Best AI coding agents for the terminal (2026)
CLI-first agents for developers who live in a shell.
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1. Claude Code
From $17/mo
Anthropic's agentic coding tool for the terminal and IDEs. It's included in every paid Claude plan and shares usage limits with Claude chat; heavy users can switch to API credits.
2. OpenAI Codex
From $20/mo
Codex runs many agents in parallel across ChatGPT, a cloud workspace, an IDE extension and the Codex CLI, and can automatically review pull requests.
Pricing at a glance
| Tool | Type | Free tier | Starts at | Plans | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Code Anthropic | Terminal coding agent | No | From $17/mo | Included in Claude Pro ($17/mo annual, $20 monthly), Max $100/mo, Ultra $200/mo; Team seats from $20; or pay-as-you-go API | Visit |
| OpenAI Codex OpenAI | Coding agent (cloud, CLI, IDE) | No | From $20/mo | Included in ChatGPT Plus $20/mo, Pro $100/mo, Business $20/user/mo (2+ seats, annual) | Visit |