OpenHands vs Gemini CLI vs OpenAI Codex CLI

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.

OpenHandsOpenHands/OpenHands

Gemini CLIgoogle-gemini/gemini-cli

OpenAI Codex CLIopenai/codex

Claude Codepaid product

Cost and coverage

Price

$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

Partly

Yes

Run commands and tests

Partly

Yes

Use the agent inside VS Code or JetBrains

Partly

Yes

Connect tools and data through MCP

Partly

Yes

Write commits and pull requests

Partly

Yes

Run the agent headless in scripts or CI (GitHub Actions)

Partly

Yes

Jobs covered

6 of 6 jobs

5 of 6 jobs

All 6

Popularity and activity (from GitHub)

Stars

91,499

107,492

130,321Top

—

Gain this week

Unknown

—

Signal

Building history

—

Commits / 4 wk

345

892Top

—

Latest release

v1.30.0 · 2026-10-22Top

v0.65.0 · 2026-10-20

rust-v0.163.0 · 2026-10-15

—

Commits / 12 wk

740

194

3,490

—

People committing / 12 mo

54+

82+

377+

—

Issues opened / closed, 30 days

464 / 367

123 / 206

7371 / 1498

—

Facts, with sources on each project page

Runs on my machine?Differs

Yes; Agent Canvas and the agent server run on your machine by default, or on your own Docker host, VM or Kubernetes cluster

Yes, the CLI runs in your terminal; the Gemini models themselves run on Google's servers

Yes, a command-line agent that runs on your computer; cloud models run on OpenAI's servers unless you use --oss

Hosted by the vendor

Code licenceDiffers

MIT

Apache-2.0

—

Model weights licence

No separate model weights

—

Commercial useDiffers

Yes, MIT allows commercial use

Allowed under Apache-2.0

—

Paid services needed?Differs

Not required with local models (LM Studio, Ollama, vLLM, SGLang); cloud model APIs and OpenHands Cloud are optional

A paid service is required since June 18, 2026; the free Google-account tier moved to Antigravity CLI. No local model support

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

Subscription

HardwareDiffers

No requirements given for Agent Canvas itself; the recommended local model needs a 24GB GPU or an Apple Silicon Mac with 64GB memory

4GB+ RAM for short sessions, 16GB+ for large codebases; needs Node.js 20+ and an internet connection

Not documented in the README or CLI docs

—

Operating systemsDiffers

macOS, Linux and Windows (PowerShell or WSL2); the CLI and per-conversation Docker sandboxes need WSL on Windows

Windows 11 24H2+, macOS 15+ and Ubuntu 20.04+

macOS, Linux and Windows (native PowerShell with a Windows sandbox, or WSL2)

—

Setup effortDiffers

Medium; install Node.js 24 and uv then the npm package, or run the Docker image, then add a model

Easy; run with npx or install with npm, Homebrew or MacPorts, then sign in or set an API key

Easy; one-line install script, npm or Homebrew, then sign in with ChatGPT

—

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.

OpenHands vs Gemini CLI vs OpenAI Codex CLI (as alternatives to Claude Code)
Figures from RepoQuarry, 22 Oct 2026. Sources: https://repoquarry.dev/compare?ids=openhands,gemini-cli,codex-cli&product=claude-code

Claude Code: Included with Claude Pro ($20/month, or $17/month billed annually), Max (from $100/month), Team and Enterprise; not on the free plan
OpenHands: free software; does 6 of 6 Claude Code jobs
Gemini CLI: free software; does 5 of 6 Claude Code jobs
OpenAI Codex CLI: free software; does 5 of 6 Claude Code jobs

- OpenHands: 91,499 GitHub stars, 740 commits in 12 weeks, licence MIT
- Gemini CLI: 107,492 GitHub stars, 194 commits in 12 weeks, licence Apache-2.0
- OpenAI Codex CLI: 130,321 GitHub stars, 3,490 commits in 12 weeks, licence Apache-2.0

Where they differ:
- Runs on my machine?: OpenHands Yes; Agent Canvas and the agent server run on your machine by default, or on your own Docker host, VM or Kubernetes cluster; Gemini CLI Yes, the CLI runs in your terminal; the Gemini models themselves run on Google's servers; OpenAI Codex CLI Yes, a command-line agent that runs on your computer; cloud models run on OpenAI's servers unless you use --oss
- Code licence: OpenHands MIT; Gemini CLI Apache-2.0; OpenAI Codex CLI Apache-2.0
- Commercial use: OpenHands Yes, MIT allows commercial use; Gemini CLI Allowed under Apache-2.0; OpenAI Codex CLI Allowed under Apache-2.0
- Paid services needed?: OpenHands Not required with local models (LM Studio, Ollama, vLLM, SGLang); cloud model APIs and OpenHands Cloud are optional; Gemini CLI A paid service is required since June 18, 2026; the free Google-account tier moved to Antigravity CLI. No local model support; OpenAI Codex CLI 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
- Hardware: OpenHands No requirements given for Agent Canvas itself; the recommended local model needs a 24GB GPU or an Apple Silicon Mac with 64GB memory; Gemini CLI 4GB+ RAM for short sessions, 16GB+ for large codebases; needs Node.js 20+ and an internet connection; OpenAI Codex CLI Not documented in the README or CLI docs
- Operating systems: OpenHands macOS, Linux and Windows (PowerShell or WSL2); the CLI and per-conversation Docker sandboxes need WSL on Windows; Gemini CLI Windows 11 24H2+, macOS 15+ and Ubuntu 20.04+; OpenAI Codex CLI macOS, Linux and Windows (native PowerShell with a Windows sandbox, or WSL2)
- Setup effort: OpenHands Medium; install Node.js 24 and uv then the npm package, or run the Docker image, then add a model; Gemini CLI Easy; run with npx or install with npm, Homebrew or MacPorts, then sign in or set an API key; OpenAI Codex CLI Easy; one-line install script, npm or Homebrew, then sign in with ChatGPT

Stars show popularity, not quality. Check each project page before publishing.

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. OpenHands/OpenHands ↗google-gemini/gemini-cli ↗openai/codex ↗

OpenHands vs Gemini CLI vs OpenAI Codex CLI

Stars over time

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