What did Kiro replace?

Kiro replaced Amazon Q Developer and became generally available in May 2026. If your team was on Amazon Q Developer, Kiro is the current AWS-supported path forward.

How does Kiro's credit pricing compare to Cursor?

Kiro's entry Pro plan is $20/mo (confirm current), the same headline price as Cursor Pro ($20/mo with usage credits, confirm current), but spec-mode requests cost roughly 5x vibe-mode credits on Kiro, which can make exploratory work more expensive in practice. Both pricing structures are subject to change — confirm current rates on each vendor's site before committing.

Do both tools support MCP?

Yes. Both Kiro and Cursor support MCP (Model Context Protocol), so integrations you've built for one should be transferable to the other in principle, though exact server compatibility should be verified against each tool's current documentation.

Can I use Cursor's Background Agents feature on Kiro?

Cursor supports Background Agents and Cloud Agents (Cursor 3.0, April 2026, added an Agents Window). Kiro has a CLI for terminal use, but equivalent async/background agent features are not confirmed in the FACTS available — check kiro.dev for current capability.

Which tool has more model choice?

Cursor explicitly supports Claude, GPT, Gemini, and DeepSeek. Kiro routes through AWS and offers frontier models, but the specific switchable model list is not detailed in Kiro's public documentation as of this writing — confirm on kiro.dev.

Comparison

Kiro vs Cursor

Kiro, AWS's newly GA'd IDE, requires you to write structured specifications before any code generation runs — a deliberate friction designed to reduce downstream logic errors. Cursor takes the opposite stance: an AI-first VS Code fork where Tab completion, inline edits, and autonomous background agents work with minimal ceremony.

By DK, Editor · Last verified: 2026-06-20 · How we test · No hands-on score yet — comparison is on documented facts

At a glance

Dimension	Kiro	Cursor
Form factor	AI IDE + Kiro CLI (terminal)	AI IDE (VS Code fork)
Open source	No (AWS)	No (proprietary VS Code fork)
Free tier	50 credits free	Hobby plan (limited Agent + Tab)
Model providers	Frontier models via AWS	Claude, GPT, Gemini, DeepSeek
MCP support	Yes	Yes
Background / cloud agents	Not confirmed — check kiro.dev	Yes — Background Agents + Cloud Agents
Workflow philosophy	Spec-first: write structured specs, then generate	Freeform: inline edits + autonomous agents with minimal planning step
Status	Generally available May 2026; replaced Amazon Q Developer	Active; Cursor 3.0 (April 2026) added an Agents Window
Best for	Teams prioritising engineering rigour and reducing spec-to-code drift	Developers who want an AI-first editor with fast iteration and multi-model choice

Facts compiled from public sources and verified 2026-06-20 — pricing and models change often, so confirm current details on each vendor’s site. No hands-on score is shown; this is a documented-fact comparison.

Verdict

If your main frustration is agents that write code before understanding the problem, Kiro's mandatory spec step is a real architectural difference — not a UI quirk. The tradeoff is cost: spec-mode requests cost roughly 5x vibe-mode credits on Kiro (confirm current), so exploratory work burns Kiro credits faster. Cursor's broader model roster (Claude, GPT, Gemini, DeepSeek) gives teams more flexibility if they want to switch providers, while Kiro routes through AWS and offers fewer public model details. Both tools support MCP, so existing MCP server integrations carry across either way.

Choose Kiro if your team already runs a spec or RFC process and wants the IDE to enforce it, or if you are building in an AWS-centric org that was previously on Amazon Q Developer.
Choose Cursor if you prioritise fast iteration, want to pick your own frontier model per session, or rely on Background and Cloud Agents for async work — features Cursor documents.
Choose Kiro with caution if you want to vibe-code exploratory prototypes: spec-mode credit costs mean that undisciplined prompting will burn your quota faster.
Neither tool is open source; if vendor lock-in or self-hosting is a hard requirement, look at open-source or self-hostable alternatives instead.

Our AI agents

From the team behind AI Coding Hub — agents that pick up where the code ends:

FAQ

What did Kiro replace?: Kiro replaced Amazon Q Developer and became generally available in May 2026. If your team was on Amazon Q Developer, Kiro is the current AWS-supported path forward.
How does Kiro's credit pricing compare to Cursor?: Kiro's entry Pro plan is $20/mo (confirm current), the same headline price as Cursor Pro ($20/mo with usage credits, confirm current), but spec-mode requests cost roughly 5x vibe-mode credits on Kiro, which can make exploratory work more expensive in practice. Both pricing structures are subject to change — confirm current rates on each vendor's site before committing.
Do both tools support MCP?: Yes. Both Kiro and Cursor support MCP (Model Context Protocol), so integrations you've built for one should be transferable to the other in principle, though exact server compatibility should be verified against each tool's current documentation.
Can I use Cursor's Background Agents feature on Kiro?: Cursor supports Background Agents and Cloud Agents (Cursor 3.0, April 2026, added an Agents Window). Kiro has a CLI for terminal use, but equivalent async/background agent features are not confirmed in the FACTS available — check kiro.dev for current capability.
Which tool has more model choice?: Cursor explicitly supports Claude, GPT, Gemini, and DeepSeek. Kiro routes through AWS and offers frontier models, but the specific switchable model list is not detailed in Kiro's public documentation as of this writing — confirm on kiro.dev.