Codex pricing
Codex doesn't have its own price. It comes with every ChatGPT plan, and you can add credits or use an API key when the plan runs out.
The short answer
Codex is included with every ChatGPT plan: Free, Go ($8 a month), Plus ($20), Pro ($100, $200, or $500), Business ($20 a user a month billed yearly, $25 monthly), and Enterprise and Edu. Plus and Business use 5-hour windows and weekly limits may apply; Pro has no 5-hour limit. Past the limit, Plus and Pro can buy credits, or you can sign in with an API key and pay API rates.
Every way to pay for Codex
| Free | $0 · for quick coding tasks |
|---|---|
| Go | $8 a month · for lightweight coding tasks |
| Plus | $20 a month · 5-hour windows, weekly limits may apply |
| Pro | $100, $200, or $500 a month · no 5-hour limit |
| Business | $20 a user a month billed yearly, $25 monthly, 2 or more users |
| Enterprise and Edu | Contact sales; flexible pricing scales with credits |
| API key | Usage-based, at standard API rates |
Prices in US dollars, from OpenAI's Codex pricing page on October 20, 2026.
How much Plus gets you
OpenAI publishes rough ranges for Plus and Standard Business: local messages per 5-hour window, by model. They're ranges, not fixed limits, because a message's cost depends on how much code and context it involves. Cloud tasks can use more than local messages, and both share the same allowance.
| Model | 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 |
Picking a lighter model for routine work stretches a window the furthest. The Codex limits page covers the windows and how to check them.
Credits, when the plan runs out
Plus and Pro can buy credits to keep going after a limit, and Business, Edu, and Enterprise workspaces on flexible pricing buy workspace credits. Credits are charged per million tokens, at a rate set per model: GPT-6.1 Sol is 50 credits per million input tokens and 250 per million output, and GPT-6 Luna is 2.5 and 12.5. OpenAI says a typical GPT-5.6 Sol task uses 2 to 15 credits. Fast mode costs twice the standard rate and Ultrafast six times.
The other option is an API key: sign Codex in with it and you pay standard API rates, with no plan limits.
Know before you need credits
Fuel Gauge is a free Mac menu bar app that reads Codex's limits from its session logs on your Mac, with no sign-in, and forecasts whether each window lasts until it resets. If it says "runs out around 3p" on most days, compare a bigger plan with what you'd spend on credits; if it says "makes it" every day, you might not need the plan you're on.
Sources
Checked on October 20, 2026. Plans change from time to time, so the providers' own pages are the final word.
Questions
How much does Codex cost?
Codex is included with every ChatGPT plan: Free, Go ($8), Plus ($20), Pro ($100, $200, or $500), Business ($20 a user billed yearly), and Enterprise. You can also pay API rates with an API key.
Is Codex free?
Yes, Codex is included in ChatGPT Free, for quick coding tasks. Paid plans give more usage.
Does Codex Pro have a 5-hour limit?
No. Pro plans currently have no five-hour limit, though weekly limits may apply.
What happens when I run out of Codex usage?
Wait for the window to reset, buy credits on Plus or Pro, upgrade, or switch to an API key.
Keep reading
Know if you'll make it to reset.
Free. No account, no subscription.
brew install --cask coreyhaines31/tap/fuelgaugeOr ask your coding agent:
Install Fuel Gauge on my Mac: run `brew install --cask coreyhaines31/tap/fuelgauge`, open Fuel Gauge, then run `fuelgauge install-statusline` and `fuelgauge status`.
macOS 14 Sonoma or later · Apple Silicon and Intel