#1
Cursor AI code editor + agents
Most complete AI-first editor for vibe coding, with a free tier and agents at every level.
- Price
- Free $0; paid tiers $8 / $30 / $100 / $200 per month; Teams from $30/user/mo
- Free tier
- Free: limited agent & chat requests
- Best for
- Vibe coders who want an AI-first editor with agents built in
- Full editor with agents, cloud agents & automations on higher tiers
- Wide tier ladder from $8 to $200
- Pricing page now bundles X/Grok perks; the $8 Plus tier is Grok-models only
- Third-party models billed separately by usage
Source: cursor.com/pricing (checked Oct 16, 2026)
#2
Claude Code Terminal / IDE coding agent (Anthropic)
Strongest pure agent for multi-file work, but there's no free access.
- Price
- Pro $20/mo ($17/mo annual); Max from $100/mo (5x or 20x usage)
- Free tier
- No — Claude Code isn't on the Free plan
- Best for
- Agentic, multi-file work from the terminal
- Included with a standard Claude Pro subscription
- Max tiers add 5x–20x usage and priority access
- No free access to Claude Code
- Usage limits apply on every plan
Source: claude.com/pricing (checked Oct 16, 2026)
#3
OpenAI Codex Coding agent: app, CLI, IDE, web
Strong agent bundled with ChatGPT, and it has a real free tier.
- Price
- Go $8/mo; Plus $20/mo; Pro $100, $200 or $500/mo
- Free tier
- Yes — Free plan for quick tasks (GPT-6 Luna, desktop app, subject to rollout)
- Best for
- Builders already paying for ChatGPT
- Comes with ChatGPT plans, including a free tier
- Plus adds CLI, IDE extension, web, iOS and automatic code review
- Usage limits vary by model and task
- Free/Go limited to the desktop app
Source: developers.openai.com/codex/pricing (checked Oct 16, 2026)
#4
Lovable Chat-to-app web builder
Easiest path from idea to a hosted app for people who don't code.
- Price
- Paid plans are credit-based (Pro, Business); dollar prices not shown on the page we could load
- Free tier
- Yes — 5 build credits/day (up to 30/mo) + 20 Cloud credits/mo
- Best for
- Non-coders going from idea to a hosted web app
- Hosting for small apps usually covered by included grants
- Unlimited workspace members on all plans; you own your code
- Credits expire; costs vary by task complexity
- Credits are non-refundable
Source: lovable.dev/pricing (checked Oct 16, 2026)
#5
Replit Agent Browser IDE + app-building agent
Build, run and host in one browser tab; Pro's parallel agents stand out.
- Price
- Core $20/mo ($18 annual); Pro $100/mo ($90 annual)
- Free tier
- Not verified on the pricing page
- Best for
- Building and hosting full apps in one browser tab
- Pro runs 10 parallel agents and up to 15 collaborators
- Plan mode and database rollback (28 days on Pro)
- Paid plans include model credits ($20/$100), so heavy use can cost more
- Agent output is probabilistic (Replit's own disclaimer)
Source: replit.com/pricing (checked Oct 16, 2026)
#6
GitHub Copilot AI pair programmer across editors
Cheapest serious paid tier at $10, and it works in the editor you already use.
- Price
- Pro $10/mo; Pro+ $39/mo; Max $100/mo
- Free tier
- Yes — limited chat & agent usage, includes CLI and agent mode
- Best for
- Developers who stay in VS Code, JetBrains, Xcode etc.
- Agent mode across VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains, Eclipse, Xcode
- MCP support on every plan, even Free
- Usage measured in GitHub AI Credits, which adds complexity
- Free plan has no flex allotment
Source: github.com/features/copilot/plans (checked Oct 16, 2026)
#7
Windsurf (now Devin Desktop) AI editor from Cognition
Generous free autocomplete, but the Devin rebrand means churn.
- Price
- Pro $20/mo; Max $200/mo; Teams $80/mo + $40/seat
- Free tier
- Yes — light agent quota, unlimited Tab completions & inline edits
- Best for
- Fast autocomplete plus cloud agents (Devin Cloud) on Pro
- Unlimited Tab completions even on Free
- Pro includes frontier models from several labs
- Rebranded under Devin — expect product churn
- Free SWE-2 promo ends Oct 16, 2026
Source: windsurf.com/pricing (checked Oct 16, 2026)
#8
Bolt.new In-browser full-stack app builder
Great free tokens and hosting, but branding and metering limit it.
- Price
- Pro $25/mo; Teams $30/member/mo
- Free tier
- Yes — 1M tokens/month (300K/day), Bolt branding, hosting included
- Best for
- Quick prototypes and sites with hosting built in
- Generous free token allowance plus hosting & databases
- Pro tokens roll over month to month
- Free sites carry Bolt branding
- Token-metered, so big projects burn through quota
Source: bolt.new/pricing (checked Oct 16, 2026)
#9
v0 by Vercel UI/app generator tied to Vercel
Excellent for UI, but its 7-messages-a-day free tier is the tightest here.
- Price
- Plus $30/user/mo; Business $100/user/mo
- Free tier
- Yes — 7 messages/day, deploy to Vercel, GitHub sync
- Best for
- Next.js/React UI that ships straight to Vercel
- One-click deploys to Vercel and GitHub sync
- Design Mode for visual edits
- Free tier is just 7 messages a day
- Usage beyond included credits is token-billed
Source: v0.app/pricing (checked Oct 16, 2026)