Codex pricing to align with API token usage, instead of per-message

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Scope of the Codex Pricing Change

  • Codex “credits” are shifting from per-message estimates to token-based accounting (input, cached input, output) aligned with API pricing.
  • Initially framed as affecting business/enterprise, but official language says Plus/Pro/Enterprise plans will be migrated “in the upcoming weeks,” creating concern this impacts all tiers.
  • Unclear exactly how many credits current subscriptions correspond to in dollar or token terms, and whether included quotas will shrink.

Perceived “Rug Pull” and User Impact

  • Heavy users who built workflows and projects around cheap subscriptions see this as an abrupt de facto price hike, especially combined with the simultaneous end of the 2x promo.
  • Some solo developers feel their runway was cut from “many months” to a few, jeopardizing ambitious, AI-heavy projects.
  • Others argue everyone knew subscriptions were heavily subsidized and unsustainable, so calling it a “rug pull” is overstated.

Economics, Sustainability, and Bubble Concerns

  • Many see this as the end of the “growth at all costs / subsidized” phase and a move toward cost-covering or profit.
  • Some frame it as evidence of an AI bubble or providers running out of cheap capital; others as a natural maturation similar to Uber’s price evolution.
  • Debate over whether demand for SOTA models will justify higher prices vs. users moving to “good enough” cheaper/open models.

Alternatives: Open, Local, and Competitors

  • Suggestions: OpenRouter models (Kimi, GLM, DeepSeek, etc.), Qwen locally, Z.ai, Google Gemini (Antigravity, CLI), GitHub Copilot.
  • Reports are mixed: some find open or Chinese models “close enough” or just slower; others say they’re far behind frontier models for serious coding.
  • Pros of open weights: run locally, predictable costs, no surprise throttling or price hikes. Cons: weaker performance, ops complexity.
  • Competing services have their own issues: flaky uptime (Z.ai), buggy IDE integrations (Gemini), or unclear future limits (Claude subscriptions).

Product Quality Comparisons

  • Several commenters praise Codex / GPT‑5.4 as top-tier for coding, rivaling or beating Claude; others find it “braindead” on real projects and prefer Opus.
  • Some note GitHub Copilot remains an excellent value while it stays flat-priced.

Pricing Opacity and Credit System

  • Many dislike “credits” as obfuscating real cost, likening it to game currencies; others note they enable differentiated pricing, discounts, and multi-currency handling.
  • Usage meters and seat plans are described as opaque; users often don’t know what they’re actually getting for $20 or $200/month.
  • Token-based accounting is seen as more accurate and comparable across models, but may still feel unpredictable for budgeting.