Pick Aider if
developers who already live in git and a TTY and will paste an API key.
Read the Aider pageAider vs OpenAI Codex
Our take
Pick Aider if you're a developer who already live in git and a TTY and will paste an API key. Pick OpenAI Codex if you're a developer already on a ChatGPT plan who want one agent across desktop, CLI, and GitHub review. Skip Aider if you're people who want an IDE Agent sidebar (Cursor, Cline, Continue) and will not run aider in a repo.
Aider
git-native AI pair programmer in the
Best for
Aider An agent that lives in git
OpenAI Codex A reviewable coding session on an OpenAI account
Free plan
Aider $0 · apache-2.0. pip / aider-install
OpenAI Codex $0 · /month. GPT-6 Luna at Standard speed in the desktop app (rollout)
Lowest paid
Aider Not published by the vendor
OpenAI Codex Plus $20/mo
Next step up
Aider
OpenAI Codex Business $25
Coding agent
Aider
OpenAI Codex Codex
Runs where
Aider
OpenAI Codex Hosted
Watch out
Aider $0 is the CLI, not Sonnet
OpenAI Codex Codex and ChatGPT Work share the same usage pool
Last checked
Aider 2026-10-20 · aider.chat
OpenAI Codex 2026-10-22 · learn.chatgpt.com/docs/pricing
Which one, then?
Pick OpenAI Codex if
developers already on a ChatGPT plan who want one agent across desktop, CLI, and GitHub review.
Read the OpenAI Codex page