Comparison · under IB-CODE-2026.2
OpenAI Codex CLI vs Cursor
| OpenAI Codex CLI | Cursor | |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor | OpenAI | Anysphere |
| Pricing | Included in ChatGPT Pro $200/mo; or raw API at GPT-5.5 rates | Pro $20/mo + token-based SDK usage |
| Default model | GPT-5.5 (GPT-5.5-mini available for cost-sensitive runs) | Composer 2 (proprietary) — switchable to Opus 4.7, GPT-5.5, Gemini 3.5 Pro |
| CLI surface | ✓ | ✓ |
| Eval status | queued | queued |
Comparison pending — neither side evaluated yet
Both OpenAI Codex CLI and Cursor are currently unevaluated under IB-CODE-2026.2. This page will update as evaluations land.
Want this comparison sooner? Vendors can commission an evaluation to bump their tool up the queue (with full editorial independence on the verdict). Readers can email hello@indiebench.dev to vote for which comparison ships next.
About each tool
OpenAI Codex CLI
The Codex name has a long history — the original 2021 Codex API (code-davinci-002) was deprecated in March 2023. The current Codex CLI is a complete re-architecture: GPT-5.5 backed, with Goal Mode for multi-hour autonomous runs, native subagents, MCP server support, plugin marketplace, browser verif…
Cursor
Cursor is the IDE-first agentic coding tool with $2B ARR by Feb 2026 (fastest B2B SaaS scaling on record). The Cursor SDK released April 29 2026 exposes the agent harness programmatically for the first time — codebase indexing, semantic search, subagent spawning, hooks, MCP. Evaluations under IB-COD…