OpenAI Codex vs Devin Desktop
Pricing
OpenAI Codex: Included in ChatGPT plans (Plus $20/mo, Pro from $100/mo), limited use on Free and Go
Devin Desktop: Free tier, Pro $20/mo, Max $200/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
Devin Desktop: AI IDE (formerly Windsurf) with an agent mode (Cascade) and a command center for running local and cloud coding agents across your project
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
- Cascade agent mode handles multi-file changes without hand-holding
- Agent Command Center lets you start, track and review several local and cloud agents from one board
- Free tier with unlimited Tab completions and inline edits, enough to evaluate before paying
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
- Had a messy 2025: acquisition talks with OpenAI fell through, and talent split between Google and Cognition
- Smaller community means fewer tutorials and troubleshooting resources
- Context window can hit limits on larger projects
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.
Devin Desktop is the new name for Windsurf, the AI IDE that started as Codeium’s editor. It is now made by Cognition, the company behind the Devin coding agent. It still combines regular code completion with Cascade, an agent mode that can plan out multi-step tasks and execute them across your project. Tell it “add user authentication to this app” and it will create files, install packages, and wire things up.
The rename put an Agent Command Center at the front: a board where you run and review local and cloud agents, including Cascade, Codex and Claude Agent, while the full IDE stays available. Pro costs $20/mo and adds higher usage quotas, frontier models and Devin Cloud agents. The company had a turbulent 2025, when a $3B acquisition by OpenAI fell apart and talent ended up split between Google and Cognition, but the product now has a clear owner. If you want a capable AI IDE that can also manage several coding agents at once, it is worth trying.
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