Yes. The Free plan gives limited trial access at $0 a month, no credit card required.

How much does Codex cost?

Anywhere from $0 to $200 a month on subscription tiers, plus credit-based overage. OpenAI's own estimate for active use is $100 to $200 per developer per month.

How does Codex billing work?

Every Codex plan now runs on credits, and credits are tokens. Three types feed the meter: input, cached input, and output. Cached input costs roughly a tenth of fresh input - reuse context instead of reloading it and your bill drops without changing a line of code. Output tokens cost six to eight times more than input tokens depending on the model, which is why a heavy migration sprint looks nothing like a normal month on the same plan.

Does Codex cost money with an API key?

Yes. API usage bills separately at standard OpenAI token rates, with no included allowance.

When does the Codex API beat a subscription plan?

Based on independent calculations, the API tends to beat Plus below roughly 10 to 40 sessions a month, and can beat Pro 5x below 50 to 200 sessions. Above those ranges, a flat subscription usually wins. The API also drops some conveniences: no automatic GitHub code review, no Slack integration, and new models typically arrive here after ChatGPT subscribers get them. Treat the breakeven as directional - actual usage patterns vary widely.

What are Codex's usage limits?

Limits reset every five hours and scale with model choice, task size, and Fast mode use.

Is Codex CLI a separate cost?

No. It draws on whatever ChatGPT plan you are already signed into.

What happened to Codex's old per-message pricing?

OpenAI retired it on April 2, 2026 for Plus, Pro, and Business plans, replacing it with token-based credits. Legacy Enterprise, Edu, Health, and Gov plans followed on April 23.

How many cloud tasks do I get on Plus?

Roughly 10 to 60 per five-hour window, depending on task size and model. A quick fix uses far less of that allowance than a full-repo refactor.

What is the difference between Pro 5x and Pro 20x?

Pro 20x costs twice as much as Pro 5x for four times the usage headroom, which makes it the better per-task value for genuinely heavy, parallel workloads.

Does the Go plan include cloud task delegation?

No. Go covers light, local use only. Cloud task delegation, the background-agent feature, starts at Plus.

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