Cursor vs Codex: OpenAI models may leave Cursor on November 12, 2026, and paid plans cost $20 each

Codex is the top pick for GPT models after November 12, 2026, the proposed date OpenAI ends its supply to Cursor.

Cursor Pro and ChatGPT Plus cost $20 each a month, or $40 for both. If you use GPT models in Cursor, the Codex extension runs them outside the model picker.

Plan prices for Cursor and Codex, collected 2026-10-12 (UTC). Codex rows show the ChatGPT plan that carries Codex.

Cursor Pro and ChatGPT Plus both cost $20 a month. Cursor Teams Standard costs $40 for each user a month, and Codex Business costs $20 for each user a month when the user pays for the whole year.

The top Codex plan costs $500 a month, and the top individual Cursor plan, Ultra, costs $200.

This comparison ranks monthly price for one user and for 10 users first, and GPT model access after November 12, 2026 second.

Per user, a Cursor plan plus a Codex plan costs between $40 and $140 a month, depending on the Cursor plan.

Teams Premium adds $80 for each user per month over Teams Standard. The Codex plan stays at $20.

The November 12 date is proposed, and Cursor can end access sooner

OpenAI told SpaceX on August 28, 2026, that it plans to end its contract to supply models to Cursor, according to a Channel Insider report dated 2026-09-03. The same report says SpaceX closed its purchase of Cursor on August 14, 2026, and that OpenAI will not supply upcoming models, including GPT-6 Astra, during the wind-down.

The OpenAI Help Center page lists November 12, 2026, as a proposed end of the transition.

The page states, "Cursor may choose to end access sooner." It adds that an official end date will be announced once both companies confirm it.

The page gave no confirmed end date on 2026-10-12.

What an OpenAI API key covers in Cursor

The Help Center page says an OpenAI API key works for local Chat and Agent in the Cursor desktop app.

The key does not cover Tab and autocomplete, Auto model routing, Cloud Agents, Background Agents, Automations, the Cursor CLI, or the Cursor API and SDK.

OpenAI bills key use at API rates, apart from any Cursor or ChatGPT plan. A ChatGPT plan carries no API use.

What the Codex extension covers

The Codex extension installs in Cursor and opens from the Activity Bar. It signs in with ChatGPT where the account is eligible, or with an API key.

It does not depend on OpenAI models showing in the Cursor model picker.

It does not change the models behind Cursor Chat, Agent, Tab, Auto or Cloud Agents.

The page also lists AI gateways such as Amazon Bedrock and Azure.

Gateway credentials cover local Chat and Agent only, with the same exclusions as the API key.

Cursor adds a $0.25 fee on third-party models for teams

Cursor draws usage from two pools and charges the model API rate for third-party models. The Cursor docs list a Cursor Token Rate of $0.25 per million tokens on third-party model requests on Teams and Enterprise plans.

The docs give one rate and state the fee sits on top of the model API price for included usage, on-demand usage and usage with your own API key.

It applies when Auto picks a third-party model. Grok and Composer models are exempt.

The fee is 125.00% of the $0.2 input price of GPT-5.6 Luna on the Cursor price table.

The fee is 12.50% of the $2 input price of GPT-5.6 Terra, and 6.25% of the $4 input price of GPT-5.6 Sol. One billion third-party tokens adds $250 in fees.

The fee weighs most on the cheapest model.

The share falls as the model price rises.

Codex counts messages in five hour periods

The ChatGPT pricing page gives local message estimates for each five hours on Plus and Standard Business.

The estimate for GPT-6 Astra is 5 to 45 messages. GPT-6.1 Sol is 15 to 160, GPT-6 Sol is 15 to 150, and GPT-6 Luna is 350 to 3,000. OpenAI says cloud tasks can use more of the allowance.

At the low end, GPT-6 Luna has 350 messages against 5 for GPT-6 Astra, which is 70 times as many. At the high end, 3,000 against 45 is 66.7 times as many.

Fast mode uses 2.5 times the included usage of Standard speed on the same model, and Ultrafast mode uses 8 times the Standard usage on GPT-6 Astra and GPT-6.1 Sol.

The ChatGPT pricing page lists Pro plans at $100, $200, and $500 a month, with Ultrafast mode on the $500 plan.

On 2026-10-12, the page states that Pro plans have no five hour limit. The message table omits Pro plans.

Message estimates run from 5 to 3,000 in each five-hour period, depending on the model.

GPT-6 Astra is the only model whose high estimate stays under 50 messages.

Cursor lists GPT-5.6, and Codex runs GPT-6

The Cursor model price table lists three OpenAI models, per million tokens. GPT-5.6 Sol costs $4 for input and $20 for output.

GPT-5.6 Terra costs $2 and $12. GPT-5.6 Luna costs $0.2 and $1.2.

The ChatGPT pricing page names GPT-6 Astra, GPT-6.1 Sol, GPT-6 Sol, and GPT-6 Luna for Codex.

