OpenAI

Executive Summary

What it is: OpenAI Codex is an agentic coding and general-purpose AI platform available via ChatGPT (web, iOS, Android, desktop), CLI, IDE extension, and API. Plans range from $0 (Free) to $200/mo (Pro 20x) for individuals, with a Business Codex tier using pay-as-you-go per-token billing and no fixed seat fee, and a combined Business ChatGPT & Codex plan at $25/user/mo (annual) for teams. The latest model, GPT-5.5, leads on Terminal-Bench 2.0 at 82.7% and is priced at $5.00/$30.00 per MTok via API. Codex is one of OpenAI's fastest-growing enterprise products with more than 4 million weekly users.

What to watch out for: Pro plan promotional usage multipliers (10x for $100/mo instead of 5x, and 25x for $200/mo instead of 20x) expire today, May 31, 2026. Users on Pro plans will see a significant reduction in Codex capacity starting tomorrow. Codex usage limits for all plans are expressed as wide ranges (e.g., "15 to 80" GPT-5.5 messages per 5 hours for Plus), making actual capacity unpredictable. The fine-tuning platform is being wound down and is no longer accessible to new users. OpenAI's cybersecurity safeguards on GPT-5.5 may auto-route some coding requests from GPT-5.3-Codex to GPT-5.2, which developers have reported as frustrating for legitimate security work.

Bottom line: GPT-5.5 delivers the strongest agentic coding performance on Terminal-Bench 2.0 (82.7%) and the Business Codex tier with no seat fee remains one of the most flexible entry points for teams wanting per-token billing. The Dell partnership and Gartner Magic Quadrant recognition signal deepening enterprise traction. However, expiring promotional pricing, opaque usage ranges, and the fine-tuning wind-down are negative signals for developers evaluating long-term cost predictability.

Key Terms

  • Token-based billing - charges based on the number of input and output tokens processed. One token is roughly 4 characters or 0.75 words. Codex credits are consumed based on token rates for Business and new Enterprise customers. Source: Openai – Pricing
  • Prompt caching - stores frequently used prompts on OpenAI's servers to reduce latency and cost. Cached input tokens cost 90% less than regular input tokens (e.g., $0.50/MTok cached vs $5.00/MTok standard for GPT-5.5). Source: OpenAI – Pricing
  • Batch API - asynchronous processing at 50% of standard rates, with results available within 24 hours. GPT-5.5 Batch: $2.50/$15.00 per MTok. Source: OpenAI – Pricing
  • Flex processing - best-effort processing at 50% of standard API rates. May have higher latency and lower availability. Source: OpenAI – Flex Processing
  • Priority processing - guaranteed faster processing at 2.5x standard API rates. GPT-5.5 Priority: $12.50/$75.00 per MTok. Source: OpenAI – Pricing
  • Context window - the maximum number of tokens a model can process in a single conversation. GPT-5.5 supports 1M tokens via API, 400K in Codex for Pro/Enterprise users, and 256K for Plus/Business. Source: OpenAI – Introducing Gpt 5 5
  • Fast mode - generates tokens 1.5x faster for 2.5x the credit cost in Codex. Available for supported models. Source: Openai – Pricing
  • Credits - the core billing unit for Codex usage beyond included limits. As of April 2, 2026, Business and new Enterprise customers are billed based on API token rates mapped to credits. Source: Openai – Pricing
  • GPT-5.3-Codex - a specialized model optimized for coding tasks within Codex. Priced at $1.75/$14.00 per MTok via API. Used for cloud tasks and code review. Source: OpenAI – Pricing
  • GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark - a fast Codex model in research preview for ChatGPT Pro users only. Not available via API. Separate usage limit that may adjust based on demand. Source: Openai – Pricing
  • Trusted Access for Cyber - a pilot program giving verified defenders expanded access to cyber-permissive models like GPT-5.4-Cyber with fewer restrictions. Source: OpenAI – Scaling Trusted Access For Cyber Defense
  • Data residency - support for processing data in specific geographic regions (US, EU, UK, JP, CA, KR, SG, IN, AU, UAE) with a 10% price uplift for eligible models. Enterprise only. Source: OpenAI – Pricing

Latest Changes

Changes since the 2026-04 report.

