Both start at $8/mo. Both have a free plan. Every plan from both vendors, the limits each one actually publishes, and what changed recently, with a source on every line.
Beyond price and free access, the deciding factor is which models and features you need; we track the money, not the model quality.
| Fact | Cursor | Codex |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Free tier | Free tier |
| Cheapest plan | Plus · $8/mo | Go · $8/mo |
| Top plan | Ultra · $200/mo | Pro ($100/$200/$500) · from $100/mo |
| Plans tracked | 5 | 4 |
| Yearly discount | up to 17% | None shown |
| Allowance periods | Weekly | 5-hourWeekly |
| Latest change | plan restructure | None logged |
| Last checked |
| Tool | Plan | Price | Limits as stated & source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cursor | Plus | $8/mo | Base weekly usage pool for Cursor models, shared across Grok and Cursor; refreshes weekly. Only Grok models; third-party models not available. Absolute pool size not published. Source: cursor.com · checked 2026-10-16 |
| Cursor | Premium | $30/mo | 4x Plus weekly usage. Third-party models at API list price from prepaid credit. Adds Cloud Agents, Bugbot, Origin hosting. Source: cursor.com · checked 2026-10-16 |
| Cursor | Super | $100/mo | 15x Plus weekly usage; priority model access at peak times. Source: cursor.com · checked 2026-10-16 |
| Cursor | Ultra | $200/mo | 50x Plus weekly usage; earliest access to new products/models. Source: cursor.com · checked 2026-10-16 |
| Cursor | Teams | $30/mo | Each seat matches the weekly usage of the matching individual tier; third-party models at API list price + $0.25/M token Cursor Token Rate. Source: cursor.com · checked 2026-10-16 |
| Codex | Go | $8/mo | GPT-6 Luna at Standard speed in the desktop app (lightweight tasks). Caps not published. Source: developers.openai.com · checked 2026-10-16 |
| Codex | Plus | $20/mo | Estimated local messages per 5 hours: GPT-6 Astra 5-45; GPT-6.1 Sol 15-160; GPT-6 Sol 15-150; GPT-6 Luna 350-3,000. Weekly limits may also apply. Shared with ChatGPT Work. Source: developers.openai.com · checked 2026-10-16 |
| Codex | Pro ($100/$200/$500) | $100/mo | 'Pro plans currently have no five-hour limit'; weekly allowances vary by tier (not published). Ultrafast mode on Pro $500 only. Source: developers.openai.com · checked 2026-10-16 |
| Codex | API key | API token pricing | Pay per token; no cloud features (GitHub code review, Slack). Source: developers.openai.com · checked 2026-10-16 |
| Tool | Free? | What you get for $0 & source |
|---|---|---|
| Cursor | Free tier | Free plan $0/month: 'Limited agent requests', 'Limited Chat requests'. No third-party models (Claude/GPT/Gemini) on Free. Exact request counts not published. Source: cursor.com · checked 2026-10-16 |
| Codex | Free tier | Free $0: GPT-6 Luna at Standard speed in the desktop app, 'subject to rollout'. No image generation on Free. Source: developers.openai.com · checked 2026-10-16 |
New customers now buy Cursor as part of The X Subscription (Grok + Cursor + X). Usage moves from two monthly pools to one weekly pool shared with Grok; third-party models (Claude, GPT, Gemini) are no longer included and bill at API list price on Premium and above. Legacy Pro ($20), Pro+ ($60), Ultra ($200) continue for existing subscribers.
Cursor later apologized (July 4, 2025) for the unclear rollout and offered refunds for unexpected charges between June 16 and July 4.
Neither at the entry level: Cursor Plus and ChatGPT Go (Codex) both cost $8/mo. The top plans are Cursor Ultra at $200/mo and ChatGPT Pro (Codex) at from $100/mo.
Cursor: Yes. Free plan $0/month: 'Limited agent requests', 'Limited Chat requests'. No third-party models (Claude/GPT/Gemini) on Free. Exact request counts not published. Codex: Yes. Free $0: GPT-6 Luna at Standard speed in the desktop app, 'subject to rollout'. No image generation on Free.
Cursor Plus ($8/mo): Base weekly usage pool for Cursor models, shared across Grok and Cursor; refreshes weekly. Only Grok models; third-party models not available. Absolute pool size not published. ChatGPT Go (Codex) ($8/mo): GPT-6 Luna at Standard speed in the desktop app (lightweight tasks). Caps not published.
Cursor: up to 17% off when billed yearly (Plus: $6.67/mo instead of $8). Codex: no yearly discount on the plans we track.
12 Oct 2026, Cursor: Cursor moves into The X Subscription: new Plus $8 / Premium $30 / Super $100 / Ultra $200 plans with a weekly pool. 16 Jun 2025, Cursor: Cursor Pro switches from 500 requests/month to $20 of frontier-model usage at API rates.