M
MOpen-weight AI models, chat and coding agent you can run on your own infrastructure
Free, from $14.99/mo
LM Studio vs OpenAI Codex
Pricing, features, platforms and who each one suits — side by side.
L
Choose LM Studio if…
- you're in its core audience: developers, privacy-conscious professionals
O
Choose OpenAI Codex if…
- you want the lower entry price ($8/mo vs $20/mo)
- you work on Web, iOS, Slack
- you're in its core audience: software developers, engineering teams
Side by side
Feature LM Studio OpenAI Codex
Pricing modelFreemiumFreemium
Starting price$20/mo$8/mo
Free plan
Free trial
API
Open source
Trains AI on your contentNo—
Data retentionPrompts and responses not retained; cloud requests processed transiently (Zero Data Retention)—
Security and complianceGDPRSOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, GDPR, HIPAA
Updates, last 90 days75
Works fully offline—
Optional cloud models—
OpenAI-compatible API—
Apple Silicon acceleration—
Team admin / SSO—
Platforms—Web, iOS, API, Slack
CategoryLocal & Open ModelsCode Assistants
CompanyElement Labs, Inc.OpenAI OpCo, LLC
Based inUnited StatesUnited States
Founded——
Part of——
Key features
L LM Studio
- Bionic agent creates and edits documents, slides and PDFs
- Coding, automation and computer control tasks
- In-app download of local LLMs
- Runtime powered by MLX and llama.cpp
- Real-time on-device voice transcription in multiple languages
- Optional US-hosted open frontier models with zero data retention
- LM Link connects up to 5 devices on Free
- JavaScript and Python SDKs plus the lms CLI
O OpenAI Codex
- Desktop app for local coding chats
- Command-line interface (CLI)
- IDE extension
- Cloud tasks through Codex on the web
- Automatic GitHub code review
- Slack integration
- SDK for scriptable workflows
- Works with an API key and pay-per-use billing
Plans and prices
From each vendor's site. Prices change — confirm before buying.
LM Studio
Free$0
Bionic+$20 USD/month
Pro$100 USD/month
OpenAI Codex
Free$0/month
Go$8/month
Plus$20/month
ProFrom $100/month
Business$20/user/month billed annually; $25 billed monthly
Enterprise & EduContact sales
API KeyPay per usage
Strengths and limitations
LM Studio
- Free plan includes the agent, local models and offline transcription
- Voice data is processed locally
- Cloud services are stated to use Zero Data Retention
- SDKs for JavaScript and Python plus a CLI
- Hosted frontier models require a paid plan starting at $20/month
- Free plan has only limited web search
- Team subscription plans are not yet available
OpenAI Codex
- Free plan includes basic Codex use in the desktop app
- Available in the desktop app, CLI, IDE, web, iOS and SDK
- Enterprise controls such as SCIM, RBAC, EKM and data residency
- API key option for pay-per-use billing
- Free and Go plans have no published usage numbers
- Plus usage limits are given only as estimated ranges
- API key use doesn't include cloud features such as code review or Slack
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Built from each vendor's public website; we haven't tested them hands-on. Editorial policy