Cline

An open-source coding agent for VS Code, JetBrains and the terminal that works with any model you choose.

Verified facts: 4 of 4
Alternatives ranked: 5
Approved reviews: 0
Visits sent from here: 2

About Cline

Cline is an open-source AI coding agent that started as a VS Code extension and now also ships as a JetBrains plugin, a CLI, a desktop app and an SDK. It reads and writes files, runs terminal commands, uses a browser to check its work, and connects to MCP servers, with a Plan and Act flow where it proposes a plan before changing anything and asks for approval on each action. It's model-agnostic: you bring your own API key for Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, OpenRouter, AWS Bedrock, local models and others, and you pay those providers directly. The extension is free for individuals with no subscription or seat fees; an Enterprise tier adds SSO, centralised billing, team management and support. Because it is open source and you control the model, it's popular with developers who want transparency over prompts and costs. Roo Code and Kilo Code both began as forks of Cline.

Best for: Developers who want a transparent, open-source agent and to pick and pay for their own models.

What works

Free and open source with no seat fees
Works with nearly any model provider, including local ones
Approval step before every file change or command

Why people leave

Token costs can climb fast with expensive models
Approving every step slows down long tasks
Team features need the paid Enterprise tier

Top Cline alternatives

See all 5

1
GitHub Copilot
A managed subscription if you'd rather not manage API keys and token bills.
68.6
2
Kilo Code
A Cline-family fork with a model gateway, cloud agents and the same open-source base.
66.5
3
Continue
Open-source assistant for VS Code and JetBrains; now acquired, but the code remains.
59.6
4
Aider
Open-source and terminal-only, with automatic git commits.
57.2
5
OpenCode
Open-source agent with a terminal UI, desktop app and free starter models.
55.3

Why people left Cline

In reviewers' own words, from reviews of the apps they moved to. These are their opinions, not ours.

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Cline: common questions

Is Cline free?

Yes. Cline is free, open-source software.

Is Cline open source?

Yes. The source code is on GitHub at cline/cline.

What platforms does Cline run on?

Cline is available for macOS, Windows and Linux.

What are the best alternatives to Cline?

The highest-ranked Cline alternatives right now are GitHub Copilot, Kilo Code and Continue. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.

See all 5 Cline alternatives

Cline facts

4 of 4 verified

Price for individuals: Free, pay only for inference; Checked Oct 25, 2026cline.bot(opens source in a new tab); “Cline is free for individual developers. Pay only for AI inference on a usage basis - no subscriptions, no vendor lock-in.”
Seat fees: None for the open-source version; Checked Oct 25, 2026cline.bot(opens source in a new tab); “There are no subscriptions or seat fees for the open source version.”
Model providers: Anthropic, Gemini, OpenAI, OpenRouter, Bedrock and more; Checked Oct 25, 2026cline.bot(opens source in a new tab); “Cline is open source and supports providers like Anthropic, Gemini, OpenAI, OpenRouter, AWS Bedrock, GCP Vertex, Groq, Cerebras, Vercel AI Gateway, DeepSeek, and many more.”
CLI: npm i -g cline; Checked Oct 25, 2026docs.cline.bot(opens source in a new tab); “CLI Run Cline in your terminal with interactive chat or fully headless automation for CI/CD and scripting.”