How popular is Codex?

As of Aug 20, 2026, Codex routes about 78.4B tokens per day through OpenRouter — the #5 tracked AI coding tool by that measure. Its OpenRouter volume moved +193.4% over the last 7 days.

How much does Codex cost?

Codex's paid plans start at $100/month (Pro (5x)), with a free tier available, per its pricing page captured Aug 21, 2026. Plan changes are tracked over time on this page.

When was Codex last updated?

The most recent tracked release is rust-v0.149.0-alpha.7.1 on Aug 21, 2026. Its full changelog history is listed above.

What are the best alternatives to Codex?

By OpenRouter usage, the closest alternatives are pi, Cline, and Claude Code. Head-to-head comparisons are linked in the alternatives table.

ToolsOpenAI

Codex

homepage pricing changelog github npm

OpenRouter rank

of 15 tracked tools

Tokens / day

78.4B193.4%

snapshot Aug 20, 2026

Requests / day

1,033,219

OpenRouter, summed

Usage

OpenRouter token volume

latest Aug 20, 2026

source: OpenRouter app rankings · summed across the tool's apps · daily

78.4B on Aug 20, 2026

Pricing

Subscription plans

Latest captured subscription plans for Codex.
Plan	$/mo	Notes
Free	$0	Explore Codex capabilities on quick coding tasks. · Image generation isn't available on the Free plan.
Go	—	Use Codex for lightweight coding tasks.
Plus	—	Power a few focused coding sessions each week. · Flexibly extend usage with ChatGPT credits · Other ChatGPT features as part of the Plus plan · Local Messages 10-100 (Sol) /5h · Local Messages 25-200 (Terra) /5h · Local Messages 250-2,000 (Luna) /5h · ChatGPT Voice ~15-30 minutes per 5h window
Pro (5x)	$100	Choose 5x or 20x higher rate limits than Plus. · Everything in Plus and access to GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark (research preview) · 5x more Codex usage than Plus · ChatGPT Voice ~1-2.5 hours per 5h window
Pro (20x)	$200	Unlimited ChatGPT Voice on the $200/month tier; tasks still draw from your Codex usage budget. · 20x more Codex usage than Plus · Unlimited ChatGPT Voice
API Key	—	Great for automation in shared environments like CI. · No cloud-based features (GitHub code review, Slack, etc.) · Model availability follows the API models available to your key · Pay only for the tokens Codex uses, based on API pricing