Plans

PlanPriceUsage ModelKey Inclusions
Free$0/moLimited (10 GPT-5.5 messages/5h)Limited GPT-5.5 Instant, limited Codex, limited messages/uploads, 27K instant context window
Go$8/moExpanded (160 GPT-5.5 messages/3h)More GPT-5.5 Instant, 54K instant context, more messages/uploads, may include ads
Plus$20/moShared 5h window (15-80 GPT-5.5 local messages)GPT-5.5 Thinking (3,000/week), 256K reasoning context, expanded Codex, deep research, agent mode, projects, tasks, custom GPTs. 2x Codex usage promo expired May 31, 2026
Pro 5x$100/mo5x Plus usage (reverting from 10x promo)GPT-5.5 Pro, 400K context, unlimited GPT-5.3, GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark (research preview), ChatGPT Pulse, max deep research/agent mode
Pro 20x$200/mo20x Plus usage (reverting from 25x promo)Everything in Pro 5x at maximum limits
Business CodexPay-as-you-goPer-token billing, no seat feeAI software engineering, automated code/security reviews, cloud environments, worktrees, SAML SSO, MFA, no training on data, SOC 2 Type 2
Business ChatGPT & Codex$25/user/mo (annual)Per-seat + usageEverything in Plus and Business Codex, 60+ app integrations (Slack, Google Drive, SharePoint, GitHub), shared projects, custom workspace GPTs
EnterpriseCustom pricingScales with creditsSCIM, EKM, audit logs, data residency (10 regions), 128K instant context, 400K reasoning context, 24/7 priority support, SLAs, RBAC, compliance API, IP allowlisting, HIPAA support, branded workspace

Codex usage limits per 5h window (after promo expiry):

ModelPlus (local)Pro 5x (local)Pro 20x (local)Plus (cloud)Pro 5x (cloud)Pro 20x (cloud)
GPT-5.515-8080-400300-1,600Not availableNot availableNot available
GPT-5.420-100100-500400-2,000Not availableNot availableNot available
GPT-5.4-mini60-350300-1,7501,200-7,000Not availableNot availableNot available
GPT-5.3-Codex30-150150-750600-3,00010-6050-300200-1,200

Note: Local messages and cloud tasks share a 5h window. Additional weekly limits may apply. Enterprise/Edu users on flexible pricing have no fixed rate limits; usage scales with credits.

Source: Openai – Pricing

API Pricing

Standard pricing (per 1M tokens):

ModelInputCached InputOutputLong Context InputLong Context CachedLong Context Output
GPT-5.5$5.00$0.50$30.00$10.00$1.00$45.00
GPT-5.5 Pro$30.00-$180.00$60.00-$270.00
GPT-5.4$2.50$0.25$15.00$5.00$0.50$22.50
GPT-5.4 Pro$30.00-$180.00$60.00-$270.00
GPT-5.4 Mini$0.75$0.075$4.50---
GPT-5.4 Nano$0.20$0.02$1.25---

Specialized models (per 1M tokens):

CategoryModelInputCached InputOutput
ChatGPTchat-latest$5.00$0.50$30.00
CodexGPT-5.3-Codex$1.75$0.175$14.00
CyberGPT-5.4-CyberUndisclosedUndisclosedUndisclosed

Batch pricing (50% discount, per 1M tokens):

ModelInputCached InputOutput
GPT-5.5$2.50$0.25$15.00
GPT-5.5 Pro$15.00-$90.00
GPT-5.4$1.25$0.13$7.50
GPT-5.4 Mini$0.375$0.0375$2.25
GPT-5.4 Nano$0.10$0.01$0.625
GPT-5.4 Pro$15.00-$90.00
o3 Deep Research$5.00-$20.00
o4-mini Deep Research$1.00-$4.00
Computer Use$1.50-$6.00

Flex pricing (50% discount, same as Batch): Available for all flagship models at the same rates as Batch.

