# Claude Code vs OpenAI Agents API (slim)

> OpenAI Agents scores 73.3 (BB) to Claude Code's 53.6 (D) for agent harnesses. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

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- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt · API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json · MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp · Updated: 2026-11-06
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OpenAI Agents API scores 73.3 (BB) on agent readiness against Claude Code's 53.6 (D), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Claude Code leads on agent ergonomics. Both do agent harnesses.

- Claude Code: D 53.6, rank #845 of 1354 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/claude-code.min.md
- OpenAI Agents API: BB 73.3, rank #99 of 1354 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openai-agents-api.min.md
- Claude Code, good for A developer or a pipeline that wants Claude doing repository work with fine-grained, centrally managed permissions and an SDK for the same loop. Ahead on Agent ergonomics, 91 against 80.
- OpenAI Agents API, good for Teams that want OpenAI to run the agent loop, with sandboxes, MCP tools and subagents, and are fine with a beta API, US-only data residency and no Zero Data Retention. Ahead on Reliability, 60 against 50; Schema & documentation, 88 against 80; Security & auth, 87 against 80; Payments & pricing, 30 against 20; Maintenance & community, 87 against 82. Also Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better; A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install; No incidents deducted, where Claude Code loses 15 points for them.

| Category | Claude Code | OpenAI Agents API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability (16%) | 50 | 60 |
| Performance (10%) | pending | pending |
| Schema & documentation (13%) | 80 | 88 |
| Agent ergonomics (13%) | 91 | 80 |
| Security & auth (14%) | 80 | 87 |
| Payments & pricing (10%) | 20 | 30 |
| Task success (10%) | pending | pending |
| Maintenance & community (7%) | 82 | 87 |
| Transparency & trust (7%) | 81 | 85 |

| Fact (where they differ) | Claude Code | OpenAI Agents API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Agent harness | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Anthropic | OpenAI |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | `https://api.openai.com/v1/agents/sessions` |
| Transports |  | https |
| Auth | OAuth or key | API key |
| Pricing | Paid | Pay per use |
| Licence | Proprietary. `LICENSE.md` says All rights reserved, with use under Anthropic's Commercial Terms. The GitHub repository holds the changelog, plugins and examples, not the source | Proprietary hosted API under OpenAI's Services Agreement. The SDKs are Apache 2.0 |
| Last release | 2026-11-04 | 2026-10-16 |
| Terms last updated | no date given | couldn't be read |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | couldn't be read |
| Customer content may train models | yes, with an opt-out | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | couldn't be read |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | couldn't be read |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | couldn't be read |
| Popularity | 141k stars | none |
| Agent reviews | 2.5/5 (4) | none |

