Side-by-side comparison · Coding & Dev Tools
Factory vs OpenAI Codex
Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.
Comparing 2 tools. Add one more if you like.
At a glance
Pick it if: Software teams that want AI agents to take tickets off the backlog and come back with finished pull requests.
Pick it if: ChatGPT subscribers who want a coding agent without paying for a second subscription.
Overview
| Attribute | Factory | OpenAI Codex |
|---|---|---|
| In one line | AI coding agents called Droids that take on whole engineering tasks from your backlog. | OpenAI's coding agent. Hand it a task and it works away while you do other things. |
| Pricing model | Paid | Freemium |
| Starting price | $20/mo | $8/mo |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | Yes | No |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Factory | OpenAI Codex |
|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 3.8 | 4.2Winner |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 3.0 | 3.5 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.0 | 4.5 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 3.5 | 4.5 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.0 | 4.0 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Factory | OpenAI Codex |
|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | ||
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Mobile app | – | Yes |
| Desktop app | Yes | Yes |
| Browser extension | – | No |
| API access | Yes | Yes |
| Teams & business | ||
| Team workspace | Yes | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | Yes |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | Yes |
| Open source or self-hosted | No | Yes |
| AI abilities | ||
| Works with your files | Yes | Yes |
| Understands images | – | Yes |
| Makes images | No | No |
| Makes video | No | No |
| Writes code | Yes | Yes |
| Runs agents or automations | Yes | Yes |
| Learns your brand or style | – | Yes |
| Works in many languages | – | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 8/ 17 | 14/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Factory | OpenAI Codex |
|---|---|---|
| Plans | Pro $20/mo A developer trying agents day to day. | Free Free A quick look at what it can do. |
PlusOur pick $100/mo Developers who lean on agents all day. | Go $8/mo Occasional light tasks. | |
Max $200/mo Heavy individual users. | PlusOur pick $20/mo Anyone who already pays for ChatGPT. | |
Teams $60/mo per team plus $40/seat Small teams up to 10 people. | Pro From $100/mo Developers who hit the Plus limits. | |
Business / Enterprise Custom Larger companies with security requirements. | Business $20/user/mo billed yearly, or $25 monthly Teams of 2 or more. | |
Enterprise Custom Large organisations. | ||
| Which plan to pick | Try Pro for a month to see if the agents suit your codebase. If you want Droids working in the background while you do other things, you need Plus. | If you already have ChatGPT Plus, you have Codex: just try it. If you are choosing between this and Claude Code with no existing subscription, Plus at $20 and Claude Pro at $20 cost the same, so pick whichever chat assistant you prefer. If you outgrow Plus, Pro starts at $100 and has no five-hour limit for now. The $200 tier gives new subscribers less usage than it used to, and Ultrafast mode is only on the $500 tier. |
Key features
| Attribute | Factory | OpenAI Codex |
|---|---|---|
| Standout features |
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | Factory | OpenAI Codex |
|---|---|---|
| Pros |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | Factory | OpenAI Codex |
|---|---|---|
| Best for |
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| You'll find it used by |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, Factory or OpenAI Codex?
OpenAI Codex scores highest overall in our ratings (Factory 3.8/5 and OpenAI Codex 4.2/5). Factory is best for working through backlog tickets in the background and bug fixes and small features from Jira or Linear. OpenAI Codex is best for background tasks in the cloud and starting a task from your phone.
Which is cheaper, Factory or OpenAI Codex?
Factory: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $20/mo. OpenAI Codex: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $8/mo.
Which is easier to use, Factory or OpenAI Codex?
OpenAI Codex rates highest for ease of use in our scores. ChatGPT subscribers who want a coding agent without paying for a second subscription.
How we compare
Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.
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