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Cline vs OpenAI Codex

Features, pricing, ratings, and pros and cons, side by side.

OpenAI Codex logo

OpenAI Codex

OpenAI's coding agent that writes, reviews and runs code from terminal, IDE, desktop or cloud

Freemium
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Verdict

Cline and OpenAI Codex are both Coding AI tools. OpenAI Codex scores higher in FinderAtlas's editorial review (8.5 vs 8.2 out of 10), led by ease of use. Both have a free plan or trial. Only OpenAI Codex is available on Web.

Best overall

OpenAI Codex

  • Software developers
  • Engineering teams
  • Enterprise engineering organizations
  • Open-source maintainers

Choose Cline if

  • You want a tool built for developers who want an open-source agent with a choice of model providers, human approval at each step, and extensibility through MCP servers.
  • Open source under Apache 2.0, with a large public community of 250+ contributors.
  • No subscription needed: pay only for inference, or bring your own API key.

Choose OpenAI Codex if

  • You want a tool built for delegating coding tasks to an agent.
  • Included with ChatGPT plans, with a free tier and an $8 Go tier.
  • Open-source CLI under the Apache-2.0 license.
Best for beginners
Cline
Best for business
Cline

Features

19 features compared.

  • Plan and Act Modes
    Cline
    Available
    OpenAI Codex
    Not available
  • Multi-File Editing with Checkpoints
    Cline
    Available
    OpenAI Codex
    Not available
  • Terminal and Browser Use
    Cline
    Available
    OpenAI Codex
    Not available
  • Bring Your Own Model
    Cline
    Available
    OpenAI Codex
    Not available
  • MCP Servers and Marketplace
    Cline
    Available
    OpenAI Codex
    Not available
  • Rules Files
    Cline
    Available
    OpenAI Codex
    Not available
  • Multi-Agent Teams and Scheduling
    Cline
    Available
    OpenAI Codex
    Not available
  • Headless and Chat Access
    Cline
    Available
    OpenAI Codex
    Not available
  • SDK
    Cline
    Available
    OpenAI Codex
    Not available
  • Codex CLI
    Cline
    Not available
    OpenAI Codex
    Available
  • IDE extension
    Cline
    Not available
    OpenAI Codex
    Available
  • Desktop app
    Cline
    Not available
    OpenAI Codex
    Available
  • Cloud tasks
    Cline
    Not available
    OpenAI Codex
    Available
  • Code review
    Cline
    Not available
    OpenAI Codex
    Available
  • Non-interactive mode
    Cline
    Not available
    OpenAI Codex
    Available
  • MCP, skills and plugins
    Cline
    Not available
    OpenAI Codex
    Available
  • Subagents and web search
    Cline
    Not available
    OpenAI Codex
    Available
  • Session resume and images
    Cline
    Not available
    OpenAI Codex
    Available
  • Mobile remote control
    Cline
    Not available
    OpenAI Codex
    Available

Pricing

Plans as listed by each vendor. Check their sites for current prices.

  • Pricing model
    Cline
    Freemium
    OpenAI Codex
    Freemium
  • Free plan
    Cline
    Yes
    OpenAI Codex
    Yes
  • Starting price
    Cline
    $0
    OpenAI Codex
    $0
  • Plans
    Cline
    3 plans
    OpenAI Codex
    7 plans

Cline plans

  • Open Source

    Most popular

    $0

    Free for individual developers; pay only for model inference

    • VS Code extension
    • CLI
    • MCP Marketplace
    • multi-root workspaces
    • bring your own key
    • community support

  • ClinePass

    $9.99/month

    Optional flat subscription for open coding models via the Cline provider

    • Curated open coding models
    • 2-5x usage versus standard API rates
    • 5-hour
    • weekly and monthly limits

  • Enterprise

    Custom/custom

    Organizations needing security and administration controls

    • JetBrains extension
    • SSO
    • SLA
    • dedicated support
    • centralized billing
    • role-based access control
    • authentication logs

OpenAI Codex plans

  • Free

    $0

    Quick coding tasks

    • GPT-6 Luna in the desktop app
    • Subject to rollout

  • Go

    $8/month

    Lightweight coding tasks

    • GPT-6 Luna in the desktop app

  • Plus

    Most popular

    $20/month

    Focused coding sessions

    • Web
    • CLI
    • IDE and iOS access
    • Automatic code review and Slack
    • GPT-6.1 Sol and GPT-6 Luna
    • Can add credits

  • Pro

    $100/month

    Plans at $100, $200 or $500 per month

    • Everything in Plus
    • No five-hour limit currently
    • Ultrafast mode on the $500 plan

  • Business

    $25/user/mo

    2 or more users; $20 per user per month when billed annually

    • Desktop and mobile apps
    • Larger cloud VMs
    • Add-on credits
    • SAML SSO and MFA
    • No training on business data by default

  • Enterprise & Edu

    Custom/user/mo

    Contact sales

    • Priority request processing
    • SCIM
    • EKM and RBAC
    • User analytics
    • Compliance API audit logs
    • Retention and residency controls

  • API Key

    Pay-as-you-go/usage

    Billed at OpenAI API pricing

    • Codex in the CLI
    • SDK and IDE extension
    • No cloud features
    • Models depend on the API key

Our ratings

Scored out of 10 by the Finder Atlas editorial team. Last reviewed October 2026.

