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AI Code Comparison

Amp vs. OpenAI Codex

At a glance

At a glance

Amp

Best for

Best for developers and teams who want an agent-first coding workflow across the terminal, their editor and Slack.

  • Freelancers
  • Small and mid-sized
  • Enterprise

OpenAI Codex

Best for

Best for developers in the OpenAI ecosystem who want one coding agent across the terminal, IDE, cloud and pull requests.

  • Freelancers
  • Small and mid-sized
  • Enterprise

Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.

Full Comparison

Criterion Amp OpenAI Codex
Starting price Megawatt $20 / month Includes $20 of agent usage and 750 hours of orbs. Gigawatt $200 per month. Students and teachers $10 per month. Unconstrained is pay-as-you-go at API pricing, with the option to bring your own inference keys. Included with ChatGPT Plus $20 / month Codex is bundled into ChatGPT, not sold separately. A free tier and Go ($8 per month) are limited; Plus is $20, Pro from $100 (up to $200 for higher limits), Business $25 per user monthly or $20 billed annually. Also available through the OpenAI API at token rates.
Free trial Not stated Free ChatGPT tier with basic Codex
Commercial use Yes Yes
Output Autonomous, multi-step coding across the terminal, editors and Slack Autonomous coding across CLI, IDE, cloud and pull requests
API N/A Yes, through the OpenAI API
Where it runs CLI, VS Code and compatible editors (including Cursor and Windsurf), Neovim, Zed, the web and Slack Codex CLI in the terminal, an IDE extension, a desktop app, a cloud sandbox and automated pull request review, plus web and iOS
Inline completions No, the Amp Tab completion engine was retired at the end of January 2026; Sourcegraph points to Cursor, Copilot or Zed for inline completions No, Codex is an agent rather than an inline autocomplete
Agent mode Yes, an autonomous agent that reads code, runs tests and commands and edits files across multi-step tasks Yes, it writes, runs and tests code and can delegate longer tasks to a cloud sandbox
Model choice Yes, Amp routes between frontier and fast models per task; an optional linked ChatGPT subscription extends high-mode usage No, OpenAI's own GPT models tuned for coding
Data control Enterprise adds SSO, directory sync and admin controls Three sandbox modes, read-only, workspace-write and danger-full-access, with writable roots to widen the boundary without switching the sandbox off; network access asks for approval by default. Approval policies are untrusted, on-request or never, and a grant can be limited to one command or one session. In ChatGPT Work an administrator sets network access or an allowlist of hostnames, manages configuration and model availability, assigns workspace roles and reads audit events through a compliance API
Ecosystem fit Sourcegraph; integrates with existing editors and Slack rather than replacing them OpenAI and ChatGPT; one usage allowance shared across surfaces
Deployment Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based
Support Email helpdesk, Community forum Not stated
Onboarding Documentation and knowledge base Documentation and knowledge base
Company size Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise
Integrations Visual Studio Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Neovim, Zed, Slack GitHub, Visual Studio Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Xcode, JetBrains IDEs

Compare more tools

Row where the values differ The small markers point at the lower number, the longer list or the stated feature. They describe the data, they are not a verdict.

The short version

Key Differences

  • Starting price Amp Megawatt $20 / month OpenAI Codex Included with ChatGPT Plus $20 / month
  • Output Amp Autonomous, multi-step coding across the terminal, editors and Slack OpenAI Codex Autonomous coding across CLI, IDE, cloud and pull requests
  • API Amp N/A OpenAI Codex Yes, through the OpenAI API
  • Where it runs Amp CLI, VS Code and compatible editors (including Cursor and Windsurf), Neovim, Zed, the web and Slack OpenAI Codex Codex CLI in the terminal, an IDE extension, a desktop app, a cloud sandbox and automated pull request review, plus web and iOS
  • Inline completions Amp No, the Amp Tab completion engine was retired at the end of January 2026; Sourcegraph points to Cursor, Copilot or Zed for inline completions OpenAI Codex No, Codex is an agent rather than an inline autocomplete

Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.

The trade-offs

Strengths and Limitations

Amp

Strengths

  • Agent-first workflow that spans the terminal, multiple editors, the web and Slack
  • Routes between frontier and fast models instead of locking to one
  • Thread sharing makes agent work collaborative across a team

Limitations

  • Usage-based pricing can be harder to predict than a flat seat price
  • Built around an autonomous agent rather than inline autocomplete

OpenAI Codex

Strengths

  • One agent and one allowance across the terminal, IDE, cloud and pull requests
  • Bundled into existing ChatGPT plans, easy to reach if you already pay for ChatGPT
  • Cloud sandbox runs longer tasks asynchronously while you keep working

Limitations

  • Tied to OpenAI's own models, with no third-party model choice
  • Token-based credits mean heavy use can need extra purchases; the free and Go tiers are limited

Plans

Pricing

Amp

  • Megawatt $20 Per month. $20 included agent usage and 750 hours of orbs; low and medium modes, plus high mode with a linked ChatGPT subscription.
  • Gigawatt $200 Per month. $200 included agent usage; all modes, including high and ultra.
  • Students and teachers $10 Per month, discounted rate.
  • Unconstrained Usage-based Pay-as-you-go at API pricing for model tokens and orbs, with the option to bring your own inference keys. For teams and enterprises.
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OpenAI Codex

  • Free $0 Basic Codex capabilities.
  • Go $8 Per month. Light use; excludes cloud task delegation.
  • Plus $20 Per month. Includes Codex with cloud task delegation.
  • Pro From $100 Per month for 5x limits, $200 per month for 20x limits.
  • Business $25 Per user monthly, or $20 billed annually.
  • Enterprise Custom Contact sales.
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What users say

Review Scores · opens after launch

Amp

Ease of use
Not rated yet
User interface
Not rated yet
Onboarding
Not rated yet
Support and service
Not rated yet
Value for money
Not rated yet
Features
Not rated yet

No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.

OpenAI Codex

Ease of use
Not rated yet
User interface
Not rated yet
Onboarding
Not rated yet
Support and service
Not rated yet
Value for money
Not rated yet
Features
Not rated yet

No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.

Where this comes from

Where this comes from

Amp https://ampcode.com · no check date recorded yet

OpenAI Codex https://openai.com/codex/ · no check date recorded yet

This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.