Short answer: for an agent that is free forever, use an open-source one such as OpenCode, Aider, OpenHands, Cline, Kilo Code and pay only for model tokens (or run a local model). For a free plan with models included, start with GitHub Copilot Free, Cursor Hobby, Google Antigravity or Kiro; all are usage-capped.
Free and open source (5)
The software costs nothing; you connect your own model provider API key, so cost depends on usage.
| Tool | Where it runs | Free option | Bring your own key | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenCode | Terminal (TUI) · Desktop app · IDE extension | OpenCode: Free — Bring your own model/provider; some free models included | ✓ Yes | 2026-10-10 |
| Aider | Terminal · Works with any editor via file-watch comments | Aider: Free — Pay only your model provider (BYOK) | ✓ Yes | 2026-10-10 |
| OpenHands | Web GUI (local or cloud) · CLI · SDK | Open source (local): Free — Run OpenHands yourself | ✓ Yes | 2026-10-10 |
| Cline | VS Code extension · CLI · JetBrains (Enterprise) | Open source: Free — Pay only for inference (BYOK or Cline provider at cost) | ✓ Yes | 2026-10-10 |
| Kilo Code | VS Code extension · JetBrains extension · CLI | Free & open source: $0 — Usage billed separately (BYOK, local or Kilo Gateway) | ✓ Yes | 2026-10-10 |
Commercial agents with a free plan (12)
Models are included, but free usage is limited; paid tiers raise the limits.
| Tool | Where it runs | Free option | Bring your own key | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cursor | Desktop editor (VS Code fork) · CLI · Web (cloud agents) | Hobby: Free — Limited Agent requests | ✓ Yes | 2026-10-10 |
| OpenAI Codex | Terminal (Codex CLI) · IDE extension · Web / ChatGPT | ChatGPT Free / Go: Included (limited) — Codex is included in all ChatGPT plans | ✓ Yes | 2026-10-10 |
| GitHub Copilot | VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains, Xcode, Eclipse, Neovim, Zed · Copilot CLI · github.com & GitHub Mobile | Free: $0 — 2,000 completions and 50 chat requests per month | Check site | 2026-10-10 |
| Google Antigravity | Antigravity desktop app / IDE · Antigravity CLI · IDE extensions | Individual: $0 — Unlimited Tab completions and Command requests; basic weekly agent limits | — No | 2026-10-10 |
| Warp | Terminal app (macOS, Linux, Windows) · Cloud agents | Free: $0 — Terminal plus limited AI | Check site | 2026-10-10 |
| Zed | Native desktop editor (macOS, Linux, Windows) | Personal: $0 — 2,000 accepted edit predictions; unlimited with your own keys or external agents | ✓ Yes | 2026-10-10 |
| Devin | Devin Cloud (web) · Devin Desktop · Devin CLI | Free: $0 — Light agent quota (Desktop) | — No | 2026-10-10 |
| JetBrains AI (Junie & AI Assistant) | IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, WebStorm, GoLand, Rider and other JetBrains IDEs | AI Free: $0 — Limited AI usage | ✓ Yes | 2026-10-10 |
| Sweep | JetBrains IDEs plugin | Free trial: $0 — 1,000 autocompletes + $5 API credits | — No | 2026-10-10 |
| Kiro | Kiro IDE (VS Code-based) · Kiro CLI | Free: $0 — Starter credits | — No | 2026-10-10 |
| Amp | Terminal (Amp CLI) · Remote 'orbs' (cloud runners) · Editor integrations | Hobby: Free — All features; BYOK or your ChatGPT/Claude subscriptions; pay-as-you-go orbs | ✓ Yes | 2026-10-10 |
| Jules | Web · GitHub (issue label) · CLI | Jules (free): $0 — 15 tasks/day, 3 concurrent | — No | 2026-10-10 |
Free AI app builders (4)
| Tool | Where it runs | Free option | Bring your own key | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Replit Agent | Browser IDE · Mobile app | Starter: Free — Try Replit Agent with limits — check site | — No | 2026-10-10 |
| Lovable | Web app | Free: $0 — 5 build credits/day (up to 30/month) + 20 Cloud credits | — No | 2026-10-10 |
| v0 | Web app · iOS app | Free: $0 — 7 messages/day; deploy to Vercel | — No | 2026-10-10 |
| Bolt | Web app (in-browser WebContainers) | Free: $0 — 300K tokens/day, 1M tokens/month | — No | 2026-10-10 |
Free AI code review (2)
| Tool | Where it runs | Free option | Bring your own key | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greptile | GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Gitea (PR comments) · CLI | Starter: Free — 50 credits/month, 1 active developer | — No | 2026-10-10 |
| Graphite | GitHub · Graphite CLI · Web dashboard | Hobby: Free — Personal projects | — No | 2026-10-10 |
Data comes from our tools.json; each tool page links its official pricing page. Discontinued tools (e.g. Supermaven, Continue, Amazon Q Developer) are excluded.
FAQ
What is the best free AI coding agent?
For a completely free, open-source agent with no subscription, Cline, Kilo Code, Aider, OpenCode and OpenHands are the strongest picks: the software is free and you pay only your model provider (or run a local model). If you want a free plan from a commercial product instead, GitHub Copilot Free, Cursor Hobby, Google Antigravity and Kiro offer limited free usage.
Are free AI coding agents really free?
Open-source agents cost nothing to install, but they call an LLM that usually bills per token unless you bring a free or local model. Free plans of commercial tools are capped by request or credit limits and upgrade to paid tiers.
Which free AI coding agent works in the terminal?
Aider and OpenCode are free, open-source terminal agents. Warp also has a free plan, and Amp offers a free Hobby tier.
Can I use a free AI coding agent with local models?
Yes. Bring-your-own-key open-source agents such as Cline, Kilo Code, Aider and OpenCode can point at a local model server, so the whole setup can be free. Check each tool's docs for supported providers.