AI Coding Hub

Best Of · Free

Best Free AI for Coding in 2026

The 13 AI coding tools with a genuinely free tier — no trial in disguise. Here is what each free plan actually gives you, and where the limits kick in.

How we test  ·  Affiliate disclosure

01 / What each free plan includes

Free plan limits, as each vendor states them

Checked on on each vendor’s official pricing page or docs (linked in the last column). A free trial is not counted as a free plan.

ToolWhat the free plan includesCheapest paid planSource
OpenAI Codex CLI The CLI is open source, and Codex is included in the ChatGPT Free plan for quick coding tasks ChatGPT Go $8/mo, Plus $20/mo developers.openai.com/codex/pricing
Cursor Hobby plan: free, no credit card, limited Agent requests Pro $20/mo cursor.com/pricing
Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) Free plan: light agent quota, limited model choice, unlimited inline edits and Tab completions Pro $20/mo devin.ai/pricing
GitHub Copilot Free plan: limited chat and agent usage; CLI and agent mode included Pro $10/mo github.com/features/copilot/plans
Replit Starter plan: daily Agent credits, monthly cloud credits, one published app (the free link goes down after 30 days) Core $20/mo ($18 billed annually) docs.replit.com/billing/plans/starter-plan
Zed Personal plan, $0 forever: 2,000 accepted edit predictions; unlimited use with your own API keys or external agents Pro $10/mo zed.dev/pricing
Gemini Code Assist Gemini Code Assist for individuals, at no cost Standard and Enterprise editions for businesses codeassist.google
Amazon Q Developer Free Tier: a limited number of agentic requests per month, in the IDE or CLI Pro $19/user/mo aws.amazon.com/q/developer/pricing
Lovable 5 build credits a day (up to 30 a month) plus 20 Cloud credits a month Pro from $25/mo (100 credits) docs.lovable.dev/introduction/plans-and-credits
Bolt.new 300,000 tokens a day, up to 1 million a month Pro $25/mo bolt.new/pricing
v0 Up to 7 messages a day Plus $30/user/mo v0.app/pricing
Base44 25 message credits and 100 integration credits a month, up to 5 apps Starter $16/mo billed annually base44.com/pricing
Google AI Studio Gemini API free tier: limited access to some models, free input and output tokens; free-tier content may be used to improve Google’s products Pay as you go ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/pricing

02 / The free tools

Ranked by our score

#1

OpenAI Codex CLI

OpenAI’s open-source agentic coding CLI (with a cloud counterpart).

9/10
  • CLI
  • Free tier
  • From $8/mo
  • MCP

Models GPT / Codex

Best for
  • Terminal developers in the OpenAI ecosystem

An open-source agentic CLI for people who want to stay in the GPT/ChatGPT ecosystem but still get a real terminal agent.

Pros

  • Open source — self-hostable and auditable
  • Integrates cleanly with the OpenAI ecosystem
  • Terminal-first agent workflow
  • Runs on a ChatGPT Plus/Pro plan or API usage

Cons

  • Smaller ecosystem and plugin set than Cursor
  • CLI-first flow has a learning curve
  • Capability shifts with the underlying GPT/Codex version

Last tested: 2026-06-17

Visit OpenAI Codex CLI →
#2

Cursor

AI-first IDE (a VS Code fork) with multi-file agent editing.

8/10
  • IDE
  • Free tier
  • From $20/mo
  • MCP

Models Claude, GPT, Gemini, Cursor models

Best for
  • Full-time developers who live in an IDE
  • Large existing codebases

The default pick for IDE-based developers — multi-file agent edits across a large codebase feel the most natural, with near-zero ramp on top of VS Code.

Pros

  • Almost no learning curve on top of VS Code
  • Strong multi-file agent editing
  • Model choice (Claude / GPT / Gemini)
  • Handles large-codebase context well

Cons

  • Pro quota feels tight under heavy use
  • Occasionally over-eager with edits
  • IDE-only — no native CLI flow

Last tested: 2026-06-18

Visit Cursor →
#3

Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)

Agent-management IDE (formerly Windsurf; renamed by Cognition, OTA June 2026) — bundles the Devin Local agent and manages local + cloud agents from one surface.

7/10
  • IDE · Extension
  • Free tier
  • From $20/mo
  • MCP

Models Claude, GPT, Gemini, SWE-1

Best for
  • Developers who want an agent-first IDE flow
  • Managing local + cloud coding agents from one surface

An agent-first IDE — the Devin Local agent flow is smooth; it sits in the same tier as Cursor, so it comes down to personal feel.

Pros

  • Smooth Devin Local agent flow
  • Agent-first design
  • Has a free tier
  • Model choice (Claude / GPT / Gemini)

Cons

  • Ecosystem and plugins less mature than Cursor
  • Two rebrands in two years (Codeium → Windsurf → Devin Desktop)
  • Large-codebase results vary by scenario

Last tested: 2026-06-18

Visit Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) →
#4

GitHub Copilot

The incumbent AI pair-programmer, embedded across major IDEs.

6/10
  • Extension · IDE · CLI
  • Free tier
  • From $10/mo
  • MCP

Models GPT, Claude, Gemini

Best for
  • Teams already on GitHub
  • Multi-IDE shops

The steady incumbent — deeply embedded across IDEs and the GitHub ecosystem, easiest for team standardization; agent autonomy trails the newer tools.

