Every major AI coding tool compared by price. Free tiers, Pro plans, and team pricing in one table so you can pick the right tool without overpaying.
Last updated: March 2026. Prices verified against official websites.
| Tool | Free Tier | Pro Price | Team Price | Key Limits | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Code | No Free Tier | $20/mo (Pro) or $100/mo (Max) | $30/user/mo (Team) | Usage-based after plan limits. Max plan includes 5x more usage than Pro. | Autonomous CLI work, multi-file refactors |
| Cursor | Free Tier 2,000 completions + 50 slow requests/mo | $20/mo | $40/user/mo (Business) | 500 fast requests/mo on Pro. Unlimited slow requests. | Visual editing in IDE, Composer mode |
| GitHub Copilot | Free Tier 2,000 completions + 50 chat messages/mo | $10/mo | $19/user/mo (Business) | Unlimited completions on Pro. Agent mode included. | Beginners, VS Code and JetBrains users |
| Windsurf | Free Tier generous free tier with AI credits | $15/mo | $30/user/mo (Team) | Pro includes increased AI credits and priority models. | Free AI coding, Cascade agent mode |
| OpenAI Codex | No Free Tier requires ChatGPT subscription | $20/mo (ChatGPT Plus) | $30/user/mo (ChatGPT Team) | Runs in cloud sandbox. Task count varies by plan. | Cloud-based coding, PR generation |
| Aider | Open Source free forever | Free (bring your own API key) | Free (self-hosted) | You pay for LLM API usage directly. No tool-level limits. | Open-source CLI, git-aware editing |
| Continue.dev | Open Source free forever | Free (bring your own API key or local model) | Contact for enterprise | No tool-level limits. Use local models for zero cost. | VS Code/JetBrains, full model control |
| Zed | Free Tier | Free (bring your own API key) | Free (self-hosted collab) | You pay for LLM API usage directly. Editor is fully free. | Performance-focused devs, Rust-native speed |
| Replit Agent | Free Tier limited AI usage on free plan | $25/mo (Replit Core) | $40/user/mo (Teams) | Core includes advanced AI agent. Usage credits vary by plan. | No-code prototyping, instant deployment |
Aider and Continue.dev are fully open source with no tool-level cost. Bring your own API key or use local models for completely free AI coding. Zed is also free with BYOK.
GitHub Copilot at $10/mo is the cheapest paid option with unlimited completions. Cursor Pro and Codex at $20/mo offer more advanced agent features.
Claude Code Max at $100 - $200/mo gives you the most capable autonomous coding agent with extended usage limits and access to Claude Opus 4.
If you want zero cost: Start with Aider or Continue.dev using a free API tier (Gemini, or local models via Ollama). You get real AI coding assistance without spending anything.
If you want the easiest on-ramp: GitHub Copilot at $10/mo works in VS Code and JetBrains with minimal setup. The free tier (2,000 completions/mo) is enough to evaluate it.
If you want the best IDE experience: Cursor Pro at $20/mo. Composer mode for multi-file edits is worth the upgrade from Copilot if you work on larger codebases.
If you want maximum autonomy: Claude Code on the Max plan. It handles multi-file refactors, spawns sub-agents, and runs for hours unattended. The $200/mo price pays for itself if you ship faster.
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