Free plans compared
Best Free AI Coding Assistants (2026)
Coding assistants now range from autocomplete in your editor to agents that edit many files and run tests. Free tiers usually cap agent requests or model access. This guide shows the free limits we have checked, plus open-source options that run with your own model keys.
Disclosure: some Visit links may be affiliate links, and we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Details come from official pricing and product pages, last reviewed 2026-10-29; this is not a hands-on test. Confirm current limits with the provider.
What to check before you choose
- Is the free tier limited by requests, by model, or by time?
- Does it work in the editor you already use?
- Can it edit several files and run tests, or only suggest code?
- Does your code leave your machine, and can you use your own model keys?
How we chose: tools listed here have an active product, a free plan or free tier, and pricing we could confirm from the provider. Retired or paid-only tools are left out automatically.
Quick comparison of free plans
| Tool | Free plan | No card needed | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub Copilot | Free provides limited chat and agent usage. Paid plans include larger allowances; agentic features consume GitHub AI Credits and can involve additional usage charges. | — | Web |
| Cursor | Free is $0 with limited agent and chat requests. | Yes | macOS, Windows, Linux |
| Cline | 0. Model, hosted inference, or optional service subscriptions may cost extra; free software does not include unlimited model usage. | — | Not recorded |
| Aider | The software is free to use. Model API access or local inference requires its own account, hardware, and associated costs. | — | Not recorded |
| Kilo Code | Individual client is free and open source; gateway inference and cloud compute are billed separately. | — | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| OpenCode | Open-source client; model providers and optional hosted inference are separate. | — | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Zed | Personal is free forever and lets you use your own API keys or external agents. | — | macOS, Windows, Linux, API |
| TRAE | The continuing Free plan has limited usage, autocomplete and automatic routing. | — | Web |
| Kiro | Kiro has a continuing Free tier with limited monthly credits and restricted model access. | — | Web |
| Replit | Free entry access and paid plans differ in agent usage, projects, collaborators, and included credits. | — | Web |
| OpenAI Codex | Codex is available on ChatGPT Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Edu and Enterprise plans, with usage shared with ChatGPT. | — | Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, API |
| Tabby | The Community edition is free within its current user allowance; paid Team and Enterprise options add capabilities. | — | Web, API |
The tools, in detail
GitHub's AI coding tools for editor assistance, agents, code review, and issue-to-pull-request workflows.
Best for: Coding assistance in an existing GitHub development workflow
Free plan: Free provides limited chat and agent usage. Paid plans include larger allowances; agentic features consume GitHub AI Credits and can involve additional usage charges.
Key features
- Editor coding assistance
- Agent mode
- CLI assistance
- Cloud agents on eligible plans
Limits to know
- A suggested test can mirror a mistake; define the expected behavior independently.
AI code editor and coding agent for project-aware changes, task delegation, review, and connected development workflows.
Best for: Project-aware coding agents and reviewable code changes
Free plan: Free is $0 with limited agent and chat requests. Plus is $8 a month, Premium $30 (4x Plus usage), Super $100 (15x) and Ultra $200 (50x), with Teams from $30 per user a month and custom Enterprise. Third-party models are billed separately at API list price, and some plans bundle Grok and X features.
Key features
- Project-aware coding agents
- Composer
- Code review
- CLI
Limits to know
- Third-party models (Claude, GPT, Gemini) are not available on Free and are billed separately at API list price on paid plans
- Command permissions and the final patch need review; a disabled button alone may not prevent duplicate server work
Open-source coding agent with planning, file changes, terminal workflows, and integrations across supported development tools.
Best for: Developers who want an open coding agent and provider choice
Free plan: The core repository is Apache-2.0. Model, hosted inference, or optional service subscriptions may cost extra; free software does not include unlimited model usage.
Key features
- Plan and Act workflows
- File edits
- Terminal commands
- MCP tools
Terminal-based AI coding tool that edits an existing codebase and works with Git and chosen model providers.
Best for: Developers making reviewable code changes from the terminal
Free plan: The software is free to use. Model API access or local inference requires its own account, hardware, and associated costs.
Key features
- Terminal coding
- Codebase edits
- Git workflows
- Model-provider choice
Limits to know
- Model-provider setup and usage costs are separate from the local coding workflow.
Use an open-source AI coding agent with model choice, IDE integrations and separately billed inference.
Best for: Use an open-source AI coding agent with model choice, IDE integrations and separately billed inference.
Free plan: Individual client is free and open source; gateway inference and cloud compute are billed separately.
Key features
- Agentic code generation
- IDE and CLI workflows
- Model-provider choice
- Bring-your-own keys
Limits to know
- Hosted inference and cloud compute may cost separately
- Free model availability can change
Use an open-source terminal coding agent with selectable providers and explicit plan/build workflows.
