AI Coding Subscriptions Compared (2026): Claude Code vs Codex vs Cursor vs Copilot Pricing
Short answer (checked against official pricing pages on October 19, 2026): on a $10 budget, pick GitHub Copilot Pro. At $20, Claude Pro (includes Claude Code) or ChatGPT Plus (includes Codex) gives the most agent usage. Heavy daily users should move up to Claude Max or ChatGPT Pro at $100 to $200. Since October 12, Cursor is sold as the X Subscription: the included allowance covers Grok models only, and Claude or GPT usage is billed separately at API list prices.
October 2026 price table
Individual plans, USD per month, excluding tax. Data as of 2026-10-19.
| Tool | Plans and monthly price | How usage is measured | Models |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Code | Pro $20 (about $17/mo billed annually), Max 5× $100, Max 20× $200 | 5-hour session limit plus weekly limit, shared with the Claude apps; Max is 5× or 20× Pro | Opus, Sonnet, Haiku; Fable up to 50% of weekly limits on Max |
| Codex | Free, Go $8, Plus $20, Pro $100 / $200 / $500 | Plus has estimated messages per 5 hours by model; Pro currently has no 5-hour limit, only a weekly allowance | GPT-6.1 Sol, GPT-6 Astra, GPT-6 Luna |
| GitHub Copilot | Free, Pro $10, Pro+ $39, Max $100 | Monthly AI Credits (1 credit = $0.01): 1,500 / 7,000 / 20,000; code completions are not charged | A selection of models on Pro; premium models from Pro+ |
| Cursor (X Subscription) | Plus $8, Premium $30, Super $100, Ultra $200 | Weekly pool shared with Grok; Premium, Super and Ultra are 4×, 15× and 50× Plus | Included usage is Grok only; third-party models need Premium or above and are billed at API list price |
Sources: Claude pricing, Max plan, Codex pricing, Copilot plans, Cursor pricing.
Which plan is the best value? Pick by budget
| Monthly budget | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Under $10 | Copilot Pro | $10 buys $15 of AI Credits with unlimited completions; X Plus at $8 works if Grok is enough |
| About $20 | Claude Pro or ChatGPT Plus | Used fully, multi-source estimates put their usage value far above the price; Claude Free does not include Claude Code |
| $30 | Cursor Premium | Only if you want the Cursor editor; Claude and GPT usage costs extra |
| $100 | Claude Max 5×, ChatGPT Pro 100, Copilot Max | Copilot Max currently includes $200 of credits (the flex part can change); the other two publish no token figures |
| $200+ | Claude Max 20×, ChatGPT Pro 200 / 500 | Only Pro 500 gets Codex Ultrafast mode |
Usage per dollar: Copilot and Cursor charge third-party models at API prices. With flex credits, Copilot gives roughly 1.5× to 2× its price; Cursor with Claude or GPT is 1×. Anthropic and OpenAI do not publish token amounts. Multi-source estimates on my Atlas ranking as of October 19 range from a few times to dozens of times the price, with the highest samples at about 77× for Claude Max 5× and 22× for ChatGPT Plus. These are research estimates, not guarantees. For how the multiplier works and common traps, see How to buy AI subscriptions for the best value.
Claude Code plans: Pro or Max?
- Claude Code is included from Pro; Free does not include it. Fable on Pro requires usage credits, while Max can spend up to 50% of its weekly limit on Fable.
- Since September 14, the weekly limit is 125% of the pre-promotion baseline, about 16.7% less than the 150% promotion. The 5-hour limit was not part of this change. Official announcement, clarification
- Max’s monthly $100 / $200 API credits cannot be used in Claude Code. Usage credits beyond your limits are billed at API rates. Anthropic help
Which ChatGPT plan for Codex?
- Plus at $20 allows roughly 15 to 160 local messages per 5 hours on GPT-6.1 Sol, 5 to 45 on GPT-6 Astra and 350 to 3,000 on GPT-6 Luna, with weekly limits on top.
- Pro comes in $100, $200 and $500 tiers, none of which currently has a 5-hour limit. Only the $500 tier includes Ultrafast. New sign-ups for the $200 tier were paused on September 10 and reopened at the end of September with a changed allowance for new subscribers.
- Free and Go can run light Codex tasks on GPT-6 Luna as it rolls out. GPT-5.5 was retired from Codex on October 14. Codex pricing
Background on the new models and Pro 500 is in the OpenAI DevDay 2026 recap; for running out of quota, see the Claude and Codex usage limits guide.
Is Cursor still worth it after the X Subscription change?
- Since October 12, Cursor is bundled with Grok and X Premium as the X Subscription. Premium at $30 includes the former Cursor Pro benefits. xAI announcement
- Included usage is Grok only. Plus is Grok-only; Premium and above can use third-party models in Cursor, paid through top-ups at API list price.
- Existing Cursor subscribers are not switched automatically. They keep their plan, price and included third-party usage, and get a prorated refund if they choose to switch.
If you mainly code with Claude or GPT, subscribing to Claude Pro or ChatGPT Plus directly is now cheaper than going through Cursor; Cursor’s value is its editor and agent interface. For a feature comparison, see Claude Code vs Codex vs Cursor.
GitHub Copilot plans and AI Credits
- All plans moved to AI Credits on June 1. Base credits equal the price, plus a flex allotment that can change ($5 on Pro, $31 on Pro+, $100 on Max). GitHub announcement
- Code completions and next edit suggestions are free on paid plans, so Pro at $10 is enough if completions are what you need.
- Pro+ and Max can delegate tasks to third-party coding agents such as Claude and Codex (preview); the Copilot cloud agent is included from Pro.
