A agentindex
Comparison

OpenAI Codex vs Windsurf

A like-for-like, spec-level comparison. Both entries are verified against their docs and repo.

OpenAI Codex

OpenAI's open-source agentic coding CLI.

  • + Open-source CLI
  • + Sandboxed command execution
  • − OpenAI models only
  • − Newer, less battle-tested than incumbents

Windsurf

Codeium's AI-native IDE (Cascade agent).

  • + Strong agentic flow in-editor
  • + Generous free tier from Codeium
  • − Closed source
  • − Competes directly with Cursor on a narrow wedge
Spec OpenAI Codex Windsurf
Category coding-agent coding-agent
License Apache-2.0 Proprietary
Open source Yes No
Self-hostable No No
MCP support Yes Yes
Pricing usage freemium
Starting price Pay per token (OpenAI API) $15/mo
Models gpt claude, gpt, gemini, custom
Languages multi multi
GitHub stars 93.6k —
Last activity 2026-06-25 —