Vibe Answers · Last updated 2026-10-17
Claude Code vs Codex CLI vs Aider
Claude Code, OpenAI Codex CLI or Aider: which terminal coding agent should I use?
Short answer: All three are terminal coding agents.0); Claude Code is proprietary. Aider is the only one of the three documented to take any model, including local models.
| Claude Code | OpenAI Codex CLI | Aider | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maker | Anthropic | OpenAI | Aider-AI (Paul Gauthier) |
| Interface | CLI, IDE, desktop | CLI, IDE | CLI |
| Licence | proprietary (no SPDX licence on GitHub repo) | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| GitHub stars (date) | 151,499 (2026-10-17)* | 129,621 (2026-10-17) | 49,593 (2026-10-17) |
| Models | Anthropic Claude models | OpenAI models; API key or ChatGPT sign-in | Any LLM incl. local |
| Any model / bring your own | Not verified | Not verified | Yes |
| Pricing (official, checked) | Included in Claude Pro ($20/mo monthly, $17/mo annual), Max (from $100/mo), Team and Enterprise ($20/seat/mo + API-rate usage); or pay-as-you-go API credits via Console. (2026-10-16) | Included in ChatGPT plans: Free $0, Go $8/mo, Plus $20/mo, Pro from $100/mo; Business/Enterprise; or API key at API rates. (2026-10-16) | No paid plan listed; bring your own LLM API key. (2026-10-16) |
| MCP | Yes | Yes | Not verified |
| Subagents | Yes | Yes | Not verified |
| Headless / scripted | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sandboxing | Yes | Yes | Not verified |
| Features checked | 2026-10-17 | 2026-10-17 | 2026-10-17 |
Key sources: code.claude.com/docs/en/overview · claude.com/pricing · api.github.com/repos/anthropics/claude-code · code.claude.com/docs/en/mcp · code.claude.com/docs/en/sub-agents · all 17 sources
Full answer
All three are terminal coding agents. Codex CLI and Aider are open source (OpenAI Codex CLI: Apache-2.0; Aider: Apache-2.0); Claude Code is proprietary. Aider is the only one of the three documented to take any model, including local models. Claude Code needs a paid Claude plan (not in Free); Codex CLI is included in ChatGPT plans starting with Free; Aider has no paid plan and uses your own API key. MCP, subagents and sandboxing are documented for Claude Code and Codex CLI; for Aider only headless/scripted mode is verified.
Which one fits
- You already pay for Claude Pro or Max: Claude Code is included (not in Claude Free).
- You already have a ChatGPT plan, including Free: Codex CLI is included.
- You want to use any model, including a local one, with no subscription: Aider (bring your own API key).
- You need documented MCP, subagents and sandboxing: Claude Code or Codex CLI.
Notes
- * Star count is for the public anthropics/claude-code repo (issues/plugins), which has no licence and is not the source code.
- Vibe Shipped lists 22 sourced apps built with Claude Code (https://vibeshipped.io/tool/claude-code). Codex CLI and Aider are tracked as harnesses, not as app build tools, so we have no app counts for them.
Method
All values come from data/harnesses.json: official docs and pricing pages, and the GitHub API, each on the date shown. 'Not verified' means the docs we read did not clearly state it, not that the feature is missing.
Sources
- https://code.claude.com/docs/en/overview
- https://claude.com/pricing
- https://api.github.com/repos/anthropics/claude-code
- https://code.claude.com/docs/en/mcp
- https://code.claude.com/docs/en/sub-agents
- https://code.claude.com/docs/en/headless
- https://code.claude.com/docs/en/sandboxing
- https://developers.openai.com/codex
- https://developers.openai.com/codex/pricing
- https://api.github.com/repos/openai/codex
- https://developers.openai.com/codex/mcp
- https://developers.openai.com/codex/subagents
- https://developers.openai.com/codex/noninteractive
- https://developers.openai.com/codex/sandboxing
- https://aider.chat/
- https://api.github.com/repos/Aider-AI/aider
- https://aider.chat/docs/scripting.html
Cite as: Vibe Shipped, “Claude Code vs Codex CLI vs Aider”, https://vibeshipped.io/best/claude-code-vs-codex-cli-vs-aider (updated 2026-10-17). Markdown: send Accept: text/markdown.