The OpenAI API models page prices GPT-6 Astra at $10 and $50, GPT-6.1 Sol at $2 and $10, and GPT-6 Luna at $0.1 and $0.5. It does not list GPT-6 Sol. Prices and pages for these models are on OpenAI's models and prices.

GPT-6.1 Sol output costs $10 on the API page, against $20 for GPT-5.6 Sol on the Cursor table.

GPT-6 Luna output costs $0.5, which is 41.67% of the $1.2 for GPT-5.6 Luna. The models differ, so the gap is a list difference and not a discount.

GPT-5.5 retires from ChatGPT, ChatGPT Work, and Codex on all plans on October 14, 2026, two days after these figures were collected. The API is not affected.

Output prices for the six models run from $0.5 to $50 per million tokens.

GPT-6 Astra output costs $50, which is 100 times the $0.5 for GPT-6 Luna.

Running both costs $40 for one user and $600 for 10

Take 1 user, then 10 users. For each product, pick the plan on the pricing page that fits. In Cursor, against Claude Code on price and plans, Cursor Pro also sits at $20 a month.

Cursor Pro costs $20 for each user, each month. ChatGPT Plus costs $20 for each user, each month. Together, that is $40 a month for one user.

Cursor Teams Standard costs $40 for each user, each month. For 10 users, that is $400. Codex Business costs $20 for each user, each month, when the user pays for the whole year.

For 10 users, that is $200. Together, 10 users cost $600 a month.

Cursor Teams Premium costs $120 for each user, each month. For 10 users, that is $1,200. With Codex Business, the total is $1,400 a month.

Codex Business costs $25 for each user, each month, when paid monthly. For 10 users, that is $250. The totals become $650 and $1,450 a month.

Monthly cost of running Cursor and Codex together, USD, collected 2026-10-12 (UTC). The Cursor Token Rate is not included.

Ten users on Teams Standard and Codex Business paid for the whole year cost $600 a month, and switching the Cursor side to Teams Premium raises the total to $1,400.

Paying Codex Business monthly adds $50 to either total.

Individual plans run from $20 to $200 on the Cursor side and from $20 to $500 on the Codex side.

Both ladders start at $20, and the Codex ladder has one more step than the Cursor ladder.

What we did not measure

We did not measure coding quality, speed, or how many tasks either product finishes.

We did not run Cursor or Codex. We did not test whether the Codex extension or an OpenAI API key works in Cursor after November 12, 2026, because that date has not passed.

Enterprise prices for both products are not published, so they are not compared.

Message estimates for Codex come from OpenAI, and we did not check them against real use.

Which one fits which reader

Cursor user on GPT models. Top pick: the Codex extension, because it runs apart from the Cursor model picker. If you rely on Tab or Auto with GPT models, this pick is wrong for you.

An OpenAI API key covers local Chat and Agent only.

Solo user starting fresh. Situational: Cursor Pro at $20 a month fits one editor with models from several makers. ChatGPT Plus at $20 a month fits if GPT models are the reason to buy.

If you need GPT inside Cursor after November 12, 2026, Cursor Pro alone is wrong for you.

Team lead for 10 users. Situational: Teams Standard and Codex Business cost $600 a month together. The Cursor Token Rate comes on top.

If your team sends heavy traffic to cheap third party models, that fee can exceed the model input price, as it does on GPT-5.6 Luna.

Enterprise or gateway buyer. Insufficient data: neither product publishes an Enterprise price, and a gateway covers local Chat and Agent only.

Will Cursor still offer OpenAI models after November 12?

The OpenAI Help Center page proposes November 12, 2026, as the end of the transition and says Cursor may end access sooner. No official end date is confirmed.

The Cursor price table lists GPT-5.6 Sol, Terra, and Luna on 2026-10-12. Access after that date is not confirmed.

Can I use Codex inside Cursor?

Yes. The Codex extension installs in Cursor, opens from the Activity Bar, and signs in with ChatGPT where the account is eligible or with an API key.

It runs apart from the model picker and does not change the models behind Cursor Chat, Agent, Tab or Auto.

Can I paste my own OpenAI API key into Cursor?

Yes, for local Chat and Agent in the desktop app. The key goes in Cursor Settings under Models. Tab, Auto, Cloud Agents, Automations, the CLI, and the API do not use it.

OpenAI bills the key at API rates, and the available models and limits depend on the OpenAI organization.

Which is cheaper, Cursor or Codex?

For one user, they tie at $20 a month: Cursor Pro against ChatGPT Plus. For 10 users, Codex Business costs $200 a month paid for the whole year, against $400 for Cursor Teams Standard, before the Cursor Token Rate.

Is Codex free to use?

ChatGPT Free lists Codex for quick coding tasks, with GPT-6 Luna at Standard speed in the desktop app, subject to rollout. ChatGPT Go costs $8 a month with the same model.

Cursor Hobby is free and lists limited Agent requests plus access to Composer.