OpenAI Codex vs Trae
Pricing
OpenAI Codex: Included in ChatGPT plans (Plus $20/mo, Pro from $100/mo), limited use on Free and Go
Trae: Free tier, Pro from $20/mo
Description
OpenAI Codex: OpenAI's coding agent, which works in the ChatGPT desktop app, your terminal, your editor and the cloud on your ChatGPT plan
Trae: AI IDE from ByteDance with a limited free plan and paid plans from $20/mo, but read the privacy fine print
Pros
- Runs in the ChatGPT desktop app, the CLI, an IDE extension and on the web, all tied to one ChatGPT account
- Cloud tasks keep going after you close your laptop, in a reusable environment for each repo
- Reviews GitHub pull requests when you tag @Codex or turn on automatic reviews
- Free plan includes 5,000 autocompletions a month and Auto mode
- SOLO mode for multi-step agent tasks, plus cloud tasks in TraeWork on paid plans
- VS Code-based so the interface is familiar
Cons
- Free and Go plans only get limited use in the desktop app, on the smaller GPT-6 Luna model
- Plus usage is counted per five-hour window and weekly limits can also apply, and how far it goes depends on the model and the size of the task
- Running it on an API key instead of a plan drops the cloud features, such as GitHub code review and Slack
- Made by ByteDance: security researchers reported in 2025 that it kept sending telemetry after users opted out
- Chats and code snippets may be used for model training unless you turn on Privacy Mode while logged in
- The free plan is limited to Auto mode: choosing models needs Pro at $20/mo
Details
Codex is OpenAI’s coding agent. You hand it a task, such as a hard-to-find bug, a refactor or a new feature, and it reads the code, makes the changes and checks its own work, using browser and computer tools where it needs them. It can run several agents in parallel, and cloud tasks carry on while your laptop is closed.
It comes with ChatGPT, so if you already pay for Plus you already have it. The same account works in the desktop app, the terminal, your editor and on iOS.
OpenAI describes Plus at $20/month as enough for a few focused coding sessions a week. Heavier use means Pro, from $100/month, which currently has no five-hour limit, or buying extra credits when you hit the limit. You can also run the CLI on an API key and pay standard API rates, which suits automation such as CI.
Trae is an AI IDE from ByteDance. The editor is VS Code-based, and SOLO mode can plan and carry out multi-step coding tasks. The free plan gives you Auto mode, limited usage and 5,000 autocompletions a month. Pro costs $20 a month with $20 of model usage included and unlimited autocomplete, Pro+ costs $60, and Ultra costs $200 with early access to new models.
The elephant in the room is ByteDance. In 2025 security researchers reported that Trae kept sending usage data to ByteDance servers even after users opted out of telemetry. Trae’s documentation says your codebase files are not used for training, but your chats, related code snippets and AI output may be used for analytics and model training unless you enable Privacy Mode, which only applies while you are logged in. If you are working on anything sensitive (client projects, proprietary code, anything with user data), this is a real concern. Cursor and Devin Desktop cost the same as Trae’s Pro plan.
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