source: developers.openai.com/codex/pricing

captured Aug 21, 2026

Change history

Aug 21, 2026
Codex plans changed: Plus limits changed; added Pro (5x), Pro (20x); removed Pro
source
Aug 20, 2026
Codex plans changed: Plus limits changed; added Pro; removed Pro 5x ($100/month), Pro 20x ($200/month)
source
Aug 19, 2026
Codex plans changed: API Key limits changed; added Pro 5x ($100/month), Pro 20x ($200/month); removed Pro 5x, Pro 20x
source
Aug 18, 2026
Codex plans changed: Plus limits changed; added Pro 5x
source
Aug 17, 2026
Codex plans changed: Plus limits changed; Pro 20x limits changed; API Key limits changed; removed Pro 5x
source
Aug 16, 2026
Codex plans changed: Plus limits changed; added Pro 5x, Pro 20x; removed Pro
source
Aug 14, 2026
Codex plans changed: Plus limits changed; added Pro; removed Pro 20x
source
Aug 13, 2026
Codex plans changed: Free price now listed: $0/mo; Plus limits changed; added Pro 20x; removed Pro
source
Aug 12, 2026
Codex plans changed: Plus limits changed; added Pro; removed Pro 5x, Pro 20x
source
Aug 11, 2026
Codex plans changed: Plus limits changed; added Pro 5x, Pro 20x; removed Pro
source
Aug 10, 2026
Codex plans changed: Free price no longer listed (was $0/mo); Plus limits changed; added Pro; removed Pro 5x ($100/month), Pro 20x ($200/month)
source
Aug 8, 2026
Codex plans changed: Plus limits changed; API Key limits changed; added Pro 5x ($100/month), Pro 20x ($200/month); removed Pro
source
Aug 7, 2026
Codex plans changed: Plus limits changed; API Key limits changed; added Pro; removed Pro (5x), Pro (20x)
source
Aug 6, 2026
Codex plans changed: Free price now listed: $0/mo; Plus limits changed; added Pro (5x), Pro (20x); removed Pro 20x
source
Aug 5, 2026
Codex plans changed: Plus limits changed; added Pro 20x
source
Aug 4, 2026
Codex plans changed: Free price no longer listed (was $0/mo); Plus limits changed; removed Pro
source
Aug 3, 2026
Codex plans changed: Plus limits changed; added Pro; removed Pro 5x, Pro 20x
source
Aug 2, 2026
Codex plans changed: Free price now listed: $0/mo; Plus limits changed; added Pro 5x, Pro 20x; removed Pro (5x), Pro (20x)
source
Aug 1, 2026
Codex plans changed: Free price no longer listed (was $0/mo); Plus limits changed; API Key limits changed; added Pro (5x), Pro (20x); removed Pro 5x, Pro 20x
source
Jul 31, 2026
Codex plans changed: Plus limits changed; Pro 5x limits changed; Pro 20x limits changed
source
Jul 30, 2026
Codex plans changed: Plus limits changed; API Key limits changed; added Pro 5x, Pro 20x; removed Pro (5x), Pro (20x)
source
Jul 29, 2026
Codex plans changed: Plus limits changed; added Pro (5x), Pro (20x); removed Pro 5x, Pro 20x
source
Jul 28, 2026
Codex plans changed: Free price now listed: $0/mo; Plus limits changed; added Pro 5x, Pro 20x; removed Pro
source
Jul 27, 2026
Codex plans changed: Free price no longer listed (was $0/mo); Plus limits changed; added Pro; removed Pro 20x ($200/month)
source
Jul 25, 2026
Codex plans changed: Free limits changed; Plus limits changed; added Pro 20x ($200/month); removed Pro (5x), Pro (20x), Business, Enterprise / Education
source
Jul 24, 2026
Codex plans changed: Free price now listed: $0/mo; Plus limits changed; added Pro (5x), Pro (20x), Business, Enterprise / Education; removed Pro
source
Jul 22, 2026
Codex plans changed: Free $0→$?/mo; Plus limits changed; API Key limits changed
source
Jul 21, 2026
Codex plans changed: Free $?→$0/mo; Plus limits changed; Pro limits changed; API Key limits changed
source
Jul 20, 2026
Codex plans changed: Plus limits changed; Pro limits changed; API Key limits changed
source
Jul 19, 2026
Codex plans changed: Free $0→$?/mo; Plus limits changed; Pro limits changed; API Key limits changed
source
Jul 18, 2026
Codex plans changed: Free $?→$0/mo; Plus limits changed; Pro limits changed; API Key limits changed
source
Jul 17, 2026
Codex plans changed: Plus limits changed
source
Jul 16, 2026
Codex plans changed: Free $0→$?/mo; Plus limits changed
source
Jul 15, 2026
Codex plans changed: Free $?→$0/mo; Plus limits changed; API Key limits changed
source
Jul 14, 2026
Codex plans changed: Plus limits changed; API Key limits changed
source
Jul 13, 2026
Codex plans changed: Plus limits changed; removed Business, Enterprise / Education
source
Jul 12, 2026
Codex plans changed: Plus limits changed; Pro limits changed; API Key limits changed; added Business, Enterprise / Education
source
Jul 11, 2026
Codex plans changed: Pro limits changed
source
Jul 10, 2026
Codex plans changed: Free $0→$?/mo; Plus limits changed; Pro limits changed; API Key limits changed
source
Jul 9, 2026
Codex plans changed: Free $?→$0/mo; Plus limits changed; Pro limits changed
source