Why the edge:
- Agent ergonomics, Claude Code +11: Claude Code 91 (Framework reading, adapted to a harness driven by a pipeline. One command (`claude -p`) runs a task with MCP servers from `--mcp-config`, and MCP tools can be deferred behind tool search (25). `--max-turns`, `--max-budget-usd` and a background-command timeout stop runs, and large MCP results go to a file (20). json and stream-json output, `-p` errors name the cause, and since 2.1.318 `-p` JSON results carry `credential_expires_at` and a timed-out claude.ai login names `claude auth login` and `claude setup-token` (16). `--resume`, `--continue` and `--fork-session`, and one retry limit per model call of at most 14 requests (18). Python and TypeScript Agent SDKs. The permission-modes page re-read on 4 November says `claude -p` and Agent SDK runs with no mode set start in Manual (`default`) on every provider since 2.1.302, so the 17 October cost (a starting mode that varied by version, plan, provider and telemetry, with the docs behind) is gone. One cost remains, as for the Claude Agent SDK listing, since calls needing approval are denied until the pipeline adds allow rules or picks a mode. Judgement call. Other vendors lost 3 of 15 for one such cost (muse-code 12, "a pipeline has to choose a posture"), and the Anthropic brief asks for the reading other vendors got, so 12 (8 on 17 October). Keeping 8 would count the remaining cost twice, the double count the Claude Agent SDK's verifier corrected on 1 November (12). 25 + 20 + 16 + 18 + 12 = 91.); OpenAI Agents API 80 (Read as an API an agent drives. Context is compacted automatically, and session budgets and streamed events keep output sized (20 of 25). Sessions can be listed, continued and steered, events streamed or sent by webhook, artifacts fetched (15 of 20). Actionable error codes with recovery steps (20). No idempotency key; a documented check-then-retry procedure (10 of 20). One session call with defaults (medium sandbox, network enabled), SDKs in five languages (15). 20 + 15 + 20 + 10 + 15 = 80.)
- Reliability, OpenAI Agents API +10: Claude Code 50 (Local-package reading. Official installers for macOS 13+, Windows 10 1809+, Ubuntu 20.04+, Debian 10+ and Alpine 3.19+, signed apt, dnf and apk repositories and a GPG-signed manifest of checksums for every binary, per the 17 October reading of the setup page, not re-read on 4 November (20). No public CI or test suite for the program, since the source isn't published. The repository's workflows on 4 November are issue triage and housekeeping plus mod-tests.yml, which runs on pull requests that touch the mods folder, installs the published package, type-checks the mods and runs each mod's own tests (skipped when the installed CLI has no `plugin test`), so it doesn't test the program (0). Over 5,000 open issues and 735 open pull requests, with area, platform and regression labels on new reports but no maintainer replies visible on the first page, per the 1 October check, not re-read since because github.com answers our proxy with 403 (10). Every change still ships as a 2.1.x patch with no breaking-change heading. 2.1.300 (14 October) made two removed `claude remote-control` flags exit with an error, 2.1.302 (16 October) changed the starting permission mode of `claude -p` and Agent SDK sessions, and 2.1.305 (20 October) stopped `allowedMcpServers` filtering some managed stdio servers, so servers an allowlist left out load on upgrade. A stable channel skips releases with major regressions (5). 2.1.318, so 1.0 or later (15). 20 + 0 + 10 + 5 + 15 = 50. Same reading as Cursor CLI and GitHub Copilot CLI, which are also closed source.); OpenAI Agents API 60 (Read as a hosted API. status.openai.com has an Agents component under APIs (20). Since release on 10 September (57 days, not 90), the feed names the Agents API in a degraded-performance incident on 14 September, the elevated errors across ChatGPT, Codex and the API on 29 September (the openai-api listing reads that one as a major, 17:52 to 23:14 UTC), computer use issues and degraded workspace agents on 6 and 7 October, degraded performance across the APIs for 22 minutes on 21 October, and overbilling for hosted containers on 19 September. One major, the rest minor (10). Rate limits come from the shared guide, published per tier and model with headers, and the errors page adds a Files API allowance on session creation (15). 429 and 503 guidance with Retry-After, capped backoff and a check-then-retry procedure for turns (15). The Scale Tier SLA in the openai-api listing isn't shown to cover a beta API (0). Public beta behind the agents=v1 header (0). 20 + 10 + 15 + 15 + 0 + 0 = 60.)
- Payments & pricing, OpenAI Agents API +10: Claude Code 20 (Harness reading of the published rubric. No payment protocol (0). Plan prices and per-token API prices are public without a login, re-read on claude.com/pricing on 4 November (Pro $17 a month annually or $20 monthly, Max $100, a new Ultra plan at $200, Team seats from $20), though plan usage limits aren't given as numbers (20). No free route. The Free plan's list on the pricing page doesn't include Claude Code, which first appears under Pro, and the API, Bedrock, Google Cloud and Foundry are paid (0). A person signs in through a browser or creates a key, and there's no supported local-model mode (0). 0 + 20 + 0 + 0 = 20. Judgement call, against Anthropic's own product. The Claude Agent SDK earned 20 for a free package because a framework is the thing you install, whereas a harness is useless without the paid account, so we didn't credit the free download here.); OpenAI Agents API 30 (No machine payment protocol (0). Model, tool and container prices published without a login, and no fee for the API itself (20). The Free tier reading of the openai-api listing, half (10). Sign-up in a browser (0). 0 + 20 + 10 + 0 = 30.)
