Do I need to install anything?

Codex supports web, mac, win, linux, cli, and a vscode-ext, so an install is expected on most setups. Pythagora runs in a web browser with no local installation.

Which has a published price list?

Codex lists Free at $0/month, Go at $8/month, Plus at $20/month, Pro 5x at $100/month, and Pro 20x at $200/month, with Business / Enterprise not published. Pythagora's plans are listed as 'none on file' in our records.

Does either tool review GitHub pull requests?

The Codex sheet describes a cloud code review on a pull request that catches bugs and proposes fixes. The Pythagora sheet does not mention GitHub pull-request review.

Can I run either on non-OpenAI models?

Codex is locked to OpenAI's GPT models. Pythagora's sheet says the underlying model is not self-hostable and does not list supported models.

What is the cheapest confirmed entry point for each?

Both offer a free tier. Codex's free tier is published at $0/month; Pythagora offers a free tier but its starting price is not recorded in the sheet.

Codex vs Pythagora: How They Actually Differ

Codex fits a solo developer who lives in the terminal or VS Code, wants GitHub pull-request reviews, and prefers OpenAI's GPT models on a clear price ladder. Pythagora fits a non-developer who wants a browser tool that scaffolds a full web app end-to-end.

Compiled 2026-08-28 from our catalogue entries for Codex and Pythagora.

The short answer

Pick Codex if: You want one agent across CLI, IDE, desktop, and cloud, plus GitHub pull-request reviews and the AGENTS.md / MCP standards, and you are happy running on OpenAI's GPT models.
Pick Pythagora if: You want a browser-only builder that scaffolds a full web app including backend, database, and tests in one workflow, with no local install.
Cheapest way in: Both list a free tier. Codex's free tier is published at $0/month with published upgrades through Go at $8/month up to Pro 20x at $200/month. Pythagora's starting price is not recorded in our sheet.
What we could not compare: Pythagora's plan names and prices, Business / Enterprise pricing for Codex, and whether Pythagora offers GitHub reviews or Codex offers full-stack scaffolding are not on file.

Codex and Pythagora both sit in the AI Coding Agents category and both run on a freemium model, but they are built for different jobs. Codex is OpenAI's coding agent that runs the same agent in CLI, IDE, desktop, and cloud surfaces, with GitHub pull-request review and AGENTS.md / MCP support on OpenAI's GPT models. Pythagora is a web-app builder agent whose job is to scaffold a full web application — backend, database, and tests — in one browser-based workflow.

The practical split is where you work and what you are building. Codex is set up for a developer who already has a local environment, an editor, and a GitHub repo. Pythagora is set up for someone who wants a full-stack web app generated end-to-end in the browser, with no local installation. Pricing on Codex is published in detail; pricing on Pythagora is not on file, so the free tier is the only entry point we can confirm.

Side by side

Every cell is a field on our catalogue entry for that tool, copied as recorded. Rows where the two differ come first; blank fields say so rather than being filled in.

	Codex	Pythagora
Starts at	Free — $0 /month	Not recorded
Runs on	web, mac, win, linux, cli, vscode-ext	web
Public source code	No public repo listed	Yes — public repo
Category	AI Coding Agents	AI Coding Agents
Pricing model	Freemium	Freemium
Public docs	Not listed	Not listed

Public source code: From the repository link on each catalogue entry, not a licence audit.

Where Codex is the better fit

One agent across CLI, IDE, desktop, and cloud, so work moves between surfaces.
Cloud code review on a GitHub pull request that comments inline and proposes fixes.
Reads the shared AGENTS.md standard and supports MCP tools.
Included with ChatGPT plans from the free tier up through Pro, with a published price ladder from $0 to $200/month.

Full Codex entry · Codex pricing, verified

Where Pythagora is the better fit

Generates full-stack web applications including backend, database, and tests in a single workflow.
Runs as an autonomous agent that handles production-grade app scaffolding end-to-end.
Accessible directly through a web browser without local installation.
Offers a free tier as part of its freemium pricing model.

Full Pythagora entry

Which one should you pick?

Solo developer with a GitHub repo and an OpenAI account

Codex

You get the same agent in CLI, VS Code extension, desktop, and cloud, plus inline GitHub pull-request reviews, AGENTS.md and MCP support, and a published free-to-Pro price ladder.

Founder or non-developer who wants a browser tool to scaffold a web app

Pythagora

It is web-only, requires no local install, and produces backend, database, and tests in a single workflow, with a free tier to start.

