2026 Review

Cline

Open-source coding agent for VS Code and the terminal — bring your own model, no subscription.

CodingFreemiumPopular86% positiveAgent

Facts checked Aug 9, 2026

About Cline

Cline is an open-source AI coding agent that runs inside VS Code or as a CLI, planning a change before it touches your files and then executing it step by step. The extension itself is free with no seat fee; you pay only for model inference through your own API keys (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, DeepSeek, OpenRouter and dozens more) or through the optional ClinePass subscription at $9.99/month for bundled open-weight models. Enterprise adds JetBrains support, SSO and admin controls on custom pricing.

At a glance

Founded: 2024
Headquarters: Sacramento, US
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, IDE plugins, CLI

Integrates with

VS CodeAnthropic APIOpenRouterAWS BedrockGoogle Vertex AIMCP servers

Main competitors

Cursor GitHub Copilot Claude Code Windsurf

Best for

RefactoringBug fixingCodebase onboardingTerminal automation

Pros

No seat fee at all for individuals — the entire agent is free and Apache-2.0 licensed
Switch models per task: cheap open-weight for boilerplate, frontier for the hard bits
Plan mode makes the agent auditable, which matters on unfamiliar codebases
Open source means you can read exactly what it sends to the model

Cons

Inference is the real bill — heavy agentic days on frontier models run well past a $20 Copilot subscription
You manage your own API keys, rate limits and provider billing unless you buy ClinePass
JetBrains IDE support is Enterprise-only; the free tier is VS Code and CLI
No hosted history, team dashboard or shared config without an Enterprise contract

Our verdict

Best for: Developers who want an agent they can inspect, point at any model, and run without a subscription.

Skip if: You want predictable flat-rate billing and a polished managed experience — Cursor or GitHub Copilot bundle the model into one monthly price.

Our review

Cline's design decision that matters most is Plan mode. Most coding agents start editing and let you sort out the diff afterwards; Cline drafts an approach, names the files it intends to touch, and waits. On a codebase you know well that feels like a speed bump. On one you inherited last week it is the difference between a reviewable change and an afternoon of archaeology. Pair that with a client-side architecture — the extension talks straight to your model provider, with no Cline backend in the path — and you get the agent that security-conscious teams keep landing on.

The economics cut both ways. There is no seat fee, which makes Cline look free next to Copilot's $10 or Cursor's $20 a month, but agentic coding burns tokens: a heavy day against a frontier model can cost more than either subscription, and you feel every retry. ClinePass at $9.99/month softens this by bundling open-weight models like GLM, Kimi K2 and DeepSeek at several times the usual API volume, which is genuinely good value for routine work — but the frontier-model bills are still yours. The other honest gap is polish: JetBrains support sits behind an Enterprise contract, there is no shared team history without one, and you are the one managing keys, rate limits and provider billing.

It also benefits from being the open one. With around 66,000 GitHub stars and millions of marketplace installs, Cline is the reference open-source agent, which means MCP servers, forks and community configs land here first. Tabnine competes on privacy but with a much narrower agent; Claude Code and Codex are excellent but tie you to one lab's models.

Verdict: the best agent for developers who want to see the plan, own the keys, and choose the model per task. If you would rather pay one predictable price and never think about inference again, Cursor or GitHub Copilot are the calmer buy.

What reviewers elsewhere say

86% positive — Developers praise the transparency of Plan mode and the freedom to swap models; the recurring gripe is surprise inference bills and more setup friction than a one-click subscription tool.

Sentiment estimated from reviews on Reddit, Product Hunt, as of Aug 2026. Third-party scores are point-in-time snapshots. We don't host user reviews.

Key features

Plan/Act split: Cline drafts the approach and waits for approval before editing anything
Bring your own key across Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, DeepSeek, Groq, Bedrock, Vertex, OpenRouter and more — no model lock-in
Runs as a VS Code extension, a terminal CLI, or an SDK, sharing the same agent core
MCP Marketplace for one-click tool servers (browsers, databases, issue trackers)
Client-side architecture — code and keys stay on your machine, nothing routes through a vendor backend
Multi-root workspace support for monorepos and multi-service checkouts

Cline as an agent

AgentAsks before actingUnpredictable cost

Runs on: Your machine
Your own model key: Supported

What you give it access to

Your files
A shell on the machine it runs on
Code repositories

What to watch for

Cost is entirely yours to control — there is no plan ceiling to stop a runaway task
Approves-each-step by default, but auto-approve is one toggle away
Open source and local, so the security of your model keys is your problem

How it bills

Usage (tokens/minutes). One task here means one task in the editor sidebar → planned edits and terminal commands, approved step by step. You pay your model provider per token, or buy ClinePass credits; one long task on a frontier model can cost more than a month of a flat-rate rival.

Agent capabilities checked August 2026. Not hands-on tested — these are the vendor's documented capabilities, read carefully. Limits and permissions change between checks, so confirm approval settings and any spending cap before you connect an account. Compare every AI agent.

How to use Cline

Install the Cline extension from the VS Code Marketplace, or the CLI if you live in the terminal.
Add an API key from your provider of choice — or subscribe to ClinePass for bundled open-weight models.
Describe the change in Plan mode and read the proposed approach before approving anything.
Switch to Act mode to let Cline edit files and run commands, approving each step as it goes.
Install MCP servers from the marketplace to give the agent browsers, databases or issue trackers.
Watch provider spend for the first week — agentic runs on frontier models add up quickly.

Pricing

Deal: ClinePass first month is $4.99 instead of $9.99

Open Source$0

Free forever for individuals. VS Code extension, CLI, SDK, MCP marketplace. You pay your model provider directly.

ClinePass$9.99/mo

Optional. Bundled access to curated open-weight coding models (GLM, Kimi K2, DeepSeek, MiMo) at 2–5x standard API volume. First month $4.99.

EnterpriseCustom

JetBrains extension, SSO/SCIM, RBAC, centralized billing, audit logs, provider allowlists, SLA and dedicated support.

Pricing verified August 2026 · prices as listed by the vendor; check the official site for current offers.

Try Cline

Frequently asked questions

What is Cline?

Cline is an open-source AI coding agent that runs as a VS Code extension, a terminal CLI or an SDK. It plans a change, shows you the plan, then edits files and runs commands with your approval. It is Apache-2.0 licensed and runs client-side, so your code and API keys stay on your machine.

How much does Cline cost?

The agent is free for individuals with no seat fee. You pay for model inference — either through your own provider API keys or through ClinePass, an optional $9.99/month subscription (first month $4.99) that bundles open-weight coding models at 2–5x standard API volume. Enterprise plans with JetBrains support and SSO are custom-priced.

Which AI models can Cline use?

Effectively any of them. Cline supports Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, DeepSeek, Groq, Cerebras, AWS Bedrock, Google Vertex, OpenRouter and self-hosted endpoints. That bring-your-own-key design is the point — you can run a cheap open-weight model for routine edits and a frontier model for the hard problems.

Does Cline have an API?

There is no hosted Cline API to call, but there is a public SDK for embedding the agent in your own tooling, plus MCP support for extending it with third-party tool servers.

Cline vs Cursor — which should a developer pick?

Cursor bundles the model into a flat monthly price and gives you a polished, opinionated editor; it is the easier product. Cline gives you an auditable open-source agent inside the VS Code you already use, with your own model keys and no subscription. Pick Cursor for predictable billing and a managed experience, Cline for control, transparency and per-task model choice.