AI coding · 9 tools compared
What is the best AI coding assistant in 2026?
Short answer
Cursor ranks first on published facts: a free plan (limited agent and chat requests), paid plans from $8 / mo. 8 of 9 have a free plan.
| Tool | Best for | Free plan | From | 1st year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Cursor | AI-first code editor | Yes | $8 / mo | $96 |
| 2. OpenAI Codex | Coding agent bundled with ChatGPT | Yes | $8 / mo | $96 |
| 3. Aider | Open-source terminal pair programming | Yes | Free | $0 |
| 4. Gemini CLI | Terminal coding with Google account sign-in | Yes | $19.99 / mo | $239.88 |
| 5. GitHub Copilot | IDE autocomplete and agents inside GitHub | Yes | $10 / seat / mo | $600 |
| 6. Devin | Autonomous cloud coding agent | Yes | $20 / mo | $240 |
| 7. JetBrains Junie | JetBrains IDE users wanting an agent | Yes | $100 / seat / yr | $500 |
| 8. Amazon Q Developer | AWS-centric development teams | Yes | $19 / seat / mo | $1,140 |
| 9. Claude Code | Terminal-based agentic coding | No | $17 / mo | $204 |
From = cheapest paid plan, billed yearly where offered. 1st year = that plan for 12 months.
How did we rank these 9 AI coding assistants?
On published facts only, scored out of 7: free plan (2, or 1 for a trial), first-year cost against the others (up to 3), three or more paid plans (1), mobile apps (1). We do not test tools hands-on.
| Tool | Score / 7 |
|---|---|
| Cursor | 5.6 |
| OpenAI Codex | 5.6 |
| Aider | 5 |
| Gemini CLI | 4.5 |
| GitHub Copilot | 3.4 |
| Devin | 3.1 |
| JetBrains Junie | 2.8 |
| Amazon Q Developer | 2 |
| Claude Code | 1.9 |
The 9 best AI coding assistants, ranked
Cursor
Best for: AI-first code editor
- Free plan
- Yes, limited agent and chat requests
- From
- $8 / mo
- 1st year
- $96
OpenAI Codex
Best for: coding agent bundled with ChatGPT
- Free plan
- Yes, limited Codex access
- From
- $8 / mo
- 1st year
- $96
Aider
Best for: open-source terminal pair programming
- Free plan
- Yes, open source, bring your own API key
- From
- Free
- 1st year
- $0
Gemini CLI
Best for: terminal coding with Google account sign-in
- Free plan
- Yes, 1,000 requests/day
- From
- $19.99 / mo
- 1st year
- $239.88
GitHub Copilot
Best for: IDE autocomplete and agents inside GitHub
- Free plan
- Yes, limited chat and agent usage
- From
- $10 / seat / mo
- 1st year
- $600
Devin
Best for: autonomous cloud coding agent
- Free plan
- Yes, light quota, unlimited Tab
- From
- $20 / mo
- 1st year
- $240
JetBrains Junie
Best for: JetBrains IDE users wanting an agent
- Free plan
- Yes, unlimited completion, 3 monthly AI credits
- From
- $100 / seat / yr
- 1st year
- $500
Amazon Q Developer
Best for: AWS-centric development teams
- Free plan
- Yes, free tier with advanced capabilities
- From
- $19 / seat / mo
- 1st year
- $1,140
Claude Code
Best for: terminal-based agentic coding
- Free plan
- No
- From
- $17 / mo
- 1st year
- $204
Which AI coding assistant is cheapest?
Aider, at $0 for the first year, then Cursor at $96.
| Tool | Cheapest plan | 1st year |
|---|---|---|
| Aider | Free | $0 |
| Cursor | Plus | $96 |
| OpenAI Codex | Go | $96 |
| Claude Code | Pro | $204 |
| Gemini CLI | Google AI Pro | $239.88 |
| Devin | Pro | $240 |
| JetBrains Junie | AI Pro | $500 |
| GitHub Copilot | Pro | $600 |
| Amazon Q Developer | Pro | $1,140 |
Which AI coding assistants have a free plan?
8 of 9: Cursor, OpenAI Codex, Aider, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot, Devin, JetBrains Junie, Amazon Q Developer.
- Cursor: limited agent and chat requests
- OpenAI Codex: limited Codex access
- Aider: open source, bring your own API key
- Gemini CLI: 1,000 requests/day
- GitHub Copilot: limited chat and agent usage
- Devin: light quota, unlimited Tab
- JetBrains Junie: unlimited completion, 3 monthly AI credits
- Amazon Q Developer: free tier with advanced capabilities
Sources
| Vendor page | URL | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Cursor pricing | cursor.com/pricing | 27 Oct 2026 |
| OpenAI Codex pricing | chatgpt.com/pricing | 27 Oct 2026 |
| Aider pricing | aider.chat/ | 27 Oct 2026 |
| Gemini CLI pricing | geminicli.com/docs/resources/quota-and-pricing/ | 27 Oct 2026 |
| GitHub Copilot pricing | github.com/features/copilot/plans | 27 Oct 2026 |
| Devin pricing | devin.ai/pricing | 27 Oct 2026 |
| JetBrains Junie pricing | jetbrains.com/ai-ides/buy/ | 27 Oct 2026 |
| Amazon Q Developer pricing | aws.amazon.com/q/developer/pricing/ | 27 Oct 2026 |
| Claude Code pricing | claude.com/pricing | 27 Oct 2026 |
Prices in USD as published by each vendor, billed yearly where offered. How we compare