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DeepSeek 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

DeepSeek is listed under AI Assistants and OpenAI Codex under Coding AI. DeepSeek scores higher in FinderAtlas's editorial review (8.8 vs 8.5 out of 10). Both have a free plan or trial. Only DeepSeek is available on iOS and Android. Only OpenAI Codex is available on Linux, CLI and VS Code Extension.

Best overall

DeepSeek

  • Software developers
  • Researchers and analysts
  • Students
  • AI engineers

Choose DeepSeek if

  • You want a tool built for Low-cost API integration.
  • Web chat and mobile apps are free.
  • API output costs from $0.60 per 1M tokens (Flash, off-peak), well below most frontier providers.

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
DeepSeek
Best for business
OpenAI Codex

Features

19 features compared.

  • V4 model family
    DeepSeek
    Available
    OpenAI Codex
    Not available
  • Thinking mode
    DeepSeek
    Available
    OpenAI Codex
    Not available
  • Open weights
    DeepSeek
    Available
    OpenAI Codex
    Not available
  • OpenAI and Anthropic compatible API
    DeepSeek
    Available
    OpenAI Codex
    Not available
  • Tool calls and JSON output
    DeepSeek
    Available
    OpenAI Codex
    Not available
  • Search and Fetch APIs
    DeepSeek
    Available
    OpenAI Codex
    Not available
  • Agent tool integrations
    DeepSeek
    Available
    OpenAI Codex
    Not available
  • DeepSeek Harness
    DeepSeek
    Available
    OpenAI Codex
    Not available
  • Vision on Flash
    DeepSeek
    Available
    OpenAI Codex
    Not available
  • Codex CLI
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    OpenAI Codex
    Available
  • IDE extension
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    OpenAI Codex
    Available
  • Desktop app
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    OpenAI Codex
    Available
  • Cloud tasks
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    OpenAI Codex
    Available
  • Code review
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    OpenAI Codex
    Available
  • Non-interactive mode
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    OpenAI Codex
    Available
  • MCP, skills and plugins
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    OpenAI Codex
    Available
  • Subagents and web search
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    OpenAI Codex
    Available
  • Session resume and images
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    OpenAI Codex
    Available
  • Mobile remote control
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    OpenAI Codex
    Available

Pricing

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

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

DeepSeek plans

  • Chat and App

    Most popular

    $0

    Free access to DeepSeek models on web, iOS and Android

    • Web chat
    • iOS and Android apps
    • Thinking mode
    • Web search
    • File upload

  • API: deepseek-flash

    $0.15/1M input tokens

    Pay as you go; $0.15 cache-miss input and $0.60 output per 1M tokens off-peak, double at peak

    • 1M context
    • 384K max output
    • Vision
    • Tool calls
    • JSON output

  • API: deepseek-v4-pro

    $0.66/1M input tokens

    Pay as you go; $0.66 cache-miss input and $1.98 output per 1M tokens off-peak, double at peak

    • 1M context
    • 384K max output
    • Tool calls
    • JSON output

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.

DeepSeek
8.8overall
OpenAI Codex
8.5overall

DeepSeek leads in 0 categories and OpenAI Codex in 1.

  • Reasoning & Logic

    DeepSeek
    8.8
    OpenAI Codex
    Not rated

  • Coding & Syntax

    DeepSeek
    8.7
    OpenAI Codex
    Not rated

  • Cost Efficiency

    DeepSeek
    9.6
    OpenAI Codex
    Not rated

  • Long Context

    DeepSeek
    8.8
    OpenAI Codex
    Not rated

  • Ease of Use

    OpenAI Codex leads by 0.3
    DeepSeek
    8.0
    OpenAI Codex
    8.3

  • Code Generation

    DeepSeek
    Not rated
    OpenAI Codex
    9.0

  • Agentic Autonomy

    DeepSeek
    Not rated
    OpenAI Codex
    8.8

  • Value for Money

    DeepSeek
    Not rated
    OpenAI Codex
    8.0

  • Ecosystem & Integrations

    DeepSeek
    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

DeepSeek

Pros

  • Web chat and mobile apps are free
  • API output costs from $0.60 per 1M tokens (Flash, off-peak), well below most frontier providers
  • Open weights for V4 and earlier models on Hugging Face
  • 1M-token context and 384K max output on both API models
  • API works with both OpenAI and Anthropic SDKs and several coding agents

Cons

  • Peak-hour API rates are double the off-peak rates on weekday mornings UTC
  • deepseek-v4-pro does not support vision input
  • No image generation
  • Data is processed by a company based in China, which some organizations cannot accept

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

Integrations

DeepSeek

6 integrations
  • OpenAI SDK
  • Anthropic SDK
  • Claude Code
  • Codex
  • OpenCode
  • Hugging Face

OpenAI Codex

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

Company

  • Company
    DeepSeek
    DeepSeek
    OpenAI Codex
    Not listed
  • Founded
    DeepSeek
    2023
    OpenAI Codex
    Not listed
  • Headquarters
    DeepSeek
    Hangzhou, China
    OpenAI Codex
    Not listed
  • Monthly users
    DeepSeek
    Not listed
    OpenAI Codex
    4M+ weekly users
  • Listing
    DeepSeek
    Claimed
    OpenAI Codex
    Not claimed

Frequently asked questions

Is DeepSeek better than OpenAI Codex?

It depends on your workflow. DeepSeek is built for Low-cost API integration. OpenAI Codex is built for delegating coding tasks to an agent.

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

DeepSeek: Free AI chat app and low-cost API running DeepSeek's open-weights V4 models. OpenAI Codex: OpenAI's coding agent that writes, reviews and runs code from terminal, IDE, desktop or cloud.

Does DeepSeek or OpenAI Codex have a free plan?

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

Which is cheaper, DeepSeek 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.