OpenAI Codex CLI vs OpenHands
Side by side, as alternatives to Claude Code. Rows that differ are highlighted; the strongest value in a row is marked. Unknown means no source yet.
Also replaces Claude Code: + OpenCode+ Gemini CLI+ Zed+ Cline+ goose+ Aider
Cost and coverage
Price
$0 software; you run it
$0 software; you run it
Included with Claude Pro ($20/month, or $17/month billed annually), Max (from $100/month), Team and Enterprise; not on the free plan source ↗
Edit code across a repo from the terminal with an AI agent
Partial: Partly
Partial: Partly
Confirmed: Yes
Run commands and tests
Partial: Partly
Partial: Partly
Confirmed: Yes
Use the agent inside VS Code or JetBrains
Partial: Partly
Partial: Partly
Confirmed: Yes
Connect tools and data through MCP
Partial: Partly
Partial: Partly
Confirmed: Yes
Write commits and pull requests
No: No
Partial: Partly
Confirmed: Yes
Run the agent headless in scripts or CI (GitHub Actions)
Partial: Partly
Partial: Partly
Confirmed: Yes
Jobs covered
5 of 6 jobs
6 of 6 jobs
All 6
Popularity and activity (from GitHub)
Stars
130,321Top
91,499
—
Gain this week
Unknown
Unknown
—
Signal
Building history
Building history
—
Commits / 4 wk
892Top
345
—
Latest release
rust-v0.163.0 · 2026-10-15
v1.30.0 · 2026-10-22Top
—
Commits / 12 wk
3,490
740
—
People committing / 12 mo
377+
54+
—
Issues opened / closed, 30 days
7371 / 1498
464 / 367
—
Facts, with sources on each project page
Runs on my machine?Differs
Confirmed: Yes, a command-line agent that runs on your computer; cloud models run on OpenAI's servers unless you use --oss
Confirmed: Yes; Agent Canvas and the agent server run on your machine by default, or on your own Docker host, VM or Kubernetes cluster
Hosted by the vendor
Code licenceDiffers
Confirmed: Apache-2.0
Confirmed: MIT
—
Model weights licence
Confirmed: No separate model weights
Confirmed: No separate model weights
—
Commercial useDiffers
Confirmed: Allowed under Apache-2.0
Confirmed: Yes, MIT allows commercial use
—
Paid services needed?Differs
Partial: Not required with local models (--oss with Ollama or LM Studio) or the limited ChatGPT Free plan; paid ChatGPT plans and OpenAI API keys are optional
Partial: Not required with local models (LM Studio, Ollama, vLLM, SGLang); cloud model APIs and OpenHands Cloud are optional
Subscription
HardwareDiffers
Unknown: Not documented in the README or CLI docs
Partial: No requirements given for Agent Canvas itself; the recommended local model needs a 24GB GPU or an Apple Silicon Mac with 64GB memory
—
Operating systemsDiffers
Confirmed: macOS, Linux and Windows (native PowerShell with a Windows sandbox, or WSL2)
Confirmed: macOS, Linux and Windows (PowerShell or WSL2); the CLI and per-conversation Docker sandboxes need WSL on Windows
—
Setup effortDiffers
Confirmed: Easy; one-line install script, npm or Homebrew, then sign in with ChatGPT
Confirmed: Medium; install Node.js 24 and uv then the npm package, or run the Docker image, then add a model
—
Stars over time
Switch to Growth % to compare projects of different sizes fairly.
The chart appears after a few nightly checks.
Notes for a video or post
A plain summary with today's date and a link to the sources. Check each project page before you publish.
Want share images and a ready video description? Open a project's creator kit.
Numbers: GitHub, fetched nightly. Facts: read from each project's own documentation, with the source on its page. How we check. openai/codex ↗OpenHands/OpenHands ↗