# Which AI coding tool should I use? Free plans and credits

> Never coded? Start with an app builder: Lovable, Bolt, v0 and Replit all have a free way in. If you code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) and Zed are editors with free plans, and Cline is a free open source extension.
> Already paying for ChatGPT or Claude? Codex is included in every ChatGPT plan, even Free, and Claude Code in every paid Claude plan, from Pro at $17/mo billed annually or $20 monthly.
> Credits are the fine print: Cursor resets weekly, Copilot on the 1st of the month (UTC), and the Lovable and Bolt free allowances daily. Of the pages we checked, only Bolt, Lovable and v0 say unused paid credits carry over.

- Canonical page: https://usewhichtool.com/compare/which-ai-coding-tool
- Last verified: 2026-10-31
- Publisher: Use Which Tool (https://usewhichtool.com), run by Sameer Chowdhry
- Cite as: Use Which Tool, "Which AI coding tool should I use? Free plans and credits", https://usewhichtool.com/compare/which-ai-coding-tool (last verified 2026-10-31)

Published 2026-10-29. Pick an AI coding tool or app builder by what you build: free plans, credits, resets and rollover for 11 tools, from official pages checked Oct 29 to 31, 2026.

## Tools compared

| Tool | Price type | Pricing | Source | Verified |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Bolt](https://usewhichtool.com/tools/bolt) | Free tier | Free (1M tokens/mo); Pro $25/mo monthly or $18/mo billed annually; Teams $30/member/mo monthly or $27/member/mo billed annually, with shared capacity; Enterprise custom. | [official](https://bolt.new/pricing) | 2026-11-03 |
| [Claude Code](https://usewhichtool.com/tools/claude-code) | Paid | Included with Claude Pro ($17/mo annual, $20 monthly), Max ($100/mo, 5x Pro usage) and Ultra ($200/mo, 10x Pro weekly usage, no 5-hour limit for verified accounts); API usage billed separately. | [official](https://claude.com/pricing) | 2026-11-03 |
| [Cline](https://usewhichtool.com/tools/cline) | Open source | Free open-source extension; pay only for AI inference (BYOK or Cline provider); optional ClinePass subscription for open-weight models listed at $9.99/mo; Enterprise custom. | [official](https://cline.bot/pricing) | 2026-11-03 |
| [Cursor](https://usewhichtool.com/tools/cursor) | Free tier | Free tier; paid tiers listed at $8, $30, $100 and $200/month; Teams from $30/user/month; Enterprise custom. | [official](https://cursor.com/pricing) | 2026-11-03 |
| [Devin (incl. Devin Desktop, formerly Windsurf)](https://usewhichtool.com/tools/devin) | Free tier | Free; Pro $20/mo; Max $200/mo; Teams $80/mo + $40/mo per full member; Enterprise custom. | [official](https://devin.ai/pricing) | 2026-11-03 |
| [GitHub Copilot](https://usewhichtool.com/tools/github-copilot) | Free tier | Free; Pro $10/mo; Pro+ $39/mo; Max $100/mo. Each plan includes monthly GitHub AI Credits for chat and agents (Pro $15, Pro+ $70, Max $200 in credits); code completions stay unlimited on paid plans. | [official](https://github.com/features/copilot/plans) | 2026-11-03 |
| [Lovable](https://usewhichtool.com/tools/lovable) | Free tier | Free: 5 daily build credits (up to 30/mo) + 20 Cloud credits; Pro $25/mo and Business $50/mo (each from 100 monthly credits; yearly billing gives 2 months free); Enterprise custom. | [official](https://lovable.dev/pricing) | 2026-11-03 |
| [OpenAI Codex](https://usewhichtool.com/tools/openai-codex) | Free tier | Free plan includes Codex with lower limits; Go $8/mo; Plus $20/mo; Pro $100, $200 or $500/mo; Business $20/user/mo (2+ users, annual; $25 monthly); Enterprise and Edu via sales. Codex shares one usage allowance with ChatGPT Work. | [official](https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/pricing) | 2026-11-03 |
| [Replit](https://usewhichtool.com/tools/replit) | Freemium | Core $20/mo ($18 annual) incl. $20 model credit; Pro $100/mo ($90 annual) incl. $100 credit, with larger options up to $2,000/mo; Enterprise custom. | [official](https://replit.com/pricing) | 2026-11-03 |
| [v0 by Vercel](https://usewhichtool.com/tools/v0) | Free tier | Free: $5 one-time credits for new users and a 7 message/day limit; Plus $30/user/mo; Business $100/user/mo; paid plans include $30 monthly credits per user plus $2 daily login credits. | [official](https://v0.app/pricing) | 2026-11-03 |
| [Zed](https://usewhichtool.com/tools/zed) | Free tier | Personal $0; Pro $10/mo (incl. $5 tokens, then usage billed at API list price plus 10%; 14-day Pro trial); Business $30/seat/mo. | [official](https://zed.dev/pricing) | 2026-11-03 |

## Sources

- [Cursor help: Pricing and plans](https://cursor.com/help/account-and-billing/pricing) (checked 2026-10-29)
- [Cursor help: Usage limits](https://cursor.com/help/models-and-usage/usage-limits) (checked 2026-10-29)
- [Cursor help: Student discount](https://cursor.com/help/account-and-billing/student-discount) (checked 2026-10-29)
- [GitHub Docs: Copilot billing for individuals](https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/concepts/billing-and-usage/individuals/billing) (checked 2026-10-29)
- [GitHub Docs: Copilot plans](https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/get-started/plans) (checked 2026-10-29)
- [GitHub Docs: Free Copilot Pro for teachers and maintainers](https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/how-tos/manage-your-account/get-free-access-to-copilot-pro) (checked 2026-10-29)
- [Anthropic: Claude pricing and FAQ](https://claude.com/pricing) (checked 2026-10-31)
- [Claude help center: Use Claude Code with your Pro, Max, or Ultra plan](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/11145838-use-claude-code-with-your-pro-or-max-plan) (checked 2026-10-31)
- [OpenAI docs: ChatGPT Work and Codex pricing](https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/pricing) (checked 2026-10-29)
- [Cognition: Windsurf is now Devin Desktop (June 2, 2026)](https://devin.ai/blog/windsurf-is-now-devin-desktop) (checked 2026-10-29)
- [Devin: plans and pricing FAQ](https://devin.ai/pricing) (checked 2026-10-29)
- [Lovable docs: FAQ](https://docs.lovable.dev/introduction/faq) (checked 2026-10-29)
- [Lovable docs: Credits and usage](https://docs.lovable.dev/introduction/credits-and-usage) (checked 2026-10-29)
- [Bolt help center: Tokens](https://support.bolt.new/account/tokens) (checked 2026-10-29)
- [Bolt: pricing](https://bolt.new/pricing) (checked 2026-10-29)
- [v0: pricing and FAQ](https://v0.app/pricing) (checked 2026-10-29)
- [Replit docs: Starter plan](https://docs.replit.com/billing/plans) (checked 2026-10-29)
- [Replit: pricing](https://replit.com/pricing) (checked 2026-10-29)
- [Cline: pricing and FAQ](https://cline.bot/pricing) (checked 2026-10-29)
- [Zed: pricing and FAQ](https://zed.dev/pricing) (checked 2026-10-29)

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