Coding & Dev
Cline
Open-source agent inside VS Code that runs on your own API keys.
Our ruling
Free, auditable, and you control the model. The trade is that you also absorb the token bill.
Wrong forAnyone who wants predictable flat-rate billing.
- Best for
- Agentic coding with no subscription and full transparency
- Pricing
- Free, you pay your own model costs
Verified facts
- Free tier
- The extension itself is entirely free; you supply your own model API key and pay that provider directly
- Entry paid plan
- No required paid tier; optional ClinePass at $9.99/mo bundles curated open-weight models with higher rate limits
- Bills in
- Token costs are billed directly by your chosen model provider (Anthropic, OpenAI, etc.), not by Cline
Verified · source: cline.bot
Confirmed live: Cline itself is still free with no subscription, BYOK (bring your own API key) to any model provider. A new optional add-on, ClinePass ($9.99/mo), bundles curated open-weight models (GLM, Kimi, DeepSeek) with higher rate limits and no separate API keys, but doesn't change the core free/BYOK framing. An Enterprise tier also exists at custom pricing (SSO/SCIM, JetBrains, VPC).
Head to head
What it's actually used for
- Bring your own key, so you pay model cost and no margin
- Every action is shown and approved before it runs
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