Jules vs OpenAI Codex
Jules vs OpenAI Codex (Coding Agents (CLI & Cloud)). Agent test scores: Jules 8/10, OpenAI Codex 7.4/10. Jules scored 0.6 higher overall in our separate rubric v0.1 tests (editions and tasks can differ — see Edition tested and the notes below). Pricing: Jules — Jules in Pro via Google AI Pro (100 tasks/day); Jules in Ultra via Google AI Ultra (300/day). Google AI plan prices not on this page (search excerpt: $19.99 / $99.99); OpenAI Codex — Included in every ChatGPT plan (Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, Edu); usage limits vary by plan. Codex Cloud needs Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise or Edu. Plus/Pro buyers can add credits. Plan prices on chatgpt.com/pricing.
Every fact on this page comes from our tool records and test logs. Last updated:
- VibeToolRank score
- 8/10
- Last tested
- 2026-10-16
- Runs
- 1 (single run)
- Outcome score
- 9/10
- Edition tested
- Jules free tier, Gemini 3.6 Flash, async PR on GitHub
- Free plan, as measured
- 1 of 15 daily sessions for one todo app (T1)
- Free plan
- Yes: 15 tasks/24h, 3 concurrent
- Price
- Jules in Pro via Google AI Pro (100 tasks/day); Jules in Ultra via Google AI Ultra (300/day). Google AI plan prices not on this page (search excerpt: $19.99 / $99.99)
- Pricing checked
- 2026-10-16
- VibeToolRank score
- 7.4/10
- Last tested
- 2026-10-16
- Runs
- 3 runs
- Outcome score
- 8/10
- Edition tested
- Codex CLI 0.163.0 with OpenRouter free model cohere/north-mini-code:free (no ChatGPT login; not OpenAI's models)
- Free plan, as measured
- 33K–262K tokens per bugfix run on a free OpenRouter model, $0
- Free plan
- Yes: Codex CLI, IDE extension and app on ChatGPT Free and Go with plan usage limits (no Codex Cloud)
- Price
- Included in every ChatGPT plan (Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, Edu); usage limits vary by plan. Codex Cloud needs Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise or Edu. Plus/Pro buyers can add credits. Plan prices on chatgpt.com/pricing
- Pricing checked
- 2026-11-02
Side by side
| Field | Jules | OpenAI Codex |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | JulesGoogle's asynchronous coding agent. | OpenAI CodexOpenAI's coding agent for CLI, IDE and cloud. |
| Pricing | JulesJules in Pro via Google AI Pro (100 tasks/day); Jules in Ultra via Google AI Ultra (300/day). Google AI plan prices not on this page (search excerpt: $19.99 / $99.99) | OpenAI CodexIncluded in every ChatGPT plan (Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, Edu); usage limits vary by plan. Codex Cloud needs Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise or Edu. Plus/Pro buyers can add credits. Plan prices on chatgpt.com/pricing |
| Free tier | JulesYes: 15 tasks/24h, 3 concurrent | OpenAI CodexYes: Codex CLI, IDE extension and app on ChatGPT Free and Go with plan usage limits (no Codex Cloud) |
| Pricing verified | Jules2026-10-16 | OpenAI Codex2026-11-02 |
| Edition tested | JulesJules free tier, Gemini 3.6 Flash, async PR on GitHub | OpenAI CodexCodex CLI 0.163.0 with OpenRouter free model cohere/north-mini-code:free (no ChatGPT login; not OpenAI's models) |
| Tested on | Jules2026-10-16 | OpenAI Codex2026-10-16 |
| Outcome score | Jules9 | OpenAI Codex8 |
| Speed score | Jules5 | OpenAI Codex8 |
| Cost score | Jules9 | OpenAI Codex9 |
| Developer experience score | Jules7 | OpenAI Codex6 |
| Reliability score | Jules8 | OpenAI Codex5 |
| Overall score | Jules8 | OpenAI Codex7.4 |
What our tests found
Jules
Jules is an async coding agent: it delivered our T1 todo app as a GitHub pull request after about 14 minutes, about 5 of which it appeared stuck. It wrote and ran its own Playwright test. We cloned the PR, built it and verified it ourselves in headless Chrome: add, complete, delete, filters, reload persistence and a 375px mobile check all passed. The only console error was a missing favicon. Single run, not 3.cloud free tier
- Every T1 check passed when we built and tested the PR ourselves, including on mobile
- Wrote and ran its own Playwright test and did a code review step
- Delivers a clean pull request you can review before merging
- Free tier allows 15 sessions per day
- Slow: about 14 minutes, about 5 of which it appeared stuck
- No live preview; you must clone and run the PR yourself
- Large diff (+1853 lines including package-lock) for a small app
- Needs a Google account and GitHub access
Who it’s for: Developers with a GitHub repo who want to hand off well-defined tasks and review a pull request later.
OpenAI Codex
Using a custom OpenRouter provider and a small free model, Codex CLI fixed our seeded cart bug in 2 of 3 runs (19-76s). In the failed run the model issued an apply_patch call that Codex rejected. Token use was high (33K-262K). Not tested with OpenAI's own models.CLI, free model
- Runs without a ChatGPT login through any Responses-compatible provider
- Fixed the bug in 2 of 3 runs on a free model at $0
- Sandboxed workspace-write mode for unattended runs
- With a free model, 1 of 3 runs failed on an unsupported apply_patch call
- Used 33K-262K tokens per run, versus about 2K for Aider
- Flags change between versions (--full-auto removed) and the chat wire API is no longer supported
- Our test did not use OpenAI's own models
- Codex cloud (the web agent) needs ChatGPT Plus, Pro or Business; the Go plan redirects to an upgrade (2026-10-16)
Who it’s for: Developers in the OpenAI ecosystem who want a terminal agent; it works best with OpenAI models via a ChatGPT plan or API key.
Verdict
Scores use rubric v0.1 from separate runs. Editions and tasks can differ (see Edition tested and What our tests found); some tests were a single run, which caps reliability scores. Overall: Jules 8, OpenAI Codex 7.4. Check the free-tier limits above against your project before choosing.
FAQ
Which is better, Jules or OpenAI Codex?
In our tests Jules scored higher overall (8/10 vs 7.4/10). Scores use the same rubric (v0.1) but came from separate runs; editions and tasks may differ (see Edition tested and test summaries), so check the per-dimension scores for what matters to you.
Is Jules free?
Yes: 15 tasks/24h, 3 concurrent (pricing checked 2026-10-16).
Is OpenAI Codex free?
Yes: Codex CLI, IDE extension and app on ChatGPT Free and Go with plan usage limits (no Codex Cloud) (pricing checked 2026-11-02).
How much does Jules cost compared with OpenAI Codex?
Jules: Jules in Pro via Google AI Pro (100 tasks/day); Jules in Ultra via Google AI Ultra (300/day). Google AI plan prices not on this page (search excerpt: $19.99 / $99.99). OpenAI Codex: Included in every ChatGPT plan (Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, Edu); usage limits vary by plan. Codex Cloud needs Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise or Edu. Plus/Pro buyers can add credits. Plan prices on chatgpt.com/pricing.
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Scores come from our own tests and are never for sale; sponsored placements are always labelled. Some links are affiliate links (currently Railway). Disclosure