Is Cline free?

Cline free tier — is it worth it?

Cline free vs paid

How long does Cline free tier last?

Cline free tier limits 2026

Cline free tier is limited. Extension is free (open source). AI inference requires your own paid API keys — Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, AWS Bedrock, etc. Only genuinely free AI path is Ollama (local models). Powerful and popular, but not truly free for most users — you'll pay for API access to use AI. Best if you're already paying for API credits or willing to set up Ollama.

Cline
extension

Cline

Open source VS Code extension — free to install, but AI requires paid API keys

7.0
Overall / 10
Free Tier: Limited
Visit Cline
8Power
9Useful
8Feedback
3Free Tier

⚠ Requires API Key

Data as of

May 2026

Requires Your Own API Key

You need keys from Anthropic, OpenAI, etc. For a truly free path, use local models via Ollama.

Cline is a free open-source VS Code extension with 5M+ installs. The extension itself has no cost — but to use AI, you must supply your own API keys from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, or similar providers, which are paid services.

Free Tier

Limited

Powerful and popular, but not truly free for most users — you'll pay for API access to use AI. Best if you're already paying for API credits or willing to set up Ollama.

Extension is free (open source). AI inference requires your own paid API keys — Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, AWS Bedrock, etc. Only genuinely free AI path is Ollama (local models).

What's included

Extension itself

59.6K GitHub stars.

Free forever — open source

AI inference — cloud models

Claude Sonnet 4 costs ~$3/M input + ~$15/M output tokens.

Requires paid API keys (not free)

AI inference — local models (Ollama)

Unlimited and free (requires hardware)

Agent capabilities (with API keys)

Unlimited — no Cline-imposed caps

MCP marketplace

Included

JetBrains extension

Requires Teams plan ($20/mo/user)

How long until you run out?

Real-world estimates for typical developer usage.

Extension usage

Never runs out

The extension itself is free forever.

API costs (e.g. Claude Sonnet 4)

~$5–20/month for typical developer use

A developer running 10 agentic sessions/day might spend $5–20/month in API fees directly to Anthropic.

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • +Extension is free and open source (59.6K stars, 5M+ installs)
  • +Zero markup on API inference
  • +Works with any provider: Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Bedrock, Ollama
  • +Ollama support for completely free local AI
  • +MCP marketplace

Cons

  • −AI is NOT free — requires paid API keys for cloud models
  • −API costs add up quickly for heavy agentic use
  • −JetBrains support requires $20/mo/user Teams plan

Scores

Powerfulness
8/10
Usefulness
9/10
User Feedback
8/10
Free Tier
3/10

Best for

Developers already paying for Anthropic/OpenAI API accessTeams wanting full control and zero vendor lock-inThose with local hardware who can run Ollama for free
Visit Website

Similar Tools