AI coding tools now cover everything from finishing the line you are typing to building and hosting a whole app from a sentence. The right choice depends less on which model tops a leaderboard and more on where you work, how much control you want over changes, and how the tool meters usage.
Quick answer:
- Want help inside your current editor at low cost: GitHub Copilot (Pro $10 per month, usable free plan).
- Want an agent for multi-step tasks from the terminal: Claude Code or OpenAI Codex.
- Want a capable free option: Google Antigravity‘s free individual tier.
- Not a developer and want a working web app: Lovable, Bolt.new, Replit or v0.
- Want to hand off whole tasks and review a pull request: Devin.
The four kinds of AI coding tools
Editor assistants live where you already write code. They suggest completions, answer questions about the open project and, increasingly, run an agent mode that edits several files. GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Devin Desktop and JetBrains Junie belong here. You stay in control of every change.
Terminal agents take a task, read the codebase, edit files and run commands until the task is done. Claude Code and OpenAI Codex are the main examples, and both also reach into IDEs, desktop apps and the web. They suit multi-step work such as fixing a bug and writing the test for it.
Cloud agents work in their own remote environment and return a branch or pull request. Devin is built around this model; Cursor and Codex also offer cloud features. They are good for well-scoped tickets you would otherwise assign to a teammate.
App builders start from a plain-language description and generate, run and host an app in the browser. Replit, Lovable, Bolt.new and v0 target founders, designers and people who do not code daily.
Comparison table
Prices are starting prices for individual paid plans as recorded on official pages; team and enterprise plans cost more.
| Tool | Type | Free plan | Starting price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub Copilot | Editor assistant with agent mode and CLI | Yes: 2,000 inline suggestions per month, limited chat and agent use | $10 per month (Pro) | Developers already on GitHub who want help inside their editor |
| Cursor | AI-first editor with CLI and cloud agents | Yes, limited | $8/month (Plus, Grok models only) | An all-in-one AI editor |
| Devin Desktop | AI editor (formerly Windsurf) | Yes: light agent quota, unlimited Tab completions | $20/month (Pro) | Former Windsurf users who also want Devin’s cloud agents |
| JetBrains Junie | Agent inside JetBrains IDEs, CLI and CI | Yes: Junie Lite plus bring-your-own-key | $8.33 per user/month (AI Pro; billing period not stated) | Teams on IntelliJ, PyCharm and other JetBrains IDEs |
| Claude Code | Terminal agent, also in IDEs, desktop and web | No | $17/month (Pro billed annually; $20 monthly) | Multi-step work: bug fixes, tests, migrations |
| OpenAI Codex | Coding agent: desktop app, CLI, IDE, web | Yes, via ChatGPT Free (smaller model, subject to rollout) | $8/month (Go) | ChatGPT subscribers |
| Google Antigravity | Agent-first IDE, CLI and SDK | Yes: free individual tier with weekly rate limits | Not confirmed (higher limits via Google AI Pro/Ultra) | A free agent IDE backed by Gemini models |
| Devin | Autonomous cloud agent that opens PRs | Yes, limited | $20/month (Pro) | Delegating well-scoped tasks |
| Replit | Browser app builder with hosting | Yes: Starter, one published app | $18/month, billed annually (Core) | Building and hosting an app in one place |
| Lovable | Chat-based full-stack app builder | Yes: 5 build credits per day (up to 30 per month) | $25/month (Pro, 100 credits) | Non-developers turning an idea into a web app |
| Bolt.new | Browser builder for sites, apps and prototypes | Yes: 300K tokens daily, 1M per month | $25 per month (Pro) | Quick prototypes with hosting included |
| v0 | UI and app builder deploying to Vercel | Yes: 7 messages per day | $30/user/month (Plus) | React and Next.js front ends |
Editor assistants: Copilot, Cursor, Devin Desktop, Junie
GitHub Copilot is the low-cost default: Pro is $10 per month, Pro+ $39 and Max $100, with wide model choice across Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, xAI and others. Cursor’s Plus plan is $8/month but is limited to Grok models; third-party models need Premium ($30) or higher and are billed by usage. Our Cursor vs GitHub Copilot comparison covers the trade-offs. Devin Desktop is the editor formerly sold as Windsurf and keeps unlimited Tab completions on its free plan. Junie fits teams already in JetBrains IDEs and lets you bring your own API key at provider rates with no markup.
Terminal and cloud agents: Claude Code, Codex, Antigravity, Devin
Claude Code is not part of the free Claude plan; Pro costs $17/month billed annually or $20 monthly, and it can also run on pay-as-you-go API billing. It uses Claude models only. Codex is included with ChatGPT plans from Free upward, though Free and Go are limited to the desktop app and a smaller model. See Claude Code vs OpenAI Codex for a closer look.
Google Antigravity combines a desktop IDE, a CLI and an SDK, with a free individual tier; note that its CLI is closed source. Devin works autonomously in cloud sessions and opens pull requests, with Free, Pro ($20/month), Max ($200/month) and Teams plans sharing one quota with Devin Desktop.
App builders: Replit, Lovable, Bolt.new, v0
All four take a prompt and return a running app, but they differ in stack and billing. v0 is strongest for React and Next.js on Vercel; Lovable and Bolt.new include their own hosting and backend; Replit adds databases and collaboration. Compare Lovable vs Bolt.new and v0 vs Lovable before choosing. These tools get you to a demo fast, but a production app still needs someone to review security, data handling and costs.
Practical advice before you commit
- Protect your code and secrets. Read each plan’s data-use and retention terms, and prefer business plans when code is confidential. Keep API keys and passwords out of prompts and exclude files such as .env from what the agent can read.
- Review every agent change. Let agents work on a branch and merge through a pull request. Run the tests yourself and read the diff, especially for deleted code, new dependencies and changed configuration.
- Understand metering. Copilot paid plans use GitHub AI Credits (1 credit = $0.01). Devin and Devin Desktop have daily and weekly quotas with pay-as-you-go beyond them. Junie AI Pro includes 10 AI Credits. Lovable sells credits, Bolt.new counts tokens and v0 Plus includes $30 of monthly credits. Heavy agent use can cost far more than the starting price.
- Check the models. Some plans restrict models: Cursor Plus is Grok-only and Codex Free uses a smaller model. Confirm the models included before paying annually.
- Look at benchmarks with care. Coding scores depend on the harness and settings; our guide to AI benchmarks explains why.
Checklist
- Does it work in my editor or terminal, and on my operating system?
- Is there a free plan good enough to test on a real task?
- How is usage metered, and what happens when I hit the limit?
- Which models are included in the plan I would buy?
- Can changes go through branches and pull requests?
- Do the data terms fit the code I will share with it?
Conclusion
Start with the place you already work: an editor assistant if you want suggestions you approve, a terminal or cloud agent if you want tasks done, and an app builder if you want a working product without writing code. Try two options on the same real task during their free or monthly plans, and compare results, cost and how much review the output needed. Our best AI for coding and agents and automation pages list current picks.
