GitHub Copilot's free plan includes 2,000 completions a month, and its Pro plan starts at $10 a month. Bolt's free plan includes 1M AI tokens a month for building an app from a prompt, and Amazon Q Developer's free tier includes 50 agentic requests a month. Cursor, Windsurf, OpenAI Codex, Warp and Kilo Code also have free plans, but several describe their limits in words rather than a count, so test them on the work you actually do. A free plan tells you what you can try for nothing, and the first paid step tells you what the upgrade costs.
Eight tools, each measured in its own free unit, with the first paid price beside it.
Free means a different unit at every vendor. GitHub Copilot counts completions, Bolt counts AI tokens, Amazon Q Developer counts agentic requests, and Windsurf describes its allowance as a light quota. A plan that looks generous in one unit can run dry in another, so each tool below is described in its own unit, with its first paid price beside it.
Toolradar data: Toolradar tracks 183 AI coding tools, and this guide covers eight of them.
Methodology: eight tools compared. Prices as of October 25, 2026, from each vendor's pricing page; the pricing sources are linked in the footnote under the comparison table. The order is editorial: the free plans use different units, so no single number orders them.
Top Picks
Picked by editorial review, informed by G2 and Capterra review volume and rating and by media mentions, the signals behind our category rankings. How we rate
The free plan includes 2,000 completions a month inside your existing editor.
Starting price
From $10 /mo
Best for
Developers who write code in an editor and want autocomplete without a bill.
A browser app builder whose free plan includes 1M AI tokens a month and public and private projects.
Starting price
From $25 /mo
2.8 (296 reviews)
Best for
Non-developers and founders who want a working prototype rather than an editor.
A perpetual free tier with 50 agentic requests a month and access to the latest Claude models.
Starting price
From $19 /mo
4.6 (51 reviews)
Best for
Developers already working in AWS who want an assistant in the IDE or the command line.
| Tool | Starting price | Rating | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub Copilot | From $10/mo | n/a | Developers who write code in an editor and want autocomplete without a bill. |
| Bolt | From $25/mo | 2.8 296 reviews | Non-developers and founders who want a working prototype rather than an editor. |
| Amazon Q Developer | From $19/mo | 4.6 51 reviews | Developers already working in AWS who want an assistant in the IDE or the command line. |
| Cursor | From $8/mo | 3.3 634 reviews | Developers who want AI built into the editor and can work within limited free requests. |
| Windsurf | From $20/mo | 4.3 35 reviews | Developers who mostly want fast tab completion and can live with a light agent quota. |
| OpenAI Codex | Free plan | 4.7 5 reviews | Occasional coders who want a cloud and desktop coding agent and may move to ChatGPT Plus later. |
| Warp | From $20/mo | 4.4 32 reviews | Developers who work in the terminal and already hold an AI provider key. |
| Kilo Code | From $15/mo | n/a | Developers who want to bring their own provider keys or use free models without a subscription. |
- Starting price
- From $10/mo
- Free plan
- Yes
Best for: Developers who write code in an editor and want autocomplete without a bill.
- Pro: Completions are counted, so a normal week is easy to measure against the plan
- Pro: Pro is $10 a month in base credits, with unlimited inline suggestions
- Pro: Runs as an extension in the editors developers already use
- Con: Chat and agent use on the free plan is limited, and agent mode draws on AI credits
- Con: From April 24, 2026, GitHub uses interaction data from Copilot Free, Pro and Pro+ users to train its models unless they opt out under Privacy in settings
GitHub Copilot is the most widely adopted AI coding assistant, and the 2026 pricing restructure makes it more competitive than ever.
Watch out
Premium request limits: Free gets 50/mo, Pro gets 300, Pro+ gets 1,500. Heavy users on Pro burn through 300 requests in 2 weeks, especially when using agent mode which can consume 5-10 requests per task
Bolt
A browser app builder whose free plan includes 1M AI tokens a month and public and private projects.
- 1.5 on Trustpilot (201 reviews)
- 4.3 on G2 (95 reviews)
- Starting price
- From $25/mo
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rating
- 2.8 (296 reviews)
Best for: Non-developers and founders who want a working prototype rather than an editor.
- Pro: Public and private projects are included on the free plan
- Pro: Pro adds 10M tokens a month, and unused tokens roll over
- Pro: The free plan needs no credit card
- Con: The 300K daily token cap can stop a heavy day before the monthly allowance is spent
- Con: Pro is billed annually, so the commitment covers a year
Bolt's pricing is fair, offering a clear progression from a free tier to paid options.
Watch out
Potential overage fees for tokens
Amazon Q Developer
A perpetual free tier with 50 agentic requests a month and access to the latest Claude models.
- 4.6 on G2 (51 reviews)
- Starting price
- From $19/mo
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rating
- 4.6 (51 reviews)
Best for: Developers already working in AWS who want an assistant in the IDE or the command line.
- Pro: Free tier includes 50 agentic requests a month for chat and agentic coding
- Pro: Pro is $19 a month per user, with expanded limits
- Pro: Works in the IDE and on the command line on the free tier
- Con: Free-tier limits in the IDE apply only to AWS Builder ID users, at the user level
- Con: Java upgrade work is capped at 1,000 lines a month on the free tier
Amazon Q Developer's pricing is quite generous, especially with its perpetual Free Tier offering 50 agentic chat interactions.
