

Business minimum seats

ChatGPT Business currently requires at least two paid seats. Those seats can be any combination of Standard and Premium.

This means the minimum annual-equivalent Business commitment is higher than a single $20 Standard seat would suggest. Solo developers should normally compare Plus or Pro instead.

Legacy Codex-only Business seats

OpenAI previously offered Codex-only pay-as-you-go Business seats. New Codex-only seats have not been available to new Business workspaces since June 24, 2026.

Some older workspaces that added the seat type before that cutoff can continue using it under legacy rules. New buyers should not model procurement around old Codex-only seat pricing.

How Codex credits work

Credits extend eligible usage after a plan's included allowance is exhausted. On eligible personal accounts, the included allowance is used first and subsequent supported work can draw from the user's credit balance.

On Plus and Pro, Codex can share an agentic usage allowance with other supported features such as ChatGPT Work, Excel and PowerPoint. Heavy usage in one feature can therefore reduce remaining capacity for another.

Business flexible pricing

Business and Enterprise plans can use flexible credits to extend access to advanced features including Codex. Business admins can manage usage analytics and spend controls centrally.

For organizations, this allows a mixed strategy: buy lower-cost Standard seats for most employees, Premium seats for heavy users and workspace credits for temporary bursts.

Enterprise pricing

ChatGPT Enterprise uses custom pricing. OpenAI supports both credit-based and token-based Enterprise agreements, depending on the contract.

Token-based Enterprise agreements bill usage in US dollars at contracted rates. Credit-based agreements consume workspace credits. Organizations should confirm which model applies before comparing Enterprise with Business.

What makes Codex usage expensive?

Long tasks are the main driver. A cloud agent that reads a large repository, uses tools, reasons deeply, browses documentation and runs tests can consume much more than a small edit.

Parallel agents increase throughput but also increase consumption. Stronger models and large context windows can also raise usage.

External services remain separate. GitHub hosting, deployment providers, cloud compute, databases and third-party plugins can all add their own charges.

API pricing is separate

A ChatGPT subscription does not include OpenAI API usage. If Codex or another developer workflow uses an API key directly, those model tokens are billed through the OpenAI API account.

This separation matters for teams that use both interactive Codex and automated CI, SDK or application workflows.

Can you buy more Codex usage?

Yes, on eligible personal and business plans. Flexible credits can extend supported features after the included allowance is reached.

Availability varies by plan and account, so users should check the usage dashboard for current credit options and reset times.

How to check Codex usage

Users can view Codex usage in ChatGPT settings or the usage dashboard. In an active Codex CLI session, the /status command can show relevant plan and allowance information.

When a limit is reached, the interface can show reset timing, available credit options or upgrade paths.

Cancellation

Plus and Pro can be canceled through ChatGPT billing settings. Access continues until the end of the current paid billing period and then the account drops to the lower available plan.

Business billing follows its monthly or annual workspace cycle. Enterprise follows the applicable contract.

Refunds

Codex does not have a separate standalone consumer refund policy because it is part of ChatGPT plan access. Refund eligibility therefore follows the underlying ChatGPT subscription and regional consumer rules.

API and flexible-credit purchases are separate billing products and should not be assumed to inherit the same refund terms as the base subscription.

Which Codex plan offers the best value?

Choose Free to evaluate the workflow. Choose Plus for regular individual coding. Choose Pro $100 for long, high-intensity sessions. Choose Business Standard for most team members and Business Premium selectively for power users. Choose Enterprise when governance, contract terms and very large-scale usage matter.

Codex pricing compared with alternatives

GitHub Copilot Pro costs $10 per month, Pro+ $39 and Max $100. Cursor Pro is $20, Pro+ $60 and Ultra $200, while India users can access Cursor Start at ₹649 per month. Claude Code is included in Claude Pro at $20 monthly or $200 yearly and in Max from $100.

The headline prices do not map directly to identical usage. GitHub Copilot uses AI Credits for model-intensive work, Cursor uses plan and model usage pools, Claude Code shares Claude plan capacity, and Codex uses ChatGPT plan allowances plus flexible credits.

Related OpenAI Codex articles

• OpenAI Codex Review 2026
• Best OpenAI Codex Alternatives
• OpenAI Codex product page

Final pricing verdict

Codex is easy to start because it is included across ChatGPT plans, but heavy usage requires more attention than a flat autocomplete subscription. Plus is the sensible default for most individual developers, while Pro $100 becomes valuable when long sessions frequently consume the Plus allowance.

For organizations, Business seat mixing is the important pricing feature. Assigning Premium only to developers who consistently need 5x more usage can be more efficient than giving every employee the highest-capacity seat.