Priority pricing (2.5x standard, per 1M tokens):

ModelInputCached InputOutput
GPT-5.5$12.50$1.25$75.00
GPT-5.4$5.00$0.50$30.00
GPT-5.4 Mini$1.50$0.15$9.00
GPT-5.3-Codex$3.50$0.35$28.00

Other pricing:

  • Web search: $10.00 per 1,000 calls + search content tokens billed at model rates
  • Containers (Hosted Shell / Code Interpreter): $0.03 (1GB) to $1.92 (64GB) per 20-minute session
  • File search storage: $0.10/GB per day (1GB free)
  • File search tool call: $2.50 per 1,000 calls
  • Data residency: 10% uplift for models released on or after March 5, 2026
  • Fine-tuning (o4-mini only): $100/hour training, $4/$16 per MTok inference ($2/$8 with data sharing)

Codex credit rates (Business & new Enterprise, credits per 1M tokens):

ModelInput TokensCached InputOutput Tokens
GPT-5.512512.50750
GPT-5.462.506.250375
GPT-5.4-mini18.751.875113
GPT-5.3-Codex43.754.375350
GPT-Image-2 (image)20050750

Source: OpenAI – Pricing, Openai – Pricing

Model Performance / Benchmarks

GPT-5.5 benchmarks (from launch announcement, April 23, 2026):

BenchmarkGPT-5.5GPT-5.4GPT-5.5 ProClaude Opus 4.7Gemini 3.1 Pro
SWE-Bench Pro (Public)58.6%57.7%-64.3%54.2%
Terminal-Bench 2.082.7%75.1%-69.4%68.5%
Expert-SWE (Internal)73.1%68.5%---
GDPval (wins/ties)84.9%83.0%82.3%80.3%67.3%
OSWorld-Verified78.7%75.0%-78.0%-
ARC-AGI-1 (Verified)95.0%93.7%-93.5%98.0%
ARC-AGI-2 (Verified)85.0%73.3%-75.8%77.1%
CyberGym81.8%79.0%-73.1%-

GPT-5.3-Codex benchmarks (from launch announcement, February 5, 2026):

BenchmarkGPT-5.3-CodexGPT-5.2-CodexGPT-5.2
SWE-Bench Pro56.8%56.4%55.6%
Terminal-Bench 2.077.3%64.0%62.2%
OSWorld-Verified64.7%38.2%37.9%
GDPval (wins/ties)70.9%-70.9%

Note: OpenAI notes evidence of memorization on SWE-Bench Pro by other labs. OpenAI has deprecated SWE-bench Verified in favor of SWE-Bench Pro, arguing the former is saturated and Python-only.

Source: OpenAI – Introducing Gpt 5 5 OpenAI – Introducing Gpt 5 3 Codex

Latest News

May 2026 announcements (chronological):