Watch out
Potential overage fees for exceeding Pro limits
Cursor
An AI-first editor whose free plan includes limited agent and chat requests.
- 1.8 on Trustpilot (320 reviews)
- 4.8 on G2 (314 reviews)
- Starting price
- From $8/mo
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rating
- 3.3 (634 reviews)
Best for: Developers who want AI built into the editor and can work within limited free requests.
- Pro: Free plan at $0 a month with agent and chat access
- Pro: Plus is the first paid step on the current page
- Pro: Chat and agent features sit inside the editor rather than in a separate app
- Con: The free plan describes agent and chat requests as limited, not as a set number
- Con: Third-party models on paid plans are billed separately by usage
Best for solo developers and small teams who want AI-assisted coding without overpaying.
Watch out
Teams requires per-user billing with no monthly minimum
- Starting price
- From $20/mo
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rating
- 4.3 (35 reviews)
Best for: Developers who mostly want fast tab completion and can live with a light agent quota.
- Pro: Unlimited Tab completions and inline edits on the free plan
- Pro: Pro adds frontier models from OpenAI, Claude and Gemini
- Pro: Pro includes access to cloud agents
- Con: Free model availability is limited, so the model you want may need the paid plan
- Con: The quota is described as light, so heavy agent sessions are where the free plan can run short
Windsurf restructured pricing in March 2026, replacing credits with daily/weekly usage quotas.
Watch out
Daily and weekly usage quotas can throttle heavy users mid-session, overages billed at API rates
OpenAI Codex
A free Codex plan with GPT-6 Luna at Standard speed in the desktop app, subject to rollout.
- 4.5 on G2 (4 reviews)
- 5.0 on SourceForge (1 reviews)
- Starting price
- Free plan
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rating
- 4.7 (5 reviews)
Best for: Occasional coders who want a cloud and desktop coding agent and may move to ChatGPT Plus later.
- Pro: The free plan includes a named model at Standard speed
- Pro: Plus adds Codex on the web, in the CLI, in the IDE extension and on iOS
- Pro: Codex and ChatGPT Work share usage limits
- Con: The free plan is described for quick coding tasks rather than a set number of messages
- Con: On Plus, GPT-6 Luna allows 350 to 3,000 local messages per five-hour window, and weekly limits may also apply
- Starting price
- From $20/mo
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rating
- 4.4 (32 reviews)
Best for: Developers who work in the terminal and already hold an AI provider key.
- Pro: The free plan at $0 a month includes Warp Agent CLI access
- Pro: Build adds agent usage at API rates and is printed both monthly and annually
- Pro: Bring-your-own AI inference is available on the free plan
- Con: Cloud agent access on the free plan is limited
- Con: Additional agent usage on the free plan is pay-as-you-go
Warp's pricing is quite generous, offering a robust Free tier for individual users with AI command search and workflows.
Kilo Code
An open-source coding agent that individuals can use free, with free models through its gateway where offered.
- 5.0 on G2 (1 reviews)
- 5.0 on SourceForge (1 reviews)
- Starting price
- From $15/mo
- Free plan
- Yes
Best for: Developers who want to bring their own provider keys or use free models without a subscription.
- Pro: Free for individuals, with bring-your-own-key and local model options
- Pro: The team tier adds team management at $15 per user a month
- Pro: Open source, so the code can be inspected
- Con: Free models are routed through the gateway where it offers them, so availability can change
- Con: Hosted models are paid per use through the gateway, so the monthly cost depends on how much you run
Kilo Code's pricing structure is quite generous, especially with the 'Individual' tier being free and offering extensive features like access to 500+ AI models and autocomplete.
Watch out
Overage fees beyond included credits
Other AI Coding tools worth considering
More published tools from our AI Coding category, ordered by our category ranking. They are not part of the editorial picks above.
What a free AI code generator includes
A free AI code generator is a coding assistant you can start without paying, usually inside an editor, a terminal or a browser-based app builder. Free tiers exist so you can try the product, so they cap something: completions, tokens, requests or credits. They also tend to keep the newest models for paid users.
Claude Code is not part of Claude's free plan, so it is left out of this table. Claude's pricing page lists Claude Code on its paid plans and not on Free (Claude pricing). Each tool here has its own Toolradar page, including GitHub Copilot, Cursor and Windsurf, and the full category sits at AI coding tools.
Why the unit changes the answer
A completion and a token are not the same amount of work, so free allowances cannot be ranked against each other by their headline numbers. Copilot's completion count is easy to check against a normal week of editor use. Bolt counts tokens, and its free plan adds a daily cap on top of the monthly allowance, so the daily limit can stop you before the monthly total does.
Windsurf's free quota is described as light rather than as a set number, which makes it harder to plan around than a counted allowance. Try it for a week before you depend on it.
Key Features to Look For
Allowance unit: completions, tokens, agentic requests or a quota. The unit decides how far a free plan goes.
