# Codex cloud alternatives

People look past Codex cloud when they want to start runs from code: the API-key path has no cloud tasks, no GitHub review and no Slack, per OpenAI's own pricing docs.

Facts checked 15 September 2026. Prices and limits move. Read the citations.

Rush is our product and is listed first. Every other row is from the vendor's own pages, retrieved on the date beside it.

## The useful distinction

People look past Codex cloud when they want to start runs from code: the API-key path has no cloud tasks, no GitHub review and no Slack, per OpenAI's own pricing docs.

The useful split is who builds the agent. Most products here run their own. Rush runs Claude Code, Codex or OpenCode, the vendors' own CLIs, and returns the result with the record of how it was made.

## What Rush is

Rush is the Codex cloud alternative for API callers: the same Codex, started by POST /o/{org}/sessions with an API key, which OpenAI's API-key path does not offer.

## If you… use… not if

| If you | Use | Not if |
| --- | --- | --- |
| You want to send a task by API or MCP and get back a pull request, report or files with the transcript. | Rush | You need to self-host, use GitLab or Bitbucket, or bring an agent loop of your own. |
| You only run Claude Code and want Anthropic to host the VM inside your Claude plan. | Claude Code on the web | You need Codex or OpenCode too, or your org has Zero Data Retention. |
| Your team is standardized on Cursor and wants the same Agent off the laptop. | Cursor Cloud Agents | You will not put the repository on a paid Cursor plan. |
| The work already lives as GitHub issues and should never leave GitHub. | GitHub Copilot cloud agent | The task runs longer than 59 minutes, or needs more than one repository. |
| You want a free Gemini agent on GitHub issues, 15 tasks a day. | Google Jules | You need a team or Workspace plan, or a forge other than GitHub. |
| You want Cognition's own agent on tickets, with Slack, Linear and Jira wiring and stacked GitHub pull requests. | Devin | You must bring your own model keys; Devin does not support them. |
| You want more harnesses than three, three forges and Sentry or PagerDuty triggers. | Tembo | You want a free plan with included hours, or webhooks when a run finishes. |

## The field

| Tool | Job | What runs | Isolation | Proof | Price | Taps out |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Rush | Send a task by API; an agent does it in its own sandbox | Claude Code, Codex or OpenCode | One E2B microVM per run | PR with checks, artifacts, transcript; else needs_review | Free 5 agent-hours / month, then $20 Pro | Three harnesses. GitHub repos only. No self-host. |
| Codex cloud | OpenAI Codex in a ChatGPT cloud box | Codex | Container; agent phase offline by default | Diff + PR on GitHub/GitLab | ChatGPT Plus $20 / mo and up | API-key path has no cloud. |
| Claude Code on the web | Claude Code, hosted by Anthropic | Claude Code | Anthropic VM (~4 vCPU / 16 GB) | GitHub branch + PR | Claude Pro $20 / mo and up | Research preview. Claude and GitHub only. |
| Cursor Cloud Agents | Cursor Agent, unattended, in a cloud VM | Cursor Agent | Firecracker microVM | Draft PR + artifacts | Paid Cursor plan, from $20 / mo | Needs Cursor. Commands auto-run. |
| GitHub Copilot cloud agent | Issue-to-PR inside GitHub Actions | Copilot cloud agent | Ephemeral Actions VM | Draft PR + session logs | Paid Copilot, from $10 / mo | 59-minute cap. GitHub repos only. |
| Google Jules | Async Gemini agent on a GitHub issue | Jules / Gemini | Fresh Ubuntu VM per task | GitHub PR | 15 tasks / day free; paid via Google AI | GitHub only. Individual Gmail plans. |
| Devin | Cognition's autonomous engineer on a ticket | Devin Brain + Devbox | Isolated VM per session | PR on your SCM | Pro $20 / mo; Teams $80 min | No BYO model keys. Opaque quotas. |
| Tembo | Run many coding CLIs on events, in cloud VMs | Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, OpenCode, Amp, Pi | Dedicated VM per session | PR on GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket | Pro $60 / mo with $60 usage; Max $200 | Pro 5 users. No API webhooks. |

## In depth

### Claude Code on the web

Claude Pro $20 / month; Max 5x $100 / month. Checked 15 September 2026.. You only run Claude Code and want Anthropic to host the VM inside your Claude plan.

The same Claude Code harness, hosted on Anthropic VMs. Connect GitHub, submit a task, review the PR. Status: research preview.

Clones a GitHub repo, pushes a branch, opens a PR from the web UI. GitLab/Bitbucket are bundle-only and cannot push back.

**Taps out.** Research preview. GitHub required to push. Zero Data Retention orgs cannot use cloud sessions. IP allowlists break Anthropic-hosted runs. Claude-only.

### Cursor Cloud Agents

Pro $20 / month; Teams Standard $40 / user / month. Checked 15 September 2026.. Your team is standardized on Cursor and wants the same Agent off the laptop.