Changelog

Releases

rust-v0.149.0-alpha.7.10.149.0-alpha.7.1
Aug 21, 2026
- Release 0.149.0-alpha.7.1
rust-v0.150.0-alpha.20.150.0-alpha.2
Aug 21, 2026
- Release 0.150.0-alpha.2
rust-v0.149.0-alpha.4.10.149.0-alpha.4.1
Aug 21, 2026
- Release 0.149.0-alpha.4.1
rust-v0.150.0-alpha.10.150.0-alpha.1
Aug 20, 2026
- Release 0.150.0-alpha.1
rust-v0.149.00.149.0
Aug 20, 2026
- ## New Features
- Added an interactive `codex agents` dashboard for searching, starting, opening, renaming, and stopping tasks, with configurable shortcuts. (#39094, #39112, #39114, #39142)
- Added `/cd`, `/pwd`, and `/cwd` commands for managing the working directory in TUI sessions. (#38894)
rust-v0.149.0-alpha.70.149.0-alpha.7
Aug 20, 2026
- Release 0.149.0-alpha.7
rust-v0.149.0-alpha.40.149.0-alpha.4
Aug 20, 2026
- Release 0.149.0-alpha.4
rust-v0.149.0-alpha.30.149.0-alpha.3
Aug 20, 2026
- Release 0.149.0-alpha.3
rust-v0.149.0-alpha.20.149.0-alpha.2
Aug 19, 2026
- Release 0.149.0-alpha.2
rust-v0.149.0-alpha.10.149.0-alpha.1
Aug 19, 2026
- Release 0.149.0-alpha.1

source: developers.openai.com/codex/changelog

latest Aug 21, 2026

Adoption

GitHub & package growth

GitHub stars

source: github.com/openai/codex

109,235 stars · Aug 21, 2026

Package downloads/day

source: registry stats · @openai/codex · 26 zero-day gaps hidden

1,769,405/day · Aug 16, 2026

Community

Reddit pulse

30-day · to Aug 21, 2026

Mentions/day

Sentiment split

Is there a better way to use ChatGPT + Codex together without constantly copying and pasting?r/codex · 53 pts
Why does Codex keep finding new issues every time it reviews its own code?r/codex · 144 pts
Does anyone use the CLI anymore? : r/codexr/ · — pts

source: Reddit mentions across coding subreddits · sentiment auto-classified

latest Aug 21, 2026

Benchmarks

Benchmark results

Benchmark scores for Codex.
Benchmark	Configuration	Score	Date	Source
no benchmark results attributed to Codex yet

scores as published by each benchmark; configurations differ — compare within a row's benchmark only

Alternatives

Similar tools

Alternatives to Codex by OpenRouter usage-rank proximity.
#	Tool	Tokens/day	7d Δ	Head-to-head
6	piEarendil Works (Mario Zechner)	183.9B	32.6%	vs Codex
5	ClineCline Bot Inc.	208.8B	18.1%	vs Codex
4	Claude CodeAnthropic	289B	5.8%	vs Codex
3	Kilo CodeKilo Code	325B	22.1%	vs Codex

ranked by OpenRouter usage-rank proximity

snapshot Aug 20, 2026

FAQ

Codex FAQ

How popular is Codex?: As of Aug 20, 2026, Codex routes about 78.4B tokens per day through OpenRouter — the #5 tracked AI coding tool by that measure. Its OpenRouter volume moved +193.4% over the last 7 days.
How much does Codex cost?: Codex's paid plans start at $100/month (Pro (5x)), with a free tier available, per its pricing page captured Aug 21, 2026. Plan changes are tracked over time on this page.
When was Codex last updated?: The most recent tracked release is rust-v0.149.0-alpha.7.1 on Aug 21, 2026. Its full changelog history is listed above.
What are the best alternatives to Codex?: By OpenRouter usage, the closest alternatives are pi, Cline, and Claude Code. Head-to-head comparisons are linked in the alternatives table.

Alerts

Track Codex

Email me when Codex's pricing or plans change, or a new release ships.