AI Coding Assistants pricing
AI coding assistants plug into your editor to autocomplete, chat about, and now autonomously edit code across your repo. Most sell a flat monthly seat (with a free tier), but the real cost driver is how they meter the underlying model: some give unlimited slow completions plus a pool of fast/agent requests, others pass model usage through at cost. This page compares the paid tiers side by side so you can see what a seat actually gets you.
| Tabnine Privacy-focused AI assistant with self-hosting for enterprises. | Free · from $9/mo | Per seat | VS Code, JetBrains, more | Yes | Yes | $39/seat (Enterprise) |
| GitHub Copilot The incumbent AI pair-programmer, native to VS Code, JetBrains, and more. | Free · from $10/mo | Per seat | VS Code, JetBrains, Neovim, Xcode | Yes | Yes | $19/seat |
| Windsurf Agentic AI code editor with a credit-based model for agent actions. | Free · from $15/mo | Per seat | Own editor + plugins | Yes | Yes | $30/seat |
| Cursor AI-native code editor (VS Code fork) with agentic multi-file editing. | Free · from $20/mo | Per seat | Own editor (VS Code fork) | Yes | Yes | $40/seat |
“Entry price” is the cheapest paid monthly tier; many tools also have a free tier and higher (team/enterprise) plans. Open a tool for the full plan breakdown. Prices for planning only — confirm on the vendor’s pricing page.
How to choose
If you want the most capable agentic editing, Cursor and Windsurf are purpose-built AI IDEs; if you live in VS Code or JetBrains and want the safe default, GitHub Copilot is the incumbent. Watch the metering: a $20 plan with a capped pool of 'fast'/agent requests can cost more than it looks once you hit heavy agent use, so compare the request limits, not just the sticker price. Free tiers are genuinely useful for light use.
FAQ
Is a coding-assistant subscription cheaper than using the API directly?
Usually yes for steady daily use: a flat $10–$20 seat bundles model access that would cost more metered, especially with heavy autocomplete. But if you barely use it, or you run huge agent sessions, pay-as-you-go API access (or a higher tier) can win. Our per-prompt and agent-session calculators let you check your own usage.
What's the difference between completions and agent requests?
Completions are the inline autocomplete you get as you type — usually unlimited or generously capped. Agent (or 'fast'/premium) requests invoke a frontier model to plan and edit across files, and are the metered, limited resource on most plans.
Do these prices include the model cost?
On flat plans, yes — the seat bundles a quota of model usage. Once you exceed the quota, tools either slow you down, block until reset, or bill usage on top. Always check the overage policy for your plan.