Pick Cline if
developers who want an OSS agent in the editor and will pay tokens or bring a key.
Read the Cline pageCline vs OpenAI Codex
Our take
Pick Cline if developers who want an OSS agent in the editor and will pay tokens or bring a key. Pick OpenAI Codex if developers already on a ChatGPT plan who want one agent across desktop, CLI, and GitHub review. Skip Cline if people who want a hosted IDE subscription with published seat cards (Cursor, GitHub Copilot).
Best for
Cline An agent that edits files and runs commands with your approval
OpenAI Codex A reviewable coding session on an OpenAI account
Free plan
Cline No free plan
OpenAI Codex $0 · /month. GPT-6 Luna at Standard speed in the desktop app (rollout)
Lowest paid
Cline Not published by the vendor
OpenAI Codex Plus $20/mo
Next step up
Cline
OpenAI Codex Business $25
Coding agent
Cline CLI + desktop
OpenAI Codex Codex
Runs where
Cline Hosted
OpenAI Codex Hosted
Watch out
Cline The extension is free
OpenAI Codex Codex and ChatGPT Work share the same usage pool
Last checked
Cline 2026-10-19 · cline.bot/pricing
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