  1. May 11: OpenAI Deployment Company launched. A new entity to help businesses build around AI intelligence, offering implementation services alongside OpenAI's products. Source: OpenAI – Openai Launches The Deployment Company
  1. May 13: TanStack npm supply chain attack response. OpenAI disclosed that a compromised TanStack npm package was used in a credential theft attack. Codex's sandboxing prevented the compromised package from affecting users. OpenAI open-sourced its Windows sandbox in the same timeframe. Source: OpenAI – Our Response To The Tanstack Npm Supply Chain Attack OpenAI – Building Codex Windows Sandbox
  1. May 14: Codex available on mobile. Codex is now in the ChatGPT iOS and Android apps. Also announced: Remote SSH support for managed development environments, scoped programmatic access tokens, hooks for enterprise deployments, and HIPAA-compliant use support. Source: OpenAI – Work With Codex From Anywhere
  1. May 18: Dell Technologies partnership. Codex will connect with the Dell AI Data Platform and Dell AI Factory, enabling hybrid and on-premises enterprise deployments. This addresses enterprises that need Codex closer to their internal data and systems. Source: OpenAI – Dell Codex Enterprise Partnership
  1. May 20: AI model disproves discrete geometry conjecture. An internal version of GPT-5.5 discovered a new proof about Ramsey numbers in combinatorics, later verified in Lean. This demonstrates GPT-5.5's capability beyond coding into mathematical research. Source: OpenAI – Model Disproves Discrete Geometry Conjecture
  1. May 22: Gartner Magic Quadrant Leader. OpenAI named a Leader in the inaugural Gartner Magic Quadrant for Enterprise AI Coding Agents. Gartner highlighted agentic software development, enterprise governance, sandboxing, and flexible deployment. Cisco cited as a case study: used Codex to develop the majority of its AI Defense platform, shortening delivery from several quarters to weeks. Until June 12, eligible enterprises can get two months of free Codex usage. Source: OpenAI – Gartner 2026 Agentic Coding Leader
  1. May 27: Self-improving tax agents with Codex. Engineering blog post detailing how OpenAI and Thrive Holdings built Tax AI for Crete accountants. The system processed 7,000 tax returns, achieving 97% accuracy on draft returns. Demonstrates Codex's application beyond software engineering into domain-specific professional workflows. Source: OpenAI – Building Self Improving Tax Agents With Codex
  1. May 28: OpenAI Frontier Governance Framework. Published the company's framework for governing frontier AI models, including preparedness evaluations and safety processes. Source: OpenAI – Openai Frontier Governance Framework
  1. Ongoing: Fine-tuning platform wind-down. OpenAI is winding down the self-serve fine-tuning platform. Only o4-mini remains available for fine-tuning ($100/hour training). All fine-tuned models remain available for inference until base model deprecation. Source: OpenAI – Pricing

Community Signals

Hacker News:

The biggest OpenAI story on Hacker News in May was the discrete geometry result: "An OpenAI model has disproved a central conjecture in discrete geometry" received 1,429 points and 1,054 comments, making it one of the most-discussed AI stories of the month. Source: News – Item

"Codex is now in the ChatGPT mobile app" received 486 points and 247 comments on May 15, with discussion focused on the implications of mobile-first agentic coding. Source: News – Item

The "OpenAI Deployment Company" announcement (May 11) generated 42 points and 33 comments, with skepticism about OpenAI becoming a consulting organization. Source: News – Item

Reddit (r/OpenAI):

"GPT-5.6 spotted in Codex" (late May) received 472 upvotes and 93 comments. Users reported seeing GPT-5.6 as an option in the Codex model picker before it was removed. OpenAI has not confirmed GPT-5.6. Source: Reddit – Gpt56 Spotted In Codex

"First thing you see when Googling 'OpenAI Codex app' is a fake malware website" received 736 upvotes and 79 comments. This highlights a growing brand safety problem as Codex's popularity attracts phishing attempts. Source: Reddit – First Thing You See When Googling Openai Codex

"OpenAI codex tool compromised in credential theft supply chain attack" was also discussed, though the post received only 6 comments, suggesting the community recognized that Codex's sandboxing prevented actual impact. Source: Reddit – Openai Codex Tool Compromised In Credential Theft

A "macOS Menubar app to monitor token availability in Codex, Claude and Gemini" was shared, indicating that users across platforms are actively tracking usage limits, a signal that limits are a pain point. Source: Reddit – Macos Menubar App To Monitor Token Availability

General signals:

The GPT-5.5 launch blog quotes multiple partner CEOs (Cursor's Michael Truell, NVIDIA's Justin Boitano, Every's Dan Shipper) praising the model's "conceptual clarity" and sustained performance. These are curated testimonials, but the breadth of partner endorsements (Cursor, Lovable, Cognition, Windsurf, GitHub, JetBrains, Sonar) suggests strong adoption across the coding agent ecosystem. Source: OpenAI – Introducing Gpt 5 5

OpenAI's internal usage statistic is notable: "more than 85% of the company uses Codex every week across functions including software engineering, finance, communications, marketing, data science, and product management." Source: OpenAI – Introducing Gpt 5 5

