● Reach
12M+
installs and downloads · VS Code + Open VSX · Sep 2026
Starