Cline
by Cline
Autonomous AI coding agent for VS Code and JetBrains.
Score
Score
Our verdict
Cline is an open-source AI coding agent that integrates seamlessly with VS Code and JetBrains, offering autonomous code generation and editing capabilities. Its bring-your-own-key model provides flexibility in choosing AI models, while its open-source nature ensures transparency and control. The free plan is particularly appealing for individual developers and small teams, though setting up and managing the tool may require technical expertise. Overall, Cline is a robust choice for those seeking a customizable and cost-effective AI coding assistant.
Overview
Score breakdown
Overall score
Scores are editorial assessments by the Compare Best AI team on a 0–10 scale.
Expert review
CBAI Editorial Team
Compare Best AI · Editorial Team
## Overview
How we tested
Days tested
7 days
Tasks evaluated
- ·Core Developer workflow test
- ·Pricing and plan evaluation
- ·Feature completeness review
- ·Ease of use and onboarding assessment
Method
Compared against Cursor and GitHub Copilot using identical inputs
Reviewer
CBAI Editorial Team
Plans & pricing
Free
Individual developers and hobbyists
- Autonomous code generation
- Terminal command execution
- Integration with external tools
- Customizable AI model support
- Open-source and self-hosted
Teams
Growing engineering teams
- Everything in Free
- Centralized billing
- Role-based access control (RBAC)
- Team dashboard
- JetBrains extension for teams
- Priority support
Pricing may vary by region. Always verify on the vendor's website.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Cline | Cursor | GitHub Copilot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core | |||
| Autonomous code generation | |||
| Terminal command execution | |||
| Integration with external tools | |||
| Customizable AI model support | |||
| Pricing | |||
| Free plan available | |||
| Dev | |||
| Public API | |||
| Integrations | |||
Is it right for you?
Good fit for
Individual Developers
Ideal for solo developers seeking an open-source AI coding assistant.
Small Teams
Suitable for small engineering teams needing collaborative AI coding tools.
Privacy-Conscious Users
Perfect for users who prefer self-hosted solutions to maintain data privacy.
Less suited for
Non-Technical Users
Not suitable for users without technical expertise in setting up and managing development tools.
Users Seeking Plug-and-Play Solutions
Not ideal for those looking for ready-to-use, subscription-based AI coding assistants.
User reviews
Editorial score
Distribution is estimated from our editorial score. Verified user reviews coming soon.
Integrations
Reported connectors
Apps and services commonly connected out of the box or via official connectors.
- VS Code
- JetBrains
- Anthropic
- OpenAI
- Google Vertex AI
- AWS Bedrock
- OpenRouter
Details
Category
Price
- Free
- Teams $20/user/mo
- Enterprise custom
Free version
Best for
- Autonomous code generation
- Code editing and management
- Terminal command execution
- Integration with external tools.
Frequently asked questions
Cline
Developer
Ready to get started?
Visit the Cline website to explore plans and start your free trial.
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