Cline vs OpenAI Codex CLI
Read from each vendor’s own pages last night, so it does not go stale the way a written comparison does.
IDE extension
Cline
The bring-your-own-key VS Code agent extension. Users pay providers directly, not Cline.
Free
CLI agent
OpenAI Codex CLI
OpenAI's open-source terminal coding agent, distributed through ChatGPT subscriptions.
Not read
Measured — counted from real repositories, nightlyAsserted — read from the vendor docs, dated
| Compared on | Cline | OpenAI Codex CLI |
|---|---|---|
| Asserted — what each vendor publishes about itself | ||
| Category | IDE extension | CLI agent |
| Vendor | Cline | OpenAI |
| Status | Active | Active |
| How it charges | Free | Subscription |
| Entry price | Free | Not read |
| Plans |
| No named tier on OpenAI's pricing page could be read with a price beside it. |
| Default model | None — you choose | openai/gpt-5.5 |
| Your own key | Yes | Yes |
| Source | Open source · Apache-2.0 | Open source · Apache-2.0 |
| Measured — counted on the last nightly run | ||
| Stars | 65.5K | 103.5K |
| Maintenance | 100/100 | 100/100 |
| Days since last push | 0 | 0 |
| Top model in it | StepFun: Step 3.7 Flash · $0.44 | OpenAI: GPT-5.5 · $11.25 |
| Its volume | 759B tokens | 54B tokens |
What has changed on either of them
0 entriesNeither has moved
No price change, no tier added or withdrawn, no change of ownership on either of them since tracking began.
