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Kiro 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
Visit websiteView details

Verdict

Kiro and OpenAI Codex are both Coding AI tools. OpenAI Codex scores higher in FinderAtlas's editorial review (8.5 vs 8.0 out of 10), led by ease of use and value for money. Both have a free plan or trial. Only OpenAI Codex is available on VS Code Extension and JetBrains Plugin and offers an API.

Best overall

OpenAI Codex

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

Choose Kiro if

  • You want a tool built for turning feature ideas into structured specs and tasks before agents write code in large codebases.
  • Spec-driven workflow produces requirements, design and task lists before code is written.
  • Based on Code OSS, so VS Code settings, themes and Open VSX extensions carry over.

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
Kiro
Best for business
OpenAI Codex

Features

20 features compared.

  • Spec-driven development
    Kiro
    Available
    OpenAI Codex
    Not available
  • Agent hooks
    Kiro
    Available
    OpenAI Codex
    Not available
  • Steering files
    Kiro
    Available
    OpenAI Codex
    Not available
  • Memory
    Kiro
    Available
    OpenAI Codex
    Not available
  • Correctness checking
    Kiro
    Available
    OpenAI Codex
    Not available
  • Model choice
    Kiro
    Available
    OpenAI Codex
    Not available
  • Kiro CLI
    Kiro
    Available
    OpenAI Codex
    Not available
  • Kiro Web
    Kiro
    Available
    OpenAI Codex
    Not available
  • Local command sandbox
    Kiro
    Available
    OpenAI Codex
    Not available
  • Open standards and MCP
    Kiro
    Available
    OpenAI Codex
    Not available
  • Codex CLI
    Kiro
    Not available
    OpenAI Codex
    Available
  • IDE extension
    Kiro
    Not available
    OpenAI Codex
    Available
  • Desktop app
    Kiro
    Not available
    OpenAI Codex
    Available
  • Cloud tasks
    Kiro
    Not available
    OpenAI Codex
    Available
  • Code review
    Kiro
    Not available
    OpenAI Codex
    Available
  • Non-interactive mode
    Kiro
    Not available
    OpenAI Codex
    Available
  • MCP, skills and plugins
    Kiro
    Not available
    OpenAI Codex
    Available
  • Subagents and web search
    Kiro
    Not available
    OpenAI Codex
    Available
  • Session resume and images
    Kiro
    Not available
    OpenAI Codex
    Available
  • Mobile remote control
    Kiro
    Not available
    OpenAI Codex
    Available

Pricing

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

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

Kiro plans

  • Free

    $0

    Entry tier to try Kiro

    • 50 credits
    • Open-weight models
    • Claude Sonnet 4.5 with rate limits

  • Pro

    $20/user/mo

    Individual paid plan

    • 1,000 credits
    • Premium models
    • Kiro Web
    • Add-on credits at $0.04

  • Pro+

    $40/user/mo

    More credits for heavier use

    • 2,000 credits
    • Premium models
    • Kiro Web
    • Add-on credits at $0.04

  • Pro Max

    $100/user/mo

    High-volume individual use

    • 5,000 credits
    • Premium models
    • Kiro Web
    • Add-on credits at $0.04

  • Power

    $200/user/mo

    Highest credit allowance

    • 10,000 credits
    • Premium models
    • Kiro Web
    • Add-on credits at $0.04

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.

Kiro
8.0overall
OpenAI Codex
8.5overall

Kiro leads in 0 categories and OpenAI Codex in 2.

  • Ease of Use

    OpenAI Codex leads by 0.3
    Kiro
    8.0
    OpenAI Codex
    8.3

  • Feature Depth

    Kiro
    8.5
    OpenAI Codex
    Not rated

  • Value for Money

    OpenAI Codex leads by 0.5
    Kiro
    7.5
    OpenAI Codex
    8.0

  • Performance & Speed

    Kiro
    8.0
    OpenAI Codex
    Not rated

  • Documentation & Support

    Kiro
    8.0
    OpenAI Codex
    Not rated

  • Code Generation

    Kiro
    Not rated
    OpenAI Codex
    9.0

  • Agentic Autonomy

    Kiro
    Not rated
    OpenAI Codex
    8.8

  • Ecosystem & Integrations

    Kiro
    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

Kiro

Pros

  • Spec-driven workflow produces requirements, design and task lists before code is written.
  • Based on Code OSS, so VS Code settings, themes and Open VSX extensions carry over.
  • Same credit pool works across IDE, CLI and Web with no separate cloud compute charge.
  • Multiple model families, including open-weight options, with an Auto mode.
  • Free tier with 50 credits and downloadable apps on macOS, Windows and Linux.

Cons

  • Credits can run out quickly on complex spec tasks; costs vary by model and monthly credits do not roll over.
  • Free tier excludes premium models and is limited to open-weight models and Claude Sonnet 4.5 under rate limits.
  • Mobile app is iOS-only, in preview, and needs iOS 26 or later.
  • Cloud sessions are only available in US East (N. Virginia), and Enterprise pricing is not published.

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

Integrations

Kiro

12 integrations
  • GitHub
  • GitLab
  • Figma
  • Postman
  • Datadog
  • Miro
  • Stripe
  • Supabase
  • ElevenLabs
  • Firebase
  • Terraform
  • MCP

OpenAI Codex

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

Company

  • Company
    Kiro
    Amazon Web Services (AWS)
    OpenAI Codex
    Not listed
  • Founded
    Kiro
    2006
    OpenAI Codex
    Not listed
  • Headquarters
    Kiro
    Seattle, Washington, USA
    OpenAI Codex
    Not listed
  • Monthly users
    Kiro
    Not listed
    OpenAI Codex
    4M+ weekly users
  • Listing
    Kiro
    Claimed
    OpenAI Codex
    Not claimed

Frequently asked questions

Is Kiro better than OpenAI Codex?

It depends on your workflow. Kiro is built for turning feature ideas into structured specs and tasks before agents write code in large codebases. OpenAI Codex is built for delegating coding tasks to an agent.

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

Kiro: Spec-driven agentic IDE from AWS that turns prompts into designs, tasks and code. OpenAI Codex: OpenAI's coding agent that writes, reviews and runs code from terminal, IDE, desktop or cloud.

Does Kiro or OpenAI Codex have a free plan?

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

Which is cheaper, Kiro 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.