Best for: Use an open-source terminal coding agent with selectable providers and explicit plan/build workflows.
Free plan: Open-source client; model providers and optional hosted inference are separate.
Key features
- Terminal coding agent
- Provider configuration
- Plan and build workflows
- Project initialization
Limits to know
- Provider access or inference may cost separately
- Terminal setup requires development familiarity
Code editor for collaborative development with integrated AI, external agents, and bring-your-own-provider workflows.
Best for: Code editing and Collaboration
Free plan: Personal is free forever and lets you use your own API keys or external agents. Pro is $10/month with unlimited edit predictions and $5 of tokens included, then usage-based billing (API list price plus 10%). Business is $30/seat/month.
Key features
- Code editing
- Collaboration
- AI assistance
- External agents
Limits to know
- Personal is free with 2,000 accepted edit predictions. Pro is $10/month with included tokens and usage-based AI billing; your own provider can also charge separately.
An AI development environment for code completion, contextual assistance, and agent tasks across local and cloud workflows.
Best for: TRAE suits developers working through coding tasks with an assistant close to the project.
Free plan: The continuing Free plan has limited usage, autocomplete and automatic routing. Paid plans expand model choice, usage and cloud-task concurrency. Different models can consume the allowance differently; verify the current account terms before relying on a long unattended task.
Key features
- AI code completion
- Automatic model routing
- Agent coding tasks
- Cloud task workflow
Limits to know
- Free model choice and usage are restricted
- Paid allowances and concurrency are still finite
A coding environment that turns requirements into specifications, implementation tasks, and reviewable local or cloud agent work.
Best for: Kiro suits developers who want to make the intended behavior explicit before asking an agent to implement it.
Free plan: Kiro has a continuing Free tier with limited monthly credits and restricted model access. Paid plans expand allowances and available models; overages and enterprise controls have separate rules. Model availability can vary by region. Trial or upgrade promotions are separate from the recurring free allowance.
Key features
- Specification-driven development
- Requirements and design files
- Sequenced implementation tasks
- Agent coding workflows
Limits to know
- Credits and model eligibility depend on the plan
- A polished specification can still encode the wrong requirement
AI app builder with a browser workspace, agents, databases, integrations, and deployment tools.
Best for: Building and iterating on an app in a browser workspace
Free plan: Free entry access and paid plans differ in agent usage, projects, collaborators, and included credits. Paid Core and Pro add capacity; consumption limits apply.
Key features
- AI app building
- Browser development workspace
- Databases
- Integrations
OpenAI coding agent for cloud tasks, CLI, IDE extension and SDK, included in ChatGPT plans from Free to Enterprise.
Best for: OpenAI Codex suits developers who want to delegate coding tasks to a cloud or local agent and review the result as a pull request.
Free plan: Codex is available on ChatGPT Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Edu and Enterprise plans, with usage shared with ChatGPT. API-key access is billed at standard API pricing. Some features, such as computer use, are regionally limited on some plans, so check what your plan includes.
Key features
- Local and cloud task execution
- Sandboxing and permission controls
- GitHub pull request reviews
- Skills, plugins and MCP servers
Limits to know
- Usage limits depend on plan and shared with ChatGPT
- Some features are region or plan limited
A self-hosted AI coding assistant with code completion, inline chat, and repository context for developer teams.
Best for: Tabby is useful when a team wants to run its coding assistant on infrastructure it controls.
Free plan: The Community edition is free within its current user allowance; paid Team and Enterprise options add capabilities. Self-hosting still requires compute, model setup and maintenance. A free software edition does not include free infrastructure.
Key features
- Self-hosted assistant server
- Code completion
- Inline chat
- Answer Engine
Limits to know
- The team must operate the model server
- Hardware and model choice affect performance and cost
Quick decision guide
- Want to avoid entering a card? Cursor.
- Prefer open source? Cline, Kilo Code, OpenCode, Tabby.
Head-to-head comparisons
Frequently asked questions
Is there a fully free AI coding assistant?
Some open-source assistants are free to use but need your own model API keys, which cost money by usage. Hosted tools with a free tier cap requests or models. Check the free limits shown for each tool.
Should I trust AI-written code without review?
No. Read every change, run your tests and review anything touching security or payments. Treat an assistant as a fast first draft.
Which coding assistants here need no credit card?
Based on the official pages we reviewed, Cursor is listed as not needing a credit card to start. Confirm at sign-up, because plans change.
How current is this list?
Tool details were last reviewed 2026-10-29 from official pages. Free plans change often, so check the linked pricing page before you rely on a limit.