Been using both daily for three months. Different tools for different jobs.
Claude Code has better UX. Period. The permission system, rollbacks, plan mode - it's more polished. Iterative work feels natural. Quick fixes, exploratory coding, when I'm not sure exactly what I want yet - Claude wins.
Codex is more reliable when stakes are high. Hard problems. Multi-file refactors. Complex business logic. The model just grinds through it. Less hand-holding needed.
Here's the split I've landed on - Claude for fast iteration tasks where I'm actively involved. Codex for delegate-and-walk-away work that needs to be right first time.
Not about which is "better" - wrong question. It's about tooling vs model capability. Claude optimized the wrapper. OpenAI optimized the engine.
Claude Code has better UX. Period. The permission system, rollbacks, plan mode - it's more polished. Iterative work feels natural. Quick fixes, exploratory coding, when I'm not sure exactly what I want yet - Claude wins.
Codex is more reliable when stakes are high. Hard problems. Multi-file refactors. Complex business logic. The model just grinds through it. Less hand-holding needed.
Here's the split I've landed on - Claude for fast iteration tasks where I'm actively involved. Codex for delegate-and-walk-away work that needs to be right first time.
Not about which is "better" - wrong question. It's about tooling vs model capability. Claude optimized the wrapper. OpenAI optimized the engine.