Claude Code vs Codex GPT 5.2 high: Which should you be using? LIVE
A live comparison between Claude Code and OpenAI's 'Codex GPT 5.2 High' to determine which offers the best developer experience and code quality in 2026.
Watch on YouTube🤖AI Summary
In this live showdown, Alex Finn pits the two titans of AI coding against each other: Anthropic's refined Claude Code and OpenAI's powerhouse Codex GPT 5.2 High. Finn uses his 'patented AI benchmark tests' to strip away the marketing hype and reveal how these tools actually perform in a real-world dev environment. The results are nuanced: Claude Code is praised for its 'developer-native' feel—its CLI tools, kanban boards, and project management features make it feel like a senior partner. On the other hand, GPT-5.2 High is described as a 'reasoning engine' that can digest massive context windows and solve architectural knots that stump other models. The video concludes with advice on how to mix and match these tools, using Claude for daily driving and Codex for heavy lifting.
💡Key Takeaways
🆚 The Great Debate
Claude Code provides a superior 'toolbox' and developer experience (DX), specifically designed for engineers, while GPT-5.2 Codex offers raw computational power.
🧠 Deep Reasoning
GPT-5.2 High excels at complex architectural reasoning and 'thinking' through massive refactors, but can be slower compared to Claude's snappy, iterative responses.
💻 Agentic Capabilities
Both models are now fully agentic, capable of managing entire repositories rather than just snippets, but they approach context differently.
🏆 Verdict
For pure coding workflow and 'vibe coding', Claude still wins on UX. However, for massive architectural shifts where deep reasoning is needed, Codex is catching up fast.
