Aider and Codex CLI, fact by fact
| Fact | Aider | Codex CLI |
|---|---|---|
| Stars | not tracked for Aider | 128,366Verified 8 Oct 2026 |
| Newest commit | not tracked for Aider | 8 Oct 20260 days old when we read itVerified 8 Oct 2026 |
| Contributors | not tracked for Aider | 477Verified 8 Oct 2026 |
| License | not tracked for Aider | Apache-2.0Verified 8 Oct 2026 |
| Latest stable release | not tracked for Aider | rust-v0.161.0published 7 Oct 2026Verified 8 Oct 2026 |
| npm downloads | not tracked for Aider | 25,613,321 a week@openai/codexVerified 8 Oct 2026 |
| Homebrew installs | not tracked for Aider | 104,545 in 30 dayscodexVerified 8 Oct 2026 |
| Repository | not tracked for Aider | openai/codexRustVerified 8 Oct 2026 |
What our catalogue holds
These are curated rows, not readings. We state no difference between the two columns because we have not checked either of them.
| Catalogue field | Aider | Codex CLI |
|---|---|---|
| Category | CLI Tool | CLI Tool |
| Where it runs | Terminal | Terminal |
| Pricing string, uncheckedWrong on 43 of our 190 rows. Not a price of ours. | Open Source | Free |
| Vendor page | aider.chat | github.com |
What we know about Codex CLI
Codex CLI is the only agent in this set that confines itself in an OS-enforced sandbox on first run, with network access off and writes limited to the working directory.
“By default, the agent runs with network access turned off. Locally, Codex uses an OS-enforced sandbox that limits what it can touch (typically to the current workspace), plus an approval policy that controls when it must stop and ask you before acting.”
Point an agent at a repository you do not trust: in the default `workspace-write` mode Codex edits inside the working directory and must ask before touching anything outside it.
“Codex asks for approval to edit files outside the workspace or to run commands that require network access.”
Use a ChatGPT plan you already pay for instead of a second subscription, on Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Edu or Enterprise.
“ChatGPT Work and Codex are included in your ChatGPT Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Edu, or Enterprise plan”
Stop a team from disabling its own guard rails: an administrator can forbid `approval_policy = "never"` and `sandbox_mode = "danger-full-access"` in a requirements file.
“requirements.toml (for example, disallowing approval_policy = "never" or”
Subscription spend is unpredictable: the most-commented open issue, 630 comments since 2026-03-13, is that Codex burns the plan budget too fast, and a second reports the 5-hour budget gone in 2-3 prompts.
“Codex (gpt-5.5, Plus plan) — rate-limit cost per token jumped ~10-20x since June 16, draining the 5h budget in 2-3 prompts”
The agent cannot install a dependency until you edit the config, because the default sandbox keeps the network off.
“For the ChatGPT desktop app, Codex CLI, or IDE extension, the default workspace-write sandbox mode keeps network access turned off unless you enable it in your configuration:”
Windows is the weakest platform: an open issue with 106 comments reports the app freezing on Windows 11 Pro on hardware with resources to spare.
“Codex App frequently freezes/stutters on Windows 11 Pro despite sufficient system resources”
A developer who wants to run a local Ollama model should choose Crush or goose; Codex signs in with a ChatGPT account or an OpenAI API key.
“Run `codex` and select **Sign in with ChatGPT**. We recommend signing into your ChatGPT account to use Codex as part of your Plus, Pro, Business, Edu, or Enterprise plan.”
What Codex CLI costs
ChatGPT plans that include Codex run $0 for Free, $8 a month for Go, $20 a month for Plus, and from $100 a month for Pro.
“Plus · Power a few focused coding sessions each week. · $20 /month”
The Business plan is $20 per user per month for 2 or more users billed annually, and $25 per user per month billed monthly.
“*2+ users, billed annually. $25 per user per month when billed monthly.”
What this page does not answer
We have researched Codex CLI and we have not researched Aider. That means the judgments above answer for one tool and not for the other, and we publish no price for Aider because we have not read its pricing page. Nothing on this page about Aider is our opinion; there is not enough evidence yet for one.
Questions people ask
- Are Aider and Codex CLI still maintained?
- Aider has no repository we track. Codex CLI committed to openai/codex (main) on 8 Oct 2026. Both readings come from the default branch of each repository, on the date shown beside them.
- What does Codex CLI cost?
- Aider: we have not read its pricing page, so we publish no price for it. Codex CLI: ChatGPT plans that include Codex run $0 for Free, $8 a month for Go, $20 a month for Plus, and from $100 a month for Pro. The Business plan is $20 per user per month for 2 or more users billed annually, and $25 per user per month billed monthly. Every figure here is quoted from the vendor's own page and linked beside the claim.
- Is Aider or Codex CLI open source?
- We have not read a licence for Aider. Codex CLI's repository openai/codex reports the Apache-2.0 licence. We read the licence GitHub reports for the repository, which is not the same question as whether the hosted product is free.
How we check this page
- Machine facts. Stars, contributors, the newest commit on the default branch, the licence GitHub reports and the latest stable release come from the GitHub API, and download counts from npm, PyPI, Homebrew and the VS Code Marketplace. Each value carries the day it was last confirmed, never the day this page was built. The line under each label is arithmetic on those two values.
- Judgments. Every claim about what a tool suits, what it is bad at and what it costs is quoted from a page we read, and that page is linked beside the claim. Where there is no link, we wrote no claim.
- Index status. Codex CLI carries claims we read, quoted and linked; Aider does not. So this page is offered to search engines.
Related comparisons
Pairs we can answer for come first.
