Friday, June 27, 2025

Gemini vs Claude vs Codex CLI – Full Comparison

 AI-powered terminal assistants are reshaping development workflows. Top players like Gemini CLI, Claude Code, and OpenAI’s Codex CLI offer powerful natural-language interfaces for coding, debugging, and automation. Let’s explore their strengths, weaknesses, and how they compare across key criteria.

1. Open Source & Licensing

  • Gemini CLI: Fully open-source under Apache 2.0, including system prompts and model-context protocol (MCP) extensions.

  • Codex CLI: Also Apache-licensed, supports multiple OpenAI models via CLI .

  • Claude Code: Proprietary—closed beta with limited access and no source code release .

Verdict: Gemini CLI and Codex CLI lead in openness and community potential.

2. Free Tier & Cost

  • Gemini CLI: Generous free tier—60 requests/min, 1,000 daily requests, 1M-token context window, completely free to start.

  • Codex CLI: Requires an OpenAI API key; offers limited free tokens, scaling costs with usage .

  • Claude Code: Expensive—pay-per-token pricing makes sustained use costly (~$200+/mo).

Verdict: Gemini CLI offers the best free access and cost-effective capabilities.

3. Model Power & Context Window

  • Gemini CLI: Access to Gemini 2.5 Pro with a 1 million token window—unmatched for large codebases or documents.

  • Codex CLI: Supports large context models (~192k tokens), sufficient for most tasks.

  • Claude Code: Context capacity similar to Codex, with strong reasoning but slides into high usage costs.

Verdict: Gemini CLI stands out for handling large-context workflows.

4. User Experience & Integration

  • Gemini CLI: Simple CLI interface; integrates MCP, supports Windows/Linux/macOS .

  • Codex CLI: Three interactive modes—Suggest, AutoEdit, FullAuto—with built-in security sandboxes .

  • Claude Code: Offers polished UX with IDE integrations (VSCode, Cursor) and built-in memory session features.

Verdict: Claude Code provides the smoothest UX, followed closely by Codex CLI, with Gemini CLI being functional yet less polished.

5. Reliability & Multistep Task Performance

  • Gemini CLI: Occasionally falters with agent orchestration; some users report limited sub-agent support.

  • Codex CLI: Stable and gateway-safe approach using sandboxed execution—ideal for automated tasks .

Claude Code: Performs well in task sequencing and memory; strong reasoning reduces prompt overhead.

Verdict: Claude Code excels in reliability; Codex CLI prioritizes safety; Gemini CLI needs more refinement.

6. Extensibility & Ecosystem

  • Gemini CLI: Very extensible via MCP—supports custom toolchains, integrations, and community-driven development.

  • Codex CLI: Flexible provider switching and config-based workflows .

  • Claude Code: Limited public extensibility, though its closed ecosystem offers deep features .

Verdict: Gemini CLI offers the most open extensibility; Codex CLI is configurable; Claude Code is limited.

7. Community Feedback

Reddit discussions highlight:

"Gemini CLI looks polished, but Claude Code is still superior for agentic workflows."
"Gemini told me it cannot spawn subagents—it runs tools in parallel only"

These reveal Gemini is promising yet immature in advanced use cases, while Claude remains robust.

Overall Comparison :





Which Tool Should You Use?

  • Choose Gemini CLI if you want free, powerful, and open‑source AI tooling with massive context support—and you don't mind tweaking things.

  • Choose Codex CLI if you need secure automation, multi‑provider flexibility, and a more mature interface.

  • Choose Claude Code if you're building complex agentic pipelines and are prepared to pay for premium UX and reliability. 


🔗 References & Sources (for credibility and linking):

1. Gemini CLI by Google DeepMind

2. Claude Code by Anthropic

3. OpenAI Codex CLI

4. Relevant Comparisons or News

Sangram Kakade at Friday, June 27, 2025

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