Listed whether or not they pay us. Prices from each tool's own pricing page, checked Oct 16, 2026.

Cline

Open source autonomous coding agent for VS Code and CLI; bring your own keys or pay inference at cost.

Best for Developers wanting a free, BYOK open source agent

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What it does

Cline is an open source autonomous coding agent runtime available in code editors, the terminal, or as a desktop app. You supply instructions or questions alongside your chosen model keys, and it runs terminal commands, refactors codebases, and edits files. It is designed for developers who want automated programming workflows without vendor lock in.

Read more: 4 features and how people use themShow less

  1. Bring your own keys

    Lets you supply your own API keys or weights from services like OpenAI, Anthropic, or local setups so you retain full control over inference costs.

    Use caseA developer brings their own API keys from providers like Anthropic or OpenAI to run models without paying seat subscriptions.

    From cline.bot/pricing

  2. Plan then act modes

    Enables you to switch between drafting an approach and executing it, letting you review actions individually or automate execution completely.

    Use caseAn engineer switches to Plan mode to coordinate an implementation strategy before flipping to Act to execute changes across files.

    From cline.bot

  3. Cline CLI automation

    Executes coding workflows and tests directly from your command line interface or automation environments.

    Use caseA developer runs checks and recurring project updates inside automated CI pipelines and scheduled cron jobs.

    From cline.bot

  4. MCP and plugin extensions

    Connects extra services, databases, infrastructure tools, and custom lifecycle hooks directly to the agent runtime.

    Use caseAn engineer connects external database servers and infrastructure APIs into their assistant setup.

    From cline.bot

Written from Cline's own website, checked . Each feature links to the page it comes from; images are Cline's own.

Every plan

PlanMonthlyBilled yearlyPerWhat it includes
Open Source (Free)FreeNot listedper userNo seat fee; inference at cost or BYOK; VS Code + CLI
EnterpriseNot listedNot listedper usercontact sales; SSO, SCIM, JetBrains extension, VPC, audit logs

From Cline's own pricing page, checked . Prices are in US dollars per month; "billed yearly" is the monthly price when you pay for a year up front. A few figures (often the yearly price) are derived rather than printed on the page.

Before you pay

Support
Community support, priority support, dedicated support, Discord, Reddit, GitHub discussions
What Cline saysEnterprise is for organizations that need team collaboration features and enterprise grade security. This includes JetBrains extension, centralized billing, team management dashboard, role based access control, SSO, OIDC, SCIM provisioning, audit logs, VPC deployments, SLA, OpenTelemetry, priority support, and dedicated support. Source page

Only what Cline's own pages state, with the quote behind each answer. Anything they don't publish is left out rather than guessed.

Getting started with Cline

  1. Open the extensions view in your editor by pressing Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + X.
  2. Search for Cline in the extensions search bar.
  3. Click Install on the Cline extension.
  4. Find and open Cline in the extension sidebar.
  5. Complete provider setup in Cline settings by selecting Cline Provider, ClinePass, or bringing your own provider key.

Tips

  • For JetBrains IDEs, search Cline in Settings → Plugins → Marketplace, install it, restart the IDE, and open it via View → Tool Windows → Cline.
  • To use Cline in terminal workflows, install Node.js 20+ (22 recommended), run npm install -g cline, and authenticate with cline auth.
  • If you build with coding agents like Claude Code or Codex, install the Cline SDK skill using npx skills add cline/sdk skill for context on SDK APIs and best practices.

Written from Cline's own help pages: docs.cline.bot/getting-started/installing-cline · docs.cline.bot/sdk/overview

What the free plan includes

Extension free; pay only for model inference (BYOK or Cline credits at cost)

Questions people ask about Cline

Is Cline free?

Yes, there is a free plan: Extension free; pay only for model inference (BYOK or Cline credits at cost).

What do I pay for?

You only pay for AI inference credits when you use AI models. This is usage based pricing - you pay for what you use, nothing more. There are no subscriptions or seat fees for the open source version. Source

Can I use my own API keys?

Absolutely! You can bring your own API keys from providers like OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and others. This gives you complete control over your costs and usage. Source

When do I need Enterprise?

Enterprise is for organizations that need team collaboration features and enterprise grade security. This includes JetBrains extension, centralized billing, team management dashboard, role based access control, SSO, OIDC, SCIM provisioning, audit logs, VPC deployments, SLA, OpenTelemetry, priority support, and dedicated support. Source

Works with

Integrations
VS Code, JetBrains, Cursor, Windsurf, Zed, Neovim, Slack, Discord, Telegram, Linear
AI models
Claude, GPT, Gemini, Ollama, LM Studio, OpenRouter, AWS Bedrock, GCP Vertex, Groq, Cerebras, DeepSeek

Where this came from

Plans, prices and limits were copied from Cline's own pages, then checked .

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