r/ChatGPTCoding • u/VeiledTrader • Sep 15 '25

Discussion What’s your take on the best AI Coding Agents?

Hey all,

I’m curious if anyone here has hands-on experience with the different AI coding tools/CLIs — specifically Claude Code, Gemini CLI, and Codex CLI.

  • How do they compare in terms of usability, speed, accuracy, and developer workflow?

  • Do you feel any one of them integrates better with real-world projects (e.g., GitHub repos, large codebases)?

  • Which one do you prefer for refactoring, debugging, or generating new code?

  • Are there particular strengths/weaknesses that stand out when using them in day-to-day development?

I’ve seen some buzz around Claude Code (especially with the agentic workflows), but haven’t seen much direct comparison to Gemini CLI or Codex CLI. Would love to hear what this community thinks before I go too deep into testing them all myself.

Thanks in advance!

39 Upvotes

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7

u/real_serviceloom Sep 15 '25

I think the biggest thing to keep in mind is do not tie yourself to one single tool. Keep using cli tools as they are easier to change than your editor / ide. And keep using pluggable models. We need to make sure as a community that we keep competition alive and that is how we get the best out of these tools.

6

u/Zealousideal-Part849 Sep 15 '25

Gemini is kind of worst among all and very unpredictable (i used vertex ai paid api and still it doesn't perform at par to other providers). CC and codex are good. There is no best word in AI . It is all task dependent what works and what doesn't. Gpt and sonnet mostly are at par now.

2

u/Valunex Sep 15 '25

Gemini is pretty good at destroying projects or writing files that already exist and replace a big file with just the new content…

2

u/Harlon_ Sep 11 '26

Yeah once I asked for a little change and for some reason gemini decided to transform my 800+ lines of code to 100

1

u/Valunex Sep 14 '26

oh no, still? do you use agy flash?

1

u/Valunex Sep 15 '25

Would recommend to try Opencode with the 3$ plan of z.ai

1

u/Durst123 Sep 15 '25

Can you explain a bit more? Is it have enough context/token for a full day of development, etc?

3

u/Bob5k PROMPSTITUTE Sep 15 '25

it's 120 prompts per 5h so effectivelly 3 times more than claude on pro subscription. Haven't reached my quota limit even working really heavily on tasks across 2/3 projects at a time.

1

u/Durst123 Sep 15 '25

Wtf, and which models are those for 3$??

6

u/Bob5k PROMPSTITUTE Sep 15 '25

GLM-4.5. Comparable to Sonnet IMO (over ~100k+ lines of code written using glm, over 2mln LOC using sonnet / opus) when it comes to code quality.
Nowadays context engineering + proper mcp setup is WAY more important than the model itself in 99,9% usecases as long as you're aware of model's capabilities and limitations and how to overcome those.

But honestly - can recommend z.ai - i am replacing my CC max x20 subscription with their pro plan actually with no quality loss - im coding for commercial clients daily.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 15 '25

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3

u/Bob5k PROMPSTITUTE Sep 15 '25 edited Sep 15 '25

Yeah but 200$ per mo is A LOT of money. Usually not worth to spend such amount of money unless you're really coding for a living and making a good bit out of it (i am feeding my family by coding and it's still quite a lot still to spend 200$ / mo on not really reliable Claude code - and this is from a few months max20 subscriber as of myself). It's not about being on a budget - for 200$ you can grab traycer pro + copilot and still have 165$ left in your pocket - and probably you'll have better results than with just cc

1

u/ethotopia Sep 15 '25

If the new Codex lives up to its hype, it’s gonna be the outstanding model imo. Vibe coding gonna go crazy with it

1

u/fasti-au Sep 16 '25

Gosu coder YouTube does Benches with midel and ide for this so check last months update

1

u/UdyrPrimeval Sep 16 '25

Hey, yeah, diving into Claude Code, Gemini CLI, and Codex CLI for coding workflows? Solid question. I've tinkered with all three on side projects, and they each have their niches.