Enterprise Readiness

FeatureAvailable?Details
SSO (SAML)YesBusiness and Enterprise plans
SCIMYesEnterprise only. Automated user provisioning/deprovisioning
Audit logsYesEnterprise only. Compliance API Logs Platform for Codex tasks
IP indemnityUndisclosedNot mentioned in plan comparison or enterprise features
Data residencyYesEnterprise only. 10 regions (US, EU, UK, JP, CA, KR, SG, IN, AU, UAE). 10% price uplift for eligible models
HIPAAYesCodex supports HIPAA-compliant use (announced May 14)
Air-gapped / on-premPartialDell partnership announced May 18 for hybrid/on-prem via Dell AI Data Platform and Dell AI Factory. Not yet available for general deployment
SLAYesEnterprise only. 24/7 priority support, SLAs, custom legal terms
Admin controls (RBAC)YesEnterprise only. Role-based access controls, domain verification, IP allowlisting, EKM, connector registry
EKM (Encryption Key Management)YesEnterprise only
ISO certificationsYesEnterprise only: ISO 27001, 27017, 27018, 27701
SOC 2 Type 2YesBusiness and Enterprise
Intune MDMYesEnterprise only. Intune for iOS
No training on dataYesBusiness and Enterprise by default
Custom data retentionYesEnterprise only
Branded workspaceYesEnterprise only

Source: Chatgpt – Pricing Openai – Pricing

Terms explained:

  • SCIM - System for Cross-domain Identity Management. Allows automatic syncing of user accounts between your identity provider (Okta, Azure AD) and ChatGPT Enterprise. Source: Chatgpt – Pricing
  • EKM - Enterprise Key Management. Customer-managed encryption keys so OpenAI cannot decrypt your data without your key. Source: Chatgpt – Pricing
  • IP indemnity - the provider covers your legal costs if their AI output infringes a third party's copyright. OpenAI's IP indemnity posture is not prominently documented on the pricing or enterprise pages.

Transparency Gaps

  1. Usage limit ranges are opaque. Codex usage limits are expressed as wide ranges (e.g., "15-80" GPT-5.5 messages per 5h for Plus, "80-400" for Pro 5x). The actual number depends on "size and complexity of your coding tasks," which cannot be predicted before use. Users cannot budget accurately. Source: Openai – Pricing
  1. Promotional pricing expiry. The Pro plan promotional multipliers (10x for $100, 25x for $200) expire May 31, 2026. Users who signed up during the promo period will see an immediate 40-50% reduction in effective capacity. The permanent pricing (5x and 20x) was always stated but the promo duration was short (approximately one month). Source: Openai – Pricing
  1. GPT-5.4-Cyber pricing undisclosed. The specialized cybersecurity model's pricing is listed as "undisclosed" on the public pricing page. Organizations must apply through the Trusted Access for Cyber program. Source: OpenAI – Pricing
  1. Business ChatGPT & Codex pricing rendered dynamically. The per-user/month price on the ChatGPT pricing page is dynamically rendered and stripped from text/html fetches. The price is $25/user/mo annual or $30/user/mo monthly based on the plan footnote, but this is not visible in static renders. Source: Chatgpt – Pricing
  1. Fine-tuning wind-down timeline. OpenAI says the fine-tuning platform will be available "for the coming months" but has not specified an end date. Only o4-mini remains fine-tunable. Source: OpenAI – Pricing
  1. GPT-5.6 not confirmed. Multiple Reddit users spotted "GPT-5.6" in the Codex model picker in late May, but OpenAI has not acknowledged or confirmed this model. Source: Reddit – Gpt56 Spotted In Codex
  1. Enterprise pricing undisclosed. Enterprise plan pricing is "custom" and requires a sales conversation. No published starting price or per-seat range.
  1. Weekly limits mentioned but not quantified. The Codex pricing FAQ mentions "additional weekly limits may apply" on top of the 5h window, but does not specify what those limits are.
  1. chat-latest model behavior. The API offers a "chat-latest" model at the same pricing as GPT-5.5, but it is not documented which model it resolves to or when it switches between models.