Is Claude Code free? Is Codex free?
Claude Code has no free tier at all, it needs a paid Claude Pro or Max plan. Codex is different: ChatGPT's Free plan includes limited Codex access, with more on Plus and the most on Pro.
Last verified 29 September 2026. Every priced or limited claim below links to its source.
Is Claude Code free?
Anthropic's own pricing page marks Claude Code No under the Free plan and Yes under Pro and both Max tiers. Pro costs $20 a month, or $17 a month billed annually ($200 up front). Max comes in two tiers: Max 5x at $100 a month and Max 20x at $200 a month, each giving 5 or 20 times Pro's usage per five hour session. source, checked 29 September 2026.
Claude Code shares its usage pool with the rest of the Claude account: chat on web, desktop and mobile, and the terminal all draw from the same five hour and weekly limits. There is no separate Claude Code only price. source, checked 29 September 2026.
Is Codex free?
OpenAI's ChatGPT pricing page lists Limited Codex access under Free, Expanded Codex usage under Plus ($20 a month), and Maximum Codex tasks under Pro (from $100 a month). Unlike Claude Code, Codex does not require any paid plan to try, it is simply capped much harder on Free. source, checked 29 September 2026.
Before the 29 September 2026 plan changes, OpenAI's own Codex pricing page gave estimated message ranges per five hour window for GPT-5.6 Sol: Plus 15 to 90 local messages, Pro 5x 75 to 450, Pro 20x 300 to 1,800. Pro 200 is now cut to roughly half its Codex usage, so the top range no longer holds for new subscribers (what changed). Real usage varies by task size and model choice, these are planning ranges, not hard counts. source, checked 29 September 2026.
Which one lets you try first?
Both companies gate their coding agent behind a subscription for serious use, but they start from different places. Claude Code's cheapest route is $20 a month with no lighter option. Codex's cheapest route is $0 a month with a genuinely usable, if tightly capped, coding session. If you want to try an agentic coding tool before paying anything, Codex on ChatGPT Free is the one that lets you.
Common questions
Does Claude offer a free trial of Claude Code?
Anthropic's own pricing page mentions no trial. The Free plan's feature table marks Claude Code No with no trial or grace period listed; the only way to use it is a paid Pro or Max plan.
Can I use Codex without ever paying?
Yes, within limits. The ChatGPT Free plan includes Limited Codex access, OpenAI's own wording, with no published exact message count.
Which is cheaper for daily coding work?
At the entry paid tier, both cost $20 a month, Claude Pro and ChatGPT Plus. Codex additionally gives a capped free option that Claude Code does not have.
Deciding which one to use? The comparison sets them side by side. Or Mover OS, $49 once. It is the wrong choice if you want something that keeps running while your computer is off.