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Head-to-head · AI Coding Assistants

GitHub Copilot vs OpenAI Codex

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 6 checks side by side
Higher score GitHub Copilot #1 in AI Coding Assistants 9.3/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 5 of 5 features Visit GitHub Copilot
OpenAI Codex #5 in AI Coding Assistants 8.9/10 Paid ✓ 4 of 5 features Visit OpenAI Codex

GitHub Copilot leads on 1 check, OpenAI Codex on 0, and 5 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 6 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreGitHub Copilot · 9.3/10
  • Free planonly GitHub Copilot
  • Most featuresGitHub Copilot · 5 of 5

GitHub Copilot scores higher on our rubric for ai coding assistants: 9.3 against 8.9 out of 10; our editors rank them #1 and #5.

GitHub Copilot offers free plan; OpenAI Codex doesn't.

GitHub Copilot is the better fit for developers wanting a complete coding assistant. OpenAI Codex is the better fit for teams delegating complete engineering tasks.

  • GitHub Copilot fits best

    Developers wanting a complete coding assistant

  • OpenAI Codex fits best

    Teams delegating complete engineering tasks

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Side by side

Feature GitHub Copilot 9.3/10 Visit ↗ OpenAI Codex 8.9/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.3 8.9
Ranking #1 in AI Coding Assistants #5 in AI Coding Assistants
Best for Developers wanting a complete coding assistant Teams delegating complete engineering tasks
Pricing model Free plan + paid Paid
Starting price $10/user/mo —
Free plan ✓ (best) —
Free trial — —
Deployment Cloud, Desktop, Mobile Cloud, Desktop
Platforms Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android Web, Windows, macOS, Linux
Support Email, Tickets, Community, Docs Docs · 24/7
Compliance GDPR, SSO/SAML SOC 2, SSO/SAML, 2FA
Built for Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features GitHub Copilot 5/5 · OpenAI Codex 4/5
Code completion ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Chat assistance ✓ ✓
Coding agent ✓ ✓
Codebase indexing ✓ ✓
Terminal access ✓ ✓
Specs
Supported IDEs Visual Studio Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs, Eclipse, Xcode Visual Studio Code; Cursor; Windsurf; Visual Studio Code Insiders; Xcode; JetBrains IDEs
Our review
Pros
  • Covers completion, chat, agents, code review, CLI, and MCP support
  • Works across major IDEs, GitHub, terminals, web, and mobile
  • Offers a Free plan plus paid tiers for individuals and organizations
  • Handles features, refactors, migrations, reviews, and code changes
  • Supports terminal use, cloud delegation, and parallel worktrees
  • Works with VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Xcode, and JetBrains IDEs
Cons
  • Free usage includes 2,000 completions and limited chat and agent access
  • Paid plans use monthly AI-credit allowances, with additional usage billed separately
  • The broad feature set may exceed the needs of developers seeking completion only
  • No free plan
  • Paid access is offered through ChatGPT plans and related surfaces
  • IDE coverage is centered on the listed integrations
Our verdict

GitHub Copilot is an AI coding assistant for individual developers, teams, and enterprises. It combines inline code completion and next-edit suggestions with chat-based explanations, code generation, agent mode, code review, pull-request…

Read the review →

OpenAI Codex is an AI coding agent for software developers and engineering teams. It works through ChatGPT, supported IDEs, and the terminal, helping with complete engineering tasks such as building features, refactoring code, migrating…

Read the review →
  1. GitHub CopilotAI Coding Assistants 9.3Free plan
  2. OpenAI CodexAI Coding Assistants 8.9Paid

Strengths and trade-offs

  • GitHub Copilot — where it wins

    • Covers completion, chat, agents, code review, CLI, and MCP support
    • Works across major IDEs, GitHub, terminals, web, and mobile
    • Offers a Free plan plus paid tiers for individuals and organizations

    Where it doesn't

    • Free usage includes 2,000 completions and limited chat and agent access
    • Paid plans use monthly AI-credit allowances, with additional usage billed separately
    • The broad feature set may exceed the needs of developers seeking completion only

  • OpenAI Codex — where it wins

    • Handles features, refactors, migrations, reviews, and code changes
    • Supports terminal use, cloud delegation, and parallel worktrees
    • Works with VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Xcode, and JetBrains IDEs

    Where it doesn't

    • No free plan
    • Paid access is offered through ChatGPT plans and related surfaces
    • IDE coverage is centered on the listed integrations

More comparisons

All AI coding assistants comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update