Cline
About
Open-source AI coding agent for VS Code and CLI with Plan/Act modes, MCP marketplace, and bring-your-own-key model support; free for individuals
Our Verdict
RecommendedThe open-source coding agent that charges you nothing but the electricity
Cline's pitch is radical transparency: an Apache-licensed agent, no subscription, and inference billed at raw provider prices with your own keys. The Plan/Act split is the best human-in-the-loop design in the category — you read the plan, then let it work. The trade-off is that you become your own model sommelier: costs, quality and speed all depend on what you plug in, and heavy agentic sessions can out-spend a $20 Cursor subscription if you're careless. For developers who want control and auditability over convenience, Cline is the reference implementation.
Best for
- •Developers who want frontier models at raw API cost with no markup
- •Teams needing an auditable, self-controllable open-source agent
- •Power users extending their agent through the MCP ecosystem
Consider alternatives if
- •You want a zero-config, all-in-one paid IDE (→ Cursor, Windsurf)
- •You prefer a terminal-native workflow (→ Claude Code, Aider)
Supported Platforms
Available platforms include Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Key Features
Pricing
Use Cases
Pros
Cons
Latest Update
2026: Cline passes 8 million developers, ships a CLI alongside the VS Code extension, expands the MCP Marketplace, and offers an Enterprise edition with a JetBrains extension, SSO, RBAC and centralized billing
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