Model access: Copilot's free plan gives entry-level models, Windsurf limits model availability, and Codex's free plan gives GPT-6 Luna at Standard speed in the desktop app, subject to rollout.
Where it runs: editors and IDE extensions, a terminal, a browser-based builder or a desktop app, depending on the tool.
Training on your prompts: from April 24, 2026, GitHub uses interaction data from Copilot Free, Pro and Pro+ users to train its models unless they opt out under Privacy in settings (GitHub blog post, March 25, 2026).
Upgrade path: each first paid plan adds higher limits, frontier models, or both. The price for each is in the table below.
What to Consider
-
Convert a normal week of work into the tool's unit before you compare headline prices.
-
Check model access separately from volume, because a free plan can cap which models you get.
-
Read the billing period next to each price. Bolt's Pro price is billed annually, and Warp prints both monthly and annual prices.
-
Check the training setting before you paste private code into any free plan.
Evaluation Checklist
Write down the unit each tool uses, then measure a normal week of work in it.
Check whether the free plan includes the model you need, not just the request count.
Run the free plan on a real task before you pay, and note where it stops.
Check the training setting in your account before you paste private code.
Pricing Comparison
| Tool | Free plan | First paid price | Billing shown |
|---|---|---|---|
2,000 completions a month, limited chat and agent use | $10 a month (Pro, base credits) | Monthly | |
Bolt | 1M AI tokens a month, 300K tokens a day | $18 a month (Pro), billed annually | Annual |
50 agentic requests a month | $19 a month per user (Pro) | Monthly, per user | |
Cursor | Limited agent requests and limited chat requests | $8 a month (Plus) | Monthly |
Windsurf | Light quota to code with agents, unlimited Tab completions | $20 a month (Pro) | Monthly |
GPT-6 Luna at Standard speed in the desktop app, subject to rollout | $8 a month (ChatGPT Go, includes Codex); $20 a month for Plus | Monthly | |
Warp | Warp Agent CLI access, bring your own AI inference | $20 a month (Build, monthly) or $18 a month (annual) | Monthly and annual |
Free for individuals, free models where the gateway offers them | $19 a month (Kilo Pass, optional credits); $15 per user a month (Teams) | Per user per month |
Prices as of October 25, 2026. Sources: GitHub Copilot plans, Bolt pricing, Amazon Q Developer pricing, Cursor pricing, Windsurf pricing, OpenAI Codex pricing, ChatGPT pricing, Warp pricing, Kilo Code pricing.
Mistakes to Avoid
- ×
Comparing headline prices across different units. A monthly price does not show how much work a completion count buys.
- ×
Missing the daily cap. Bolt's 300K daily token limit can stop a day's work before the monthly allowance runs out.
- ×
Assuming a free plan means full model access. Windsurf's free plan limits which models you can use.
- ×
Pasting private code into a free plan without checking the training setting first.
Expert Tips
- →
Start with the tool that already runs in your editor, because switching costs time you would not get back.
- →
Track one normal week against the free allowance before you decide on a paid plan.
- →
Read the billing period beside each price. Bolt's figure is annual, and Warp prints both options.
- →
Re-check prices at purchase time, since Cursor's paid tiers changed between December 2025 and now.
Red Flags to Watch For
-
A free allowance measured in a unit you cannot count yourself.
-
A daily cap smaller than your busiest working day.
-
Training on your prompts with no setting you can switch off.
The Bottom Line
Developers who live in an editor should start with GitHub Copilot's free plan and move to Pro at $10 a month when the monthly completions run short. Non-developers building a prototype should start with Bolt's free plan, which is built for prompt-to-app work, and move to Pro at $18 a month billed annually. Skip Windsurf's free plan if agent work is the point, because its quota is described as light.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which free plan states a number?
GitHub Copilot's free plan includes 2,000 completions a month, and Amazon Q Developer's free tier includes 50 agentic requests a month. Bolt's free plan includes 1M AI tokens a month, with a daily cap on top.
Do free plans train on my code?
From April 24, 2026, GitHub uses interaction data from Copilot Free, Pro and Pro+ users to train its models unless they opt out under Privacy in settings (GitHub blog post, March 25, 2026). Check the training setting in each tool before you paste private code.
Is Claude Code free?
No. Claude's free plan does not include Claude Code, and Claude Code is included on its paid plans. Claude's pricing page shows the split.
Why does Windsurf's free plan show no number?
Windsurf describes its free allowance as a light quota. A January 2, 2026 capture of its pricing page listed 25 credits a month on Free, so the allowance was counted then and is described differently now.
What does the first paid step cost?
Cursor's Plus is $8 a month, Bolt's Pro is $18 a month billed annually, and Amazon Q Developer's Pro is $19 a month per user. Codex is included in ChatGPT Go, before Plus at $20. The other tools have their own first steps, all listed in the table with the billing period.
Cite this page: Toolradar, "Best Free AI Code Generators in 2026: Request Limits and Models", updated October 2026, https://toolradar.com/guides/best-free-ai-code-generators
Spotted an outdated price or a wrong fact? Suggest a correction: we check it against the vendor's own page. Work for one of these vendors? Claim your listing to update it yourself.
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