Cline review

Cline ranks ninth overall but first on value for developers comfortable managing their own models. It is an open source agent that runs in VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf and JetBrains, in the terminal and as a native desktop app, with an SDK to embed it in other products. Plan mode lets you agree on a strategy before Act mode edits files, runs commands and reacts to output, with checkpoints and one-click undo. For delegation, Cline can run headless in GitHub Actions, GitLab or any pipeline, take requests from Slack, Discord, Telegram or Linear, and run coordinator agents on cron. Individuals pay nothing for the agent and only pay for inference through the Cline provider or their own keys from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google and others. Enterprise adds SSO, an SLA, role-based access and centralized billing. It scores lower on setup because background runs need your own CI or infrastructure.

Who it is for

Developers who want a free, open source agent and full control over which model and provider they pay for.

Price

Free open source agent; pay only for AI inference or bring your own keys; Enterprise by quote.

Cline is free for individual developers.
Quoted from the vendor pricing page on November 9, 2026.

Key features

• Plan mode to agree on a strategy, then Act mode to execute with approval or auto-approve
• Multi-file edits with diffs, checkpoints and one-click undo
• Runs headless in GitHub Actions, GitLab or any pipeline
• Chat with the agent from Slack, Discord, Telegram or Linear
• Coordinator agents delegate to specialists and can run on cron

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Open source with no subscription or seat fees for individuals
• Strength: Works with Claude, GPT, Gemini, local models or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint
• Strength: SDK to embed the agent in your own products
• Weakness: Inference costs depend on the model and are not capped by a plan
• Weakness: Background runs require your own CI or infrastructure
• Weakness: SSO, role-based access and centralized billing need Enterprise

Key facts

• Free plan: Yes, open source extension for individuals
• What you pay for: AI inference on a usage basis, or your own API keys
• Enterprise: Custom, adds SSO, SLA, RBAC and centralized billing
• Model providers: Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, OpenRouter, Bedrock, Vertex and more
• Users: 11M+ developers, per Cline

Where it ranks

Cline is No. 9 in our Best AI Coding Agents verdict.