Codex cloudvsOpenHands
Generated from the two spec rows. Green marks the better value where a spec has a clear direction. Everything else is just different.
Codex cloud
OpenAI · Autonomous SWE
#55
Panel
6.51 spec wins
- Reliability
- 6.2
- Usefulness
- 7.0
- Cost
- 5.8
- Longevity
- 7.0
“Ships models named Sol, Terra and Luna, so your pull request is now reviewed by a planetarium.”
OpenHands
OpenHands (All Hands AI) · Autonomous SWE
#8OSSMCP
Panel
7.08 spec wins
- Reliability
- 7.2
- Usefulness
- 7.3
- Cost
- 6.7
- Longevity
- 7.0
“Scores 71.8% on SWE-bench Verified and still needs you to install Docker first.”
Spec by spec
| Spec | Codex cloud | OpenHands |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | ||
| Category | Autonomous SWE | Autonomous SWE |
| Runs | cloud, sandbox | local, cloud, sandbox |
| Platforms | web | macos, linux, windows, web |
| Context window | not documented | not documented |
| Protocols | ||
| MCP client | No | Yes |
| MCP server | No | No |
| Capabilities | ||
| Runs terminal commands | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-file edits | Yes | Yes |
| Git operations | Yes | Yes |
| Browser control | NoThe Browser capability and cloud browser belong to ChatGPT/ChatGPT Work, not to Codex cloud chats, whose containers only get configurable HTTP internet access (https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/cloud/internet-access). | YesA first-party browser tool driven through the SDK's browser-use guide, with session recording (https://docs.openhands.dev/sdk/guides/agent-browser-use). |
| Sandboxed execution | YesEach chat gets its own container from the `universal` image, cached for up to 12 hours (https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/environments/cloud-environment). | YesDocker is the default sandbox runtime, with Apptainer, remote and API sandboxes as alternatives (https://docs.openhands.dev/openhands/usage/sandboxes/overview). |
| Multi-agent orchestration | Yes | No |
| Headless / CI mode | Yes | Yes |
| Models | ||
| Backbone | GPT-5.6 Sol, GPT-5.6 Terra, GPT-5.6 Luna | Claude, GPT, Gemini, Qwen, Kimi, any OpenAI-compatible model |
| Bring your own model | NoThe Amazon Bedrock model-provider path is explicitly limited to local Codex surfaces and states that Codex cloud is not available (https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/amazon-bedrock). | YesAny LiteLLM-supported provider, plus AWS Bedrock, Azure, Google and enterprise LLM gateways, are configurable per profile (https://docs.openhands.dev/openhands/usage/llms/litellm-proxy). |
| Local models | NoCloud chats run on OpenAI-hosted models only; the `model_provider` config that redirects inference is read by local clients, not by cloud containers. | YesDocumented end to end for LM Studio and Ollama, and any OpenAI-compatible base URL can be set in advanced LLM settings. |
| Cost | ||
| Pricing model | subscription | mixed |
| Starts at | $20/mo | $0/mo |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Bring your own key | NoCloud tasks require a ChatGPT plan; an OpenAI API key does not unlock them. | Yes |
| Openness | ||
| Open source | No | Yes |
| License | proprietary | MIT |
| GitHub stars | n/a | 89,764 |
Which one would each critic pick
| Critic | Codex cloud | OpenHands | Pick |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Juez | — | — | not enough reviews |
| El Amigo | 7.3 | 7.3 | no preference |
| El Crítico | 6.5 | 7.0 | OpenHands — The sandbox is real and the leaderboard entry is public, which makes the bill the failure mode: autonomy reads until it stops, and you pay for the reading. |
| El Profesor | 6.8 | 7.5 | OpenHands — A sandboxed agent with a public, maintainer-checked SWE-bench Verified entry; the number is comparable, which is rarer than the number being high. |
| La Inversora | 8.0 | 5.8 | Codex cloud — OpenAI folded the Codex app into the ChatGPT desktop app in July 2026 and sells Pro from $100 with 5x or 20x limits; the coding agent is a retention feature for the subscription. |
| La Jefa | 7.0 | 5.8 | Codex cloud — Business is $20 per user, $1,200 a month for sixty, extra usage is credits priced per model, and there is an Enterprise tier, the shape procurement already knows from ChatGPT. |
| El Hacker | 3.5 | 9.0 | OpenHands — MIT, Docker sandbox, any OpenAI-compatible model including local, MCP in a TOML file, a Python SDK; I can run the whole thing on my own iron. |
Picks are derived from each critic's own scores. Humans vote on matchups on the duels page.