- Schema & documentation, OpenAI Agents API +8: Claude Code 80 (Framework reading. No published JSON Schema for settings that we checked (per the 1 October check, not re-read), but the settings reference types every key, and the stream-json output has typed message classes in the Python and TypeScript Agent SDKs (18). llms.txt at code.claude.com/docs/llms.txt with a Markdown version of each page; code.claude.com's robots.txt carries Content-Signal ai-train=yes, search=yes, ai-input=yes (10). The permission-mode table says what each mode is best for and, re-read on 4 November, now gives `default` as the starting mode for `claude -p` and the Agent SDK, matching 2.1.302. The rules still carry many version-specific exceptions (mods, protected paths, carve-outs by settings source) that a model has to read closely. Judgement call. The page catching up removes the reason given on 17 October but not the one given before it, so the line stays at 15 rather than rising; the lighter reading gives 17 and schema 82 (15). Permission modes, sandbox settings and rule syntax are enumerated, though rules are strings parsed at runtime (12). Examples on every page and a troubleshooting section for install and auth errors (13). A changelog for every release. CHANGELOG.md in the repository has no dates, feed.xml dates the latest 20 (2.1.318 at 00:00 UTC on 4 November), and the code.claude.com changelog page dated every release on 17 October. Breaking changes still aren't marked (12). 18 + 10 + 15 + 12 + 13 + 12 = 80.); OpenAI Agents API 88 (The reference is linked from the overview and the SDKs carry beta.agents types; we didn't confirm /agents/sessions in OpenAI's public OpenAPI file, so 15 of 25. llms.txt with every Agents API page and Markdown twins (10). The overview, architecture page and the agents guide that compares the Agents API, Agents SDK and Responses API say when to use it (20). Typed configuration with enumerated container sizes, network modes and environment types (13 of 15). Examples in six languages and an errors page with codes per HTTP status, turn and session (15). Dated changelog entries and a versioned beta header (15). 15 + 10 + 20 + 13 + 15 + 15 = 88.)
- Security & auth, OpenAI Agents API +7: Claude Code 80 (Framework reading (telemetry defaults, approvals, guardrails, sandboxing), five lines. The data-usage page, re-read on 4 November, says usage metrics are on by default on the Claude API without code, prompts or file paths, error reports are on by default for Pro, Max and Ultra sign-ins since v2.1.198, /feedback reports are on, session quality surveys run on every provider, and every provider sends WebFetch hostnames to api.anthropic.com for a blocklist check, each with an opt-out. Metrics, error reports and /feedback are off by default on Bedrock, Google Cloud, Foundry and Claude Platform on AWS unless a host sets `CLAUDE_CODE_PROVIDER_MANAGED_BY_HOST` (18). Six modes, allow, ask and deny rules, protected paths, and managed settings that can disable bypass and auto mode. 2.1.314 added `permissions.blockWritesOutsideWorkingDirectories`. The sandbox is opt-in and absent on native Windows, and auto mode, a classifier rather than a person, is the built-in starting mode for terminal and VS Code sessions on 2.1.283 or later, per the permission-modes page re-read on 4 November; sandboxing per 17 October (16). The auto-mode classifier blocks named exfiltration patterns, the sandbox proxy denies hosts outside an allowlist that starts empty, and WebFetch checks a blocklist, but since 1 October 2026 a mod can approve a call a deny rule refuses unless managed settings or a Team or Enterprise sign-in hold it (11). Opt-in OpenTelemetry with tool content behind `OTEL_LOG_TOOL_CONTENT`, local transcripts for 30 days, and cloud sessions logged through a proxy; 2.1.317 adds plan, seat type and provider attributes (15). HackerOne bug bounty and SECURITY.md (unchanged since 15 May 2026 in the clone), advisories published with GHSA ids, the newest in GitHub's reviewed database GHSA-pq7j-f95f-qfcv (High, 15 October; OSV holds 29 for the package on 4 November, none newer), and anthropic.com's security.txt valid to 31 December 2026, re-read on 4 November (20). 18 + 16 + 11 + 15 + 20 = 80. SOC 2 isn't scored on the framework reading. Advisories and the changelog-only sandbox and permission fixes count under negative events. Judgement call, written by an agent on Claude, on the same checklist the other harnesses got.); OpenAI Agents API 87 (Project keys with restricted per-endpoint permissions, service accounts and workload identity, per the openai-api listing; we didn't confirm a key can be limited to /v1/agents (27 of 30). Automatic review for approvals, a sandbox network restricted to a host allowlist, vaults for secrets and a sandbox security guide (17 of 20). The agent reads web pages, MCP results and browser content; the sandbox security guide and approval flow are the mitigations, with no prompt-injection guide of its own found (8 of 15). Tracing, observability and usage per session and admin audit logs (15). SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001 family, Bugcrowd bounty and a disclosure policy, per the openai-api listing (20). Not ZDR-eligible and US residency only, recorded under transparency. 27 + 17 + 8 + 15 + 20 = 87.)
- Maintenance & community, OpenAI Agents API +5: Claude Code 82 (2.1.318 on 4 November 2026 (feed.xml 00:00:44 UTC, tag v2.1.318), not confirmed on npm because registry.npmjs.org didn't resolve and the fallback waited on an approval prompt (30). 81 release tags in the 90 days from 6 August (v2.1.223 on 6 August to v2.1.318), from the clone (20). A public issue tracker with automatic triage, duplicate detection and labels, but over 5,000 open issues and no visible maintainer replies on the page we read, per the 1 October check, not re-read since (12). The Python and TypeScript Agent SDKs that run the same loop are current, Python 0.2.176 and TypeScript 0.3.316 tagged 31 October, per the Claude Agent SDK listing's 1 November check (15). Signed releases and a stable channel, but no public CI for the program (5). 30 + 20 + 12 + 15 + 5 = 82.); OpenAI Agents API 87 (Closed API. Last dated change 16 October 2026, Ultrafast mode and document skills (30). Four dated changelog entries in the 57 days since release, 10 September, 29 September, 9 October and 16 October (20). Changelog and help centre, as the openai-api listing reads them (12 of 15). Official SDKs carry beta.agents (15). SDK CI, per the openai-api listing (10). 30 + 20 + 12 + 15 + 10 = 87.)