Pros

  • Deeply embedded in VS Code, JetBrains and more
  • Native to the GitHub ecosystem
  • Low entry price (~$10) with a free tier
  • Model choice (GPT / Claude / Gemini)

Cons

  • Agent autonomy lags Cursor and Claude Code
  • Tends to follow rather than lead on features
  • More conservative on complex multi-step tasks

Last tested: 2026-06-18

Visit GitHub Copilot →

Replit

Browser IDE with an Agent that builds and deploys full apps.

  • Web
  • Free tier
  • From $20/mo

Models Claude, GPT

Best for
  • Building and shipping from the browser
  • Learners; hosting included

Hands-on score in progress Verdict, score and pros/cons publish after our real test — not before.

Visit Replit →

Zed

Fast, native (Rust) editor with built-in AI and agentic editing.

  • IDE
  • Free tier
  • From $10/mo
  • MCP

Models Claude, GPT, Bring your own

Best for
  • Performance-focused developers
  • Native editor + collaboration

Hands-on score in progress Verdict, score and pros/cons publish after our real test — not before.

Visit Zed →

Gemini Code Assist

Google’s AI coding assistant for IDEs, with a generous free tier.

  • Extension · CLI · IDE
  • Free tier
  • Usage / plan-based
  • MCP

Models Gemini

Best for
  • Google Cloud developers
  • Anyone wanting a strong free tier

Hands-on score in progress Verdict, score and pros/cons publish after our real test — not before.

Visit Gemini Code Assist →

Amazon Q Developer

AWS’s coding agent (formerly CodeWhisperer) across IDE, CLI and console.

  • Extension · CLI · IDE
  • Free tier
  • From $19/mo
  • MCP

Models Amazon Nova, Claude (Bedrock)

Best for
  • AWS-centric teams and workflows

Hands-on score in progress Verdict, score and pros/cons publish after our real test — not before.

Visit Amazon Q Developer →

Lovable

Prompt-to-app builder that ships full-stack web apps and sites.

  • Web · No-code
  • Free tier
  • From $25/mo

Models Claude

Best for
  • Founders / non-devs building MVPs and sites fast

Hands-on score in progress Verdict, score and pros/cons publish after our real test — not before.

Visit Lovable →

Bolt.new

In-browser full-stack builder (StackBlitz WebContainers).

  • Web · No-code
  • Free tier
  • From $25/mo

Models Claude

Best for
  • Full-stack prototypes in the browser
  • Quick deploys (Netlify)

Hands-on score in progress Verdict, score and pros/cons publish after our real test — not before.

Visit Bolt.new →

v0

Vercel’s generative UI / front-end builder (React, Next, shadcn).

  • Web · No-code
  • Free tier
  • From $30/mo

Models v0 model, GPT, Claude

Best for
  • React / Next.js UI
  • Teams in the Vercel ecosystem

Hands-on score in progress Verdict, score and pros/cons publish after our real test — not before.

Visit v0 →

Base44

No-code app builder with built-in backend, auth and database (Wix).

  • Web · No-code
  • Free tier
  • Usage / plan-based

Models Claude

Best for
  • Non-devs building internal tools / apps with a backend

Hands-on score in progress Verdict, score and pros/cons publish after our real test — not before.

Visit Base44 →

Google AI Studio

Build and prototype apps on Gemini, with a free tier to experiment.

  • Web
  • Free tier
  • Usage / plan-based

Models Gemini

Best for
  • Prototyping with Gemini
  • Developers testing prompts for free

Hands-on score in progress Verdict, score and pros/cons publish after our real test — not before.

Visit Google AI Studio →

03 / Go deeper

When free is not enough

All tools → Best AI for coding The full lineup, free and paid, compared on the facts. Match me → AI coding stack picker Set budget to “free first” and get a matched recommendation.

04 / FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Is there a truly free AI for coding?
Yes. GitHub Copilot, Gemini Code Assist, Cursor, Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf), Zed and others have free plans you can use without paying, the OpenAI Codex CLI is open source, and Codex is included in ChatGPT’s free plan. The catch is usage caps or limited access to the strongest models — the table above lists each free plan’s limits as the vendor states them (checked 1 Oct 2026).
What is the best free AI coding tool?
For most people the strongest free options are GitHub Copilot’s free plan and Gemini Code Assist for individuals, with Cursor and Devin Desktop also usable for free. “Best” depends on whether you want an IDE, an extension or a browser tool — the table above shows what each free plan includes. Our ranked scores publish after hands-on testing.
Are free AI coding tools good enough?
For learning, side projects and everyday autocomplete, yes — free tiers are very capable in 2026. You typically hit limits when you want heavy agentic use, the largest context windows, or the most capable models on big codebases, which is where paid plans earn their keep.
What is the catch with “free” AI coding tools?
Usually one of three things: a monthly cap on requests or “premium” model calls, access only to smaller/faster models on the free tier, or a free allowance that is really a short trial. We flag which kind applies so a free tier is not a trial in disguise — always confirm the current limits on the vendor’s site.

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