Cline
8.2overall
OpenAI Codex
8.5overall

Cline leads in 1 category and OpenAI Codex in 1.

  • Ease of Use

    OpenAI Codex leads by 0.5
    Cline
    7.8
    OpenAI Codex
    8.3

  • Feature Depth

    Cline
    8.8
    OpenAI Codex
    Not rated

  • Value for Money

    Cline leads by 0.6
    Cline
    8.6
    OpenAI Codex
    8.0

  • Performance & Speed

    Cline
    8.0
    OpenAI Codex
    Not rated

  • Documentation & Support

    Cline
    8.0
    OpenAI Codex
    Not rated

  • Code Generation

    Cline
    Not rated
    OpenAI Codex
    9.0

  • Agentic Autonomy

    Cline
    Not rated
    OpenAI Codex
    8.8

  • Ecosystem & Integrations

    Cline
    Not rated
    OpenAI Codex
    8.5

Scores weigh documented features, plan value, platform coverage, integrations and user feedback. A missing score means we have not rated that area yet.

Pros and cons

Cline

Pros

  • Open source under Apache 2.0, with a large public community of 250+ contributors.
  • No subscription needed: pay only for inference, or bring your own API key.
  • Works with many model providers, including local models through Ollama and LM Studio.
  • Approval at every step, plus checkpoints and undo, keeps changes reviewable.
  • Available in VS Code, a desktop app, CLI, SDK and CI, so it fits several workflows.

Cons

  • Costs depend on token usage and are not capped on the free plan, so heavy agentic sessions can be hard to predict.
  • JetBrains support is listed as early access and as an Enterprise feature.
  • Documentation does not state specific ClinePass token or request allowances.

OpenAI Codex

Pros

  • Included with ChatGPT plans, with a free tier and an $8 Go tier
  • Open-source CLI under the Apache-2.0 license
  • Available in the terminal, VS Code-based editors, the ChatGPT desktop app and the cloud
  • Supports MCP, skills, plugins and subagents
  • API-key option lets teams pay at API rates instead of a subscription

Cons

  • Plus has message limits per five hours that vary widely by model
  • Cloud features are not available on the API Key plan
  • Higher usage needs Pro, which starts at $100 per month
  • Free and Go plans offer only GPT-6 Luna in the desktop app

Platforms

  • Web
    Cline
    Not supported
    OpenAI Codex
    Supported
  • Windows
    Cline
    Supported
    OpenAI Codex
    Supported
  • macOS
    Cline
    Supported
    OpenAI Codex
    Supported
  • iOS
    Cline
    Not supported
    OpenAI Codex
    Not supported
  • Android
    Cline
    Not supported
    OpenAI Codex
    Not supported
  • API
    Cline
    Supported
    OpenAI Codex
    Supported
  • Browser Extension
    Cline
    Not supported
    OpenAI Codex
    Not supported
  • Linux
    Cline
    Supported
    OpenAI Codex
    Supported
  • VS Code Extension
    Cline
    Supported
    OpenAI Codex
    Supported
  • JetBrains Plugin
    Cline
    Supported
    OpenAI Codex
    Supported
  • CLI
    Cline
    Supported
    OpenAI Codex
    Supported

Integrations

Cline

17 integrations
  • VS Code
  • JetBrains
  • Cursor
  • Windsurf
  • Slack
  • Discord
  • Telegram
  • Linear
  • GitHub Actions
  • GitLab
  • Ollama
  • LM Studio
  • OpenRouter
  • AWS Bedrock
  • Anthropic
  • OpenAI
  • Google Gemini

OpenAI Codex

8 integrations
  • GitHub
  • Slack
  • Visual Studio Code
  • Cursor
  • Windsurf
  • Xcode
  • JetBrains IDEs
  • MCP

Company

  • Company
    Cline
    Cline Bot Inc.
    OpenAI Codex
    Not listed
  • Founded
    Cline
    2024
    OpenAI Codex
    Not listed
  • Monthly users
    Cline
    Not listed
    OpenAI Codex
    4M+ weekly users
  • Listing
    Cline
    Claimed
    OpenAI Codex
    Not claimed

Frequently asked questions

Is Cline better than OpenAI Codex?

It depends on your workflow. Cline is built for developers who want an open-source agent with a choice of model providers, human approval at each step, and extensibility through MCP servers. OpenAI Codex is built for delegating coding tasks to an agent.

What are the key feature differences between Cline and OpenAI Codex?

Cline: Open-source autonomous coding agent for your editor, terminal, and CI pipelines. OpenAI Codex: OpenAI's coding agent that writes, reviews and runs code from terminal, IDE, desktop or cloud.

Does Cline or OpenAI Codex have a free plan?

Yes, both do. Cline is freemium and OpenAI Codex is freemium, and each has a free plan or trial.

Which is cheaper, Cline or OpenAI Codex?

Both can be used for free. Paid plans differ in limits and features, so compare the tiers in the pricing table above.