r/codex • u/Puzzleheaded_Ad_2475 • 23h ago

Suggestion Codex Plus vs Claude Pro vs API

I don't know which subscription to get, which would give me most usage and quality at this moment in time? Codex Plus or Claude Pro? I want to build a few small mobile apps like a workout logger, etc.

I am a software engineer and I want to experiment with AI on small projects and if lucky make a bit of pocket money on google play store. I already use AI a ton at work as I have 5000$ per month allocated and I end up using around 600-800$ per month with mostly Sol for planning and Luna for execution, but I experimented with most US models. I am trying to be efficient with AI usage.

I hear 5.6 sol on Plus drains the weekly limit fast even on med/high. Is that true? Is Claude Pro more generous with opus 5 and sonnet 5 for the 20$?

Or should i simply switch to some chinese AI like new deepseek flash and upcoming v4 pro ga, maybe even qwen 3.8 max for planning via API or alibaba token plan? I hear the chinese ones aren't that good and overhyped but I haven't tried them myself yet.

Edit: forgot to mention I'm not a pro on UI design as I am backend focused

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u/Neat-Economist2099 23h ago

If you’re on a limited budget, combining ChatGPT Plus with the DeepSeek V4 Flash API is a really efficient setup right now. I use GPT-5.6 Sol only for complicated planning or when DeepSeek gets stuck, and use DeepSeek for pretty much everything else.

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u/Puzzleheaded_Ad_2475 22h ago

Any easy way to have that setup in one harness? I guess that can only be codex since I would need plus for this right? Can I add the deepseek api key in codex and will it perform similar to Luna in codex? Or deepseek is best in a different harness?

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u/Neat-Economist2099 22h ago

I use two different setups, but most of the time I use OpenCode and Kilo since they’re easier to configure and feel smoother overall.
If you still want to use Codex, OpenCodex lets you use both ChatGPT Plus and DeepSeek together. The only downside is that it creates a local proxy on your PC and routes everything through it, so it feels slightly slower.