OpenAI expands free Codex access

OpenAI widened free access to its coding product Codex on May 14, offering eligible enterprise customers two months of free usage for net-new users through a limited-time promotion. The company said the offer will run for the next 30 days and is aimed at bringing Codex to more builders across a company. (openai.com) OpenAI has also made Codex temporarily available in ChatGPT Free and Go plans, according to a Help Center article updated on May 13, while paid plans currently receive doubled rate limits. (openai.com) Anthropic, meanwhile, is marketing Claude Code across desktop, terminal, IDE, web, iOS and Slack, with pricing that starts at $20 a month for Pro and $20 per seat a month for Team plans. (help.openai.com) The moves put two of the best-funded AI model companies in closer competition over how developers and companies first try agentic coding tools. Both companies are emphasizing access routes, plan design and workflow coverage alongside model performance claims on their product pages. (openai.com) ### Which OpenAI users are getting free Codex access now? OpenAI said eligible enterprise customers can request two months of free Codex usage for net-new users during the promotion. The company’s sign-up form asks whether an organization is already an OpenAI customer, whether it works with an account team, and how many new Codex users it wants to add, with ranges from 1-24 to 500-plus. (help.openai.com) A separate OpenAI Help Center article says Codex is also included for a limited time with ChatGPT Free and Go, in addition to Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise/Edu plans. The same article says all other plans currently have 2x rate limits. (help.openai.com) ### What does OpenAI’s business promotion actually cover? OpenAI said in a Help Center article updated in late April that eligible ChatGPT Business workspaces can earn $100 in promotional credits for each new Codex seat that is added and activated while the offer is available. The company caps that promotion at $500 in total credits per workspace, and says the credits expire on April 30. (openai.com) The Business promotion began on April 2, 2026, according to the same terms page. OpenAI said the offer excludes workspace owners, users who held a paid Business or Enterprise seat in the prior 90 days, current or invited Business or Enterprise seat holders, and users who already redeemed the promotion. (help.openai.com) ### How is Anthropic broadening access to Claude Code? Anthropic says Claude Code is available through desktop, terminal, IDEs, the web, iOS and Slack. Its product pages describe the tool as an agentic coding system that can read a codebase, make changes across files, run commands and tests, and deliver committed code. (help.openai.com) Anthropic’s pricing page lists Claude Code as included in Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise offerings, while API access is sold separately on a pay-as-you-go basis with no per-seat fee. The company prices Pro at $20 a month, Team at $20 per seat a month for groups of 5 to 150, Max 5x at $100 a month and Max 20x at $200 a month. (help.openai.com) ### Where are the companies drawing the product line? OpenAI’s Codex pricing page says the product is available on the web, in the CLI, in the IDE extension and on iOS for individual plans. The same page says Plus costs $20 a month, Pro starts at $100 a month, and business customers can choose standard seats or usage-based Codex seats. (anthropic.com) Anthropic’s product pages put Claude Code in many of the same places developers already work, including IDEs and Slack. OpenAI’s enterprise materials, by contrast, emphasize administrative controls such as SAML single sign-on, role-based access control, audit logs and compliance APIs for larger organizations. (claude.com) ### What happens next for companies evaluating these tools? May 31 is the next dated milestone on OpenAI’s public pricing page, which says the $100-per-month Pro tier has doubled Codex usage until that date. OpenAI’s enterprise free-access form also says the current two-month offer for net-new enterprise users is available for the next 30 days. (developers.openai.com) Anthropic’s next steps are laid out on its product and pricing pages rather than in a dated promotion. Those pages direct users to download Claude Code for desktop, install it in terminal and IDE workflows, or buy Team and Enterprise access through Anthropic’s standard plans. (claude.com) (developers.openai.com)