Cursor's local Agent, moved into isolated cloud VMs. Formerly called Background Agents. Available on paid Cursor plans.

Works on a separate branch and opens a draft PR. GitHub, GitLab, Azure DevOps, Bitbucket Cloud.

**Taps out.** Requires a paid Cursor plan and an environment snapshot. Multi-repo long-running is not available. Move-to-cloud drops uncommitted files. Prompt-injection risk is documented because commands auto-run.

### GitHub Copilot cloud agent

Copilot Pro $10 / month; Business $19 / seat / month. Checked 15 September 2026.. The work already lives as GitHub issues and should never leave GitHub.

Copilot works in a GitHub Actions environment, plans, edits a branch, and can open a draft PR. Formerly Copilot coding agent. Not Copilot Workspace.

One repo, one branch, exactly one PR per assigned task. GitHub-hosted repositories only.

**Taps out.** Hard 59-minute session cap. GitHub-hosted repos only. One repo per run. Branch-protection rulesets can block it.

### Google Jules

15 tasks / day free; 100 / day on Google AI Pro; 300 / day on Ultra ($99.99 / month US). Checked 15 September 2026.. You want a free Gemini agent on GitHub issues, 15 tasks a day.

An asynchronous coding agent that clones a GitHub repo into a short-lived Cloud VM, proposes a plan, and can open a PR.

GitHub App only. Issue label jules, or API AUTO_CREATE_PR. Other forges are future work.

**Taps out.** GitHub only. No Workspace/enterprise upgrade path yet. Capacity is not guaranteed. English official. 18+.

### Devin

Pro $20 / month; Teams $80 minimum + $40 / full seat. Checked 15 September 2026.. You want Cognition's own agent on tickets, with Slack, Linear and Jira wiring and stacked GitHub pull requests.

Cognition's own autonomous software engineer. It plans, writes, tests, and ships in a cloud Devbox. The Brain always stays in Cognition's cloud.

Creates PRs on GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, or Azure DevOps. Stacked PRs on GitHub.com only.

**Taps out.** You cannot bring your own model keys. Ambiguous senior-scope work is out of scope by Cognition's own 2025 review. Quotas are opaque.

### Tembo

Free trial; Pro $60 / month with $60 of usage, up to 5 users; Max $200 / month. Checked 17 October 2026.. You want more harnesses than three, three forges and Sentry or PagerDuty triggers.

An agent orchestration platform that runs Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Amp, OpenCode or Pi in a dedicated cloud VM per session, from GitHub, Linear, Jira, Slack, Sentry or PagerDuty events, and opens pull requests.

Opens pull requests on GitHub, GitLab and Bitbucket, including coordinated pull requests across repositories.

**Taps out.** Pro caps at 5 users and medium sandboxes. Sandboxes are destroyed after the session. The API documents no webhooks. API keys expire after 90 days by default.

## Skip Rush if

- Rush runs three agents: Claude Code, Codex and OpenCode. It does not host an agent you wrote yourself.
- Repositories come through the Rush GitHub App. A GitLab or Bitbucket repository cannot be a run's repository yet.
- There is no self-hosted or customer-VPC deployment, and we do not publish a compliance report today.
- Compute is metered. Free includes 5 agent-hours a month and Pro 40, each with a weekly ceiling.
- You review the pull request. Rush does not merge for you.

## Questions people actually ask

### What is the best Codex cloud alternative?

It depends on the part of the job you want to keep. Use Claude Code on the web if you only run Claude Code and want Anthropic to host the VM inside your Claude plan. Use Cursor Cloud Agents if your team is standardized on Cursor and wants the same Agent off the laptop. Use GitHub Copilot cloud agent if the work already lives as GitHub issues and should never leave GitHub. Use Rush if you want to send a task by API or MCP and get back a pull request, report or files with the transcript.

### Can I move from Codex cloud to Rush?

Yes. The steps, from OpenAI's own docs, are on the Migrate from Codex cloud to Rush page. Code you already pushed stays where it is.

### Where does the code go when I leave?

Anything pushed to your GitHub remote stays there. That is the off-ramp on every product in this set, including Rush.

## Keep reading

- [Rush vs Codex cloud](https://getrush.ai/compare/rush-vs-codex-cloud.md)
- [Migrate from Codex cloud to Rush](https://getrush.ai/compare/migrate-from-codex-cloud.md)
- [Rush vs Claude Code on the web](https://getrush.ai/compare/rush-vs-claude-code-web.md)
- [Rush vs Cursor Cloud Agents](https://getrush.ai/compare/rush-vs-cursor-cloud-agents.md)
- [Rush vs GitHub Copilot cloud agent](https://getrush.ai/compare/rush-vs-github-copilot.md)
- [Rush vs Google Jules](https://getrush.ai/compare/rush-vs-jules.md)
- [Rush vs Devin](https://getrush.ai/compare/rush-vs-devin.md)
- [Rush vs Tembo](https://getrush.ai/compare/rush-vs-tembo.md)

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