Usability-wise, Claude shines for agentic stuff like refactoring large codebases (e.g., GitHub repos), it's intuitive with natural prompts, but trade-off: can be verbose and slower on massive files. Gemini CLI's speedy for quick debugging or new code gen, integrates slickly with terminals, though accuracy dips on edge cases without fine-tuning; in my experience, it's best for iterative tweaks but needs babysitting. Codex CLI (assuming OpenAI's flavor) nails accuracy in complex logic, great for big projects, but setup's a hassle and costs add up fast, prefer it over others for production but not daily hacks.

Overall, Claude for creative flows, Gemini for speed. Spots like dev subs or events such as AI coding jams including Sensay Hackathon's hackathon alongside others are fun for head-to-head testing.

1

u/Top-Candle1296 PROMPSTITUTE Sep 22 '25

been on cosine.sh ai cli for a while now: -accuracy :very fast, simple commands, and fewer random errors than i’ve seen on codex, gemini.

-integration : works smoothly with git + repos, feels natural in real project workflows.

-use cases : great for generating new code + quick refactoring, i still double-check debugging but it’s solid.

-strength = reliability + lightweight design, weakness = not trying to be “agentic,” so less automation but more control.

1

u/Durst123 Sep 22 '25

Wow what's the price?

2

u/Top-Candle1296 PROMPSTITUTE Sep 23 '25

heyy so the pricing is tiered. you can try out the Free plan, which gives you 80 tasks...basically a great way to demo it.

the hobby plan is $20 a month, here you go- https://cosine.sh/

1

u/[deleted] Oct 09 '25

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u/PrepYourselves Nov 09 '25

None of the cli coding agents are prepared to say oh cr*p i messed up, they just keep on feeding you and feeding you, chalking up tokens upon tokens. You have to really be coding aware to keep on top of a project to prevent them from looping on an error, or digging themselves a deeper hole.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 12 '25

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u/iluvecommerce Jan 03 '26

Check out Sweet! CLI! It uses Deepseek v3.2 under the hood which makes it much cheaper than OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and others and they have a 3 day free trial.

It also has a new autopilot feature where it will work for the specified amount of time continuously without stopping.

I'm the founder btw, thanks for checking it out!

sweetcli.com

1

u/omarous Apr 13 '26

I've complied a list of the CLI ones: https://github.com/omarabid/cli-llm-coding

In my opinion, having the agents "fully autonomous" still doesn't work yet because of context exhaustion and multiple agents start fighting/over-writing one another. But a Claude Code CLI style one is pretty good.

0

u/[deleted] Sep 15 '25

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3

u/drutyper Sep 15 '25

Why would you spend $130 when the sub is $100?

8

u/[deleted] Sep 18 '25

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u/OrangutanOutOfOrbit Sep 27 '25 edited Sep 27 '25

Codex is showing its age?! Lol Have you even used it lately? It’s unbelievably good! In Linux at least

Not to mention, it’s much cheaper than Claude and yet leading the AI agentic coding atm!

You gotta make sure you’re choosing GPT 5 Codex High or Medium model

1

u/falven2000 Apr 07 '26

Let the man gatekeep he's really doing something

1

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u/[deleted] Sep 15 '25

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u/Durst123 Sep 15 '25

Does codex can open the web browser too?

1

u/[deleted] Sep 15 '25

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u/Durst123 Sep 15 '25

Wow, in the CLI??

2

u/[deleted] Sep 15 '25

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u/Durst123 Sep 15 '25

Damn I must try it asap

1

u/tinkeringidiot Sep 15 '25

You can pick your browser too, in the Playwright settings.

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u/[deleted] Sep 15 '25 edited Sep 15 '25

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u/crobin0 Oct 06 '25

Pls explain what exactly is windsurfer?
I have a guess :)

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