When to Choose Each Option
Clear guidance based on your specific situation and needs.
Our Recommendation
There is no universal winner — the axis is multi-model breadth in the editor versus delegation depth on the agent side. Copilot is the hub: model selection across provider lines, third-party agents (Claude Code and Codex are already booked into the Pro plan), GitHub integration from issue to PR, and MCP-server allow-lists plus audit logs in the higher tiers. Codex is the workhorse: three surfaces (terminal CLI, IDE extension, ChatGPT cloud agent), sandboxed execution with test runs and PR delivery, and parallel tasks in isolated sandboxes. Prices: Copilot Free (2,000 completions, auto model selection only) → Pro $10 (1,500 AI credits) → Pro+ $39 (7,000) → Max $100 (20,000 credits, priority access to new models); Codex rides the bundle: Plus $20 (standard limits), Pro $200 (roughly 20× the Plus volume) — or the free CLI with your own key (GPT-5.3-Codex: $1.75/$14 per 1M tokens, 400k context). Rule: editor-first work → Copilot, going straight to Pro+ if you need premium models daily; delegation-first → Codex, but run the 10-task protocol first (measure cost per task) before buying — both plans hide consumption behind budgets. Worth noticing: Copilot Pro+ and Max can book Codex itself as a third-party agent, so for some teams the answer is not 'Copilot or Codex?' but Copilot as the meter for Codex underneath it. Deeper reading: [Agent Economics](/glossary/agent-economics) and [Model Context Protocol](/glossary/model-context-protocol).
- Choose GitHub Copilot — multi-model hub in the editor (from $10/month, AI-credit budget) when...
- Choose OpenAI Codex — delegated-task agent system (free CLI; ChatGPT Plus from $20/month) when...