</>

Cline - Features, Pricing & ReviewsCode IDE / Code Assistant

OSS VS Code extension. Low cost with your own API key

Table of Contents
  1. Basic Info & Pricing
  2. Key Features
  3. Performance & Benchmarks & Radar Chart
  4. Pros & Cons
  5. Pricing Details & Cost-Saving Tips
  6. How to Get Started
  7. Reviews & Reputation
  8. Compare Similar Services

Basic Info & Pricing

Service NameCline
ProviderSaoud Rizwan
CategoryCode IDE / Code Assistant
PricingFree (OSS)
Pricing NotesVS Code extension. Requires own API key (Claude/GPT etc.). MCP support
Overall Score 45/100
Context Length128K tokens
Official Websitehttps://github.com/cline/cline
Last Updated ✓ Verified

Key Features of Cline

  • Completely free OSS
  • Your own API key
  • MCP support
  • Plan/Act mode

Cline Performance & Benchmarks

45 /100
Overall Score 45/100

* Scores are our proprietary composite evaluation (benchmarks, features, cost-performance). Max 100 points.

Code IDE / Code Assistant Category Ranking: #7 / 13 services

Cline Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Completely free OSS
  • Low cost with your own API key
  • MCP support for extensibility
  • Plan/Act mode for safe execution

Cons

  • ! Need to get your own API key
  • ! Setup somewhat complex
  • ! English only

Cline Pricing Details & Cost-Saving Tips

Pricing Structure

Free (OSS)
VS Code extension. Requires own API key (Claude/GPT etc.). MCP support

Tips to Reduce Costs

  • Maximize the free plan: Start with the free tier to test core features, then upgrade as needed
  • Self-host: Run on your own server to significantly reduce API costs
  • Annual plans: Annual subscriptions typically offer 10-20% discounts
  • Education & startup discounts: Check the official site for student or startup-specific plans

How to Get Started with Cline

  1. Visit the official website: Go to https://github.com/cline/cline
  2. Create an account: Register with email or Google account (many services offer a free start)
  3. Choose a plan: Free (OSS) — Start with a free plan or trial if available
  4. Start using: Access Cline features from the dashboard or app

Visit Cline official site →

Cline Reviews & Reputation

Overall Rating Emerging — Growing potential ahead
Frequently Praised Completely free OSS, Low cost with your own API key
Common Complaints Need to get your own API key, Setup somewhat complex
Recommended For Software developers, engineers, programming learners

Who is using Cline

Startup CTO

Adopted to boost dev velocity with a small team. Code review overhead cut in half.

Freelance Developer

Using AI pair programming to handle multiple client projects simultaneously.

Programming Learner

Errors get explained instantly, so self-study never gets stuck.

Cost-conscious User

The free tier was the deciding factor. Evaluating the paid version difference before upgrading.

Compare Code IDE / Code Assistant Services

Compare services in the Code IDE / Code Assistant category by score.

# Service Score Pricing Description
1 GitHub Copilot
GitHub 		82/100
Free / Pro $10 / Pro+ $39 / Biz $19
Free:2000 completions+50req/mo Pro:300req Pro+:1500req+all models Biz:Team admin 		Developer share #1 (68% SO survey). GPT-5.3 Codex integrated. VS Code/JetBrains
2 Cursor
Anysphere 		80/100
Free / Pro $20 / Pro+ $60 / Ultra $200
Hobby:Free(limited Tab) Pro:Unlimited Tab+Agent Pro+:3x usage Ultra:20x+priority 		Fast-growing AI-native IDE (17x growth). VS Code fork
3 Google Antigravity
Google 		68/100
Free (Preview)
AI Pro$20:High limits AI Ultra$250:Highest limits Gemini 3 Pro powered 		[2025/11 New] Agent IDE with Gemini 3. Free preview
4 Windsurf
Cognition 		52/100
Free / Pro $15 / Ultimate $60
Free:25 prompts/mo Pro:Relaxed limits Ultimate:Unlimited *Cognition acquired 2025/7 		Formerly Codeium. Cascade agent powered
5 Gemini Code Assist
Google 		50/100
Free / Enterprise (contact)
Free:Basic features Enterprise:Advanced+admin Gemini CLI integration 		Google official IDE extension. VS Code/JetBrains support
6 Zed
Zed Industries 		45/100
Free / Pro (contact)
Basically free. Rust-built fast editor. AI features added Aug 2024 		Ultra-fast Rust-built editor. AI features being added
7 Cline ◀
Saoud Rizwan 		45/100
Free (OSS)
VS Code extension. Requires own API key (Claude/GPT etc.). MCP support 		OSS VS Code extension. Low cost with your own API key
8 JetBrains AI
JetBrains 		42/100
All Products $28.9+ / AI Pro $10
JetBrains license required. AI Free:Basic built-in AI Pro:Advanced+unlimited 		JetBrains IDE integrated. Native experience
9 Roo Code
RooVeterinary 		39/100
Free (OSS)
Cline fork. Requires own API key. Plan/Act mode & permission settings 		Enhanced Cline fork, OSS. Highly customizable
10 Cody
Sourcegraph 		38/100
Free 200 chat / Pro $9
Free:Unlimited completions+200 chat/mo Pro:Unlimited chat+Claude/GPT/Gemini 		Best value at $9. Multiple model support
11 Amazon Q
Developer
AWS 		35/100
Free / Pro $19
Free:50 chat+1000 LOC/mo Pro:Unlimited chat+4000 LOC/mo 		AWS integrated. Code transformation & security scanning
12 Tabnine
Tabnine 		30/100
14-day trial / Dev $12 / Ent $39
Free plan discontinued (2025/4). Dev:Basic Ent:Private deploy+SSO 		Privacy-focused. On-premise/VPC support
13 Continue
Continue 		30/100
Free (OSS)
VS Code/JetBrains support. Requires own API key. Highly customizable 		Open source coding assistant

Related & Complementary Tools

  • Cursor (Code IDE / Code Assistant) — Free / Pro $20 / Pro+ $60 / Ultra $200
  • Claude Code (Code Agent) — Pro $20 / Max5x $100 / Max20x $200
  • Roo Code (Code IDE / Code Assistant) — Free (OSS)
  • Windsurf (Code IDE / Code Assistant) — Free / Pro $15 / Ultimate $60

Other Code IDE / Code Assistant Services

Share this page

← Back to AI Comparison Ranking