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Cline

Open-source autonomous coding agent for VS Code and other editors. Bring your own model.

Official site: cline.bot Free tier: Yes Open source: Yes Platforms: VS Code, JetBrains, CLI
Last verified: Oct 15, 2026 Last tested: Not yet, hands-on test pending
⚠ Preliminary, based on public research, hands-on test pending. These scores come from a desk review of public sources (official pricing pages, docs, changelogs), linked on each tool page. Rex hasn't run the hands-on tests yet, so tiers shown are projected. Under our rubric, a tool's official tier is capped at B until it's tested.

What looks good

  • No subscription or markup; use any provider or local models (Ollama, LM Studio)
  • Open source, so you can inspect and self-host
  • Asks for approval before file edits and commands by default

Watch-outs

  • Cost depends entirely on the model you pick; frontier models get pricey on long tasks
  • More setup than all-in-one tools (keys, model choice)

From public sources below, not from our own hands-on testing (yet).

Scores

Rank #5 · projected tier A · official tier B (untested cap) · ⚠ Preliminary

Open source, bring any model (or run local). Max control; cost depends on the model you choose.

Output quality on the job test 25/35
Speed & friction 10/15
Value / price 12/15
Control & ownership 10/10
Momentum & community 8/10
Reliability & trust 8/10
Builder-fit 5/5
Total78/100

Pricing as found Oct 15, 2026

PlanPriceNotes
Open source$0Pay only for inference: own API key, Cline credits, or local models
ClinePass$9.99/moCurated open-weight coding models
EnterpriseCustomSSO, governance, centralized billing

Prices in USD, excluding tax. Vendors change pricing often; check the official page before buying.

Patch history

buff

Cline fixes GPT-6 requests and returns to Sonnet 5.5 by default

GPT-6 models such as gpt-6-sol and gpt-6.1-sol now work on OpenAI and Azure OpenAI-compatible endpoints; before this, every request was rejected. With no model chosen, the Cline provider uses Claude Sonnet 5.5 again. Source

release

Cline 4.1.25 starts rolling out Cloud sessions

Cline Cloud sessions run a task in a hosted sandbox on a GitHub repo and branch you pick, keep going after you close your editor, and notify you when they finish. They are rolling out gradually and are turned on in Settings. Source

Alternatives

S
Claude Code
86/100 · projected
A
OpenAI Codex
84/100 · projected
A
Cursor
80/100 · projected
A
GitHub Copilot
79/100 · projected

Sources

  1. Cline pricing (cline.bot)
  2. Cline docs: ClinePass (docs.cline.bot)
  3. VS Code Marketplace: Cline (marketplace.visualstudio.com)

Accessed Oct 15, 2026. Spot an error? Request a correction.