Anyone locked to Anthropic or Google models

Neither

Codex is locked to OpenAI's GPT models. Pythagora's underlying model is not self-hostable and no model options are listed in the sheet.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to install anything?: Codex supports web, mac, win, linux, cli, and a vscode-ext, so an install is expected on most setups. Pythagora runs in a web browser with no local installation.
Which has a published price list?: Codex lists Free at $0/month, Go at $8/month, Plus at $20/month, Pro 5x at $100/month, and Pro 20x at $200/month, with Business / Enterprise not published. Pythagora's plans are listed as 'none on file' in our records.
Does either tool review GitHub pull requests?: The Codex sheet describes a cloud code review on a pull request that catches bugs and proposes fixes. The Pythagora sheet does not mention GitHub pull-request review.
Can I run either on non-OpenAI models?: Codex is locked to OpenAI's GPT models. Pythagora's sheet says the underlying model is not self-hostable and does not list supported models.
What is the cheapest confirmed entry point for each?: Both offer a free tier. Codex's free tier is published at $0/month; Pythagora offers a free tier but its starting price is not recorded in the sheet.

What we compared

This page states nothing that is not in the two catalogue entries below. The exact text used to write it is reproduced here so you can check our reading, and both tools link through to their own pages and to the vendor.

/tools/codex — checked 2026-07-02 · official site
/tools/pythagora — checked 2026-06-14 · official site

Show the source text

## Codex (/tools/codex)
Tagline: OpenAI's coding agent — works in the terminal, IDE, and cloud, reviews GitHub pull requests, and runs on GPT-5 models.
Category: AI Coding Agents
Pricing model: freemium
Starts at: Free — $0 /month
Platforms: web, mac, win, linux, cli, vscode-ext
Public repo: none listed
Docs: none listed
Verified plans (read 2026-08-21): Free $0 /month | Go $8 /month | Plus $20 /month | Pro 5x $100 /month | Pro 20x $200 /month | Business / Enterprise Not published | API Key Pay only for the tokens Codex uses, based on API pricing
Strengths on file: Runs one agent across CLI, IDE, desktop, and cloud — work moves between surfaces.; Strong GitHub integration: a cloud code review on a pull request that catches real bugs and proposes fixes.; Reads the shared AGENTS.md standard and supports MCP tools.; Included with ChatGPT plans, from the free tier up through Pro.
Limits on file: Locked to OpenAI's GPT models — no Claude or Gemini out of the box.; Fewer built-in customization primitives (hooks, sub-agents) than some rivals.
Codex is OpenAI's agentic coding tool. It runs the same agent across a terminal CLI, an IDE extension, a desktop app, and a cloud environment, so work started in one surface can continue in another. It reads the shared AGENTS.md instructions file, speaks the Model Context Protocol (MCP), and can spin up a cloud code review on a GitHub pull request that comments inline and proposes fixes. Codex runs on OpenAI's GPT models — currently GPT-5.5 as the recommended frontier model — and is included with ChatGPT plans, from the free tier up through Pro.

## Pythagora (/tools/pythagora)
Tagline: Web-app builder agent that generates production-grade apps with backend, DB, and tests.
Category: AI Coding Agents
Pricing model: freemium
Starts at: Not recorded
Platforms: web
Public repo: https://github.com/Pythagora-io/gpt-pilot
Docs: none listed
Verified plans: none on file
Strengths on file: Generates full-stack web applications including backend, database, and tests in a single workflow.; Runs as an autonomous agent that handles production-grade app scaffolding end-to-end.; Accessible directly through a web browser without local installation.; Offers a free tier as part of its freemium pricing model.
Limits on file: Freemium tier typically imposes usage limits on generated apps or sessions.; Generated output depends on the underlying model, which is not self-hostable.
Pythagora is a web-app builder agent that generates full-stack applications — backend, database, and tests — in a single workflow.
Its pitch is end-to-end scaffolding: an autonomous agent that handles the whole build and runs entirely in the browser, with no local install.
It's for people who want a full app scaffolded without setting up a local environment, with a free tier to start. Two limits: it's web-only — no local IDE or editor extension — and the freemium tier caps generated apps or sessions.
It's a browser-based, generate-the-whole-app agent, next to the CLI scaffolder smol developer and distinct from the in-editor coding agents.

Change log

2026-08-28 — First published, compiled from the catalogue entries for Codex and Pythagora.