Every AI coding tool has a pricing page. None of them make it easy to compare actual value. One tool charges $20/month for "unlimited" completions. Another charges $20/month for 500 premium requests. A third gives you 180,000 completions for free.
We broke down the cost per feature across every major AI coding tool to answer a simple question: which one gives you the most for your money?
Best free tier: Gemini Code Assist (180K completions/mo). Best value at $20/mo: Cursor Pro (unlimited completions + 500 premium). Best for heavy agent use: Claude Max 5x ($100/mo, 5x the usage). Cheapest team plan: Amazon Q Developer (free for individuals, $19/user/mo for teams).
The $0 Tier: Free Plans Compared
Three tools offer meaningful free tiers. Here's what you actually get:
| Feature | Gemini Free | Copilot Free | Amazon Q Free |
|---|---|---|---|
| Completions | 6,000/day | 2,000/month | Unlimited |
| Chat | 240/day | 50/month | Unlimited |
| Agent mode | 1,000/day | Shared in 50 req | Limited |
| Training on your code | No | Yes (opt-out) | No |
Winner: Gemini Code Assist. It's not close on volume. Amazon Q is strong too — unlimited completions and chat for free — but Gemini's agent mode and daily limits are more generous. See our full Gemini vs Copilot free tier comparison.
The $10-20/mo Tier: Where Most Developers Land
This is the real battleground. Here's what $10-20/month gets you:
| Tool | Price | Completions | Premium/Fast Requests | Agent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copilot Pro | $10/mo | Unlimited | 300 premium/mo | Yes (from premium pool) |
| Windsurf Pro | $20/mo | Unlimited | Daily/weekly quotas | Yes (Cascade) |
| Cursor Pro | $20/mo | Unlimited | 500 fast/mo | Yes (Composer) |
| Claude Pro | $20/mo | N/A (terminal) | Usage-based limits | Yes (native) |
| Copilot Pro+ | $39/mo | Unlimited | 1,500 premium/mo | Yes + priority |
| Gemini Standard | $19.99/mo | Unlimited | Generous daily limits | Yes |
| Tabnine Dev | $9/mo | Unlimited | N/A | Limited |
Cost Per Premium Request
Premium/fast requests are the real currency. Here's the cost per request at each tier:
| Tool | Price | Premium Requests | Cost per Request |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copilot Pro | $10 | 300 | $0.033 |
| Cursor Pro | $20 | 500 | $0.040 |
| Copilot Pro+ | $39 | 1,500 | $0.026 |
Copilot Pro+ has the lowest cost per premium request at $0.026. But if you won't use all 1,500, Copilot Pro at $10/mo is the cheapest entry point. Cursor's 500 requests for $20 falls in the middle.
Windsurf switched from credits to daily/weekly quotas in March 2026. You can't calculate a simple cost-per-request because limits reset on a rolling basis. This can be better or worse depending on how evenly you spread your usage.
The Power User Tier: $40-200/mo
For developers who burn through standard limits:
| Tool | Price | What You Get |
|---|---|---|
| Cursor Ultra | $200/mo | Unlimited fast requests — no caps at all |
| Claude Max 20x | $200/mo | 20x Pro usage for Claude Code + claude.ai |
| Claude Max 5x | $100/mo | 5x Pro usage for Claude Code + claude.ai |
| Windsurf Max | $60/mo | Higher daily/weekly quotas than Pro |
| Copilot Pro+ | $39/mo | 1,500 premium requests, priority access |
Best value: If you need truly unlimited usage and price is no object, Cursor Ultra at $200/mo is the only plan with zero rate limits. Claude Max 20x costs the same but gives 20x (not unlimited) — though you also get full claude.ai access.
Best mid-range: Copilot Pro+ at $39/mo gives you 5x the premium requests of Copilot Pro for 3.9x the price. That's the best value scaling on any tool.
Team Plans: Cost Per Seat
| Tool | Per Seat/mo | Min Seats | Key Feature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Q Business | $19 | 1 | AWS integration, security scans |
| Copilot Business | $19 | 1 | IP indemnity, no training |
| Cursor Business | $40 | 1 | Admin controls, SSO, zero-day retention |
| Claude Team | $30 | 5 | Higher limits, team workspace |
| Windsurf Teams | $40/mo | 2 | Centralized billing, analytics |
| Tabnine Enterprise | $39 | Custom | On-prem, custom models, RBAC |
Cheapest team plan: Copilot Business and Amazon Q tie at $19/seat/month with no seat minimums. Claude Team is $30/seat but requires 5 seats minimum ($150/month floor). For our full team comparison, see AI Coding Tools for Teams.
The Real Cost: What the Pricing Page Hides
Sticker price isn't the whole story. Here are the costs most people miss:
- Cursor and Windsurf lock you into a custom IDE. If your team uses IntelliJ or Xcode, you can't use them. Copilot and Gemini work in your existing editor.
- Claude Code is terminal-only. No autocomplete, no inline suggestions. You're paying for agent-mode conversations, not completions. Apples to oranges with other tools.
- "Unlimited" has a catch. Cursor Pro's unlimited completions use a smaller model. The 500 "fast" requests use the good models. More on hidden costs →
- Windsurf quotas reset unpredictably. Daily and weekly limits mean your effective monthly budget depends on usage patterns.
- Claude Team's 5-seat minimum. A 3-person startup pays for 5 seats — that's $150/mo vs the $90 you'd expect.
Our Picks: Best Value by Use Case
Gemini Code Assist Free + Copilot Pro ($10/mo). Stack Gemini's massive free completions with Copilot's premium requests for $10 total. Best bang for buck in 2026.
Cursor Pro ($20/mo). 500 fast requests is enough for most daily workflows, and the IDE experience (tab completions, inline edits, Composer) is the most polished.
Claude Max 5x ($100/mo). If you use Claude Code heavily for multi-file edits and agentic coding, 5x Pro usage prevents rate-limit interruptions. You also get full claude.ai access.
Copilot Business ($19/seat). Cheapest per-seat with no minimum, works in every major IDE, and includes IP indemnification. Hard to beat for teams.
Want personalized cost estimates?
Try the Interactive Cost Calculator →Pricing changes frequently. We update this analysis monthly. Last updated March 27, 2026. For detailed pricing on any specific tool, see our guides: Cursor · Copilot · Windsurf · Claude Code · Gemini · Amazon Q · Tabnine · JetBrains AI.
Data sourced from official pricing pages. Open-source dataset available at lunacompsia-oss/ai-coding-tools-pricing.