Codex vs Cline: pricing, limits & real cost
Prices verified 2026-10-18
Key differences
- How usage is metered — Codex: Message ranges per 5-hour window (vendor estimates); Cline: Pay-as-you-go at provider cost.
- Cline publishes a dollar-denominated allowance, so cost can be estimated from tokens; Codex does not disclose absolute capacity.
Estimated monthly cost by usage profile
Model used: GPT-5.6 Sol (or each vendor's own model family if it doesn't offer it). Token-per-hour figures are assumptions; open the calculator to change them.
| Profile | Codex | Cline | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light: 1 h/day, 5 days/wk API-equivalent ≈ $54/mo | Pro — $100/mo Capacity not disclosed — flat price shown | Open source — $27–$81/mo Computed from published $ rates | Tweak → |
| Medium: 3 h/day, 5 days/wk API-equivalent ≈ $413/mo | Pro — $100/mo Capacity not disclosed — flat price shown | Open source — $207–$620/mo Computed from published $ rates | Tweak → |
| Heavy: 6 h/day, 6 days/wk API-equivalent ≈ $2,419/mo | Pro — $100/mo Capacity not disclosed — flat price shown | Open source — $1,210–$3,629/mo Computed from published $ rates | Tweak → |
For plans that don't disclose capacity we show the cheapest plan priced at or above your API-equivalent usage. This is a heuristic, not a guarantee you won't hit limits.
Codex plans
| Plan | Price | Included | Limits / reset | Overage | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | GPT-6 Luna in desktop app (rollout) | — | — | Verified 2026-10-18 |
| Go | $8 /mo | GPT-6 Luna in desktop app (rollout) | — | — | Verified 2026-10-18 Capacity not disclosed |
| Plus | $20 /mo | Not published | Per 5h local messages: GPT-6 Astra 5-45; GPT-6.1 Sol 15-160; GPT-6 Sol 15-150; GPT-6 Luna 350-3000 | Buy ChatGPT credits | Verified 2026-10-18 Capacity not disclosed |
| Pro | $100 /mo | Higher limits; tiers $100/$200/$500 (Ultrafast on $500) price_usd = entry tier | Currently no 5h limit; weekly limits may apply | Credits | Verified 2026-10-18 Capacity not disclosed |
| Business | $25 /user | Not published $20/user/mo billed annually (2+ users) per page footnote; $25 monthly | — | — | Verified 2026-10-18 |
Cline plans
| Plan | Price | Included | Limits / reset | Overage | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open source | $0 | Free extension; pay inference at cost or BYOK | — | Provider API rates | Verified 2026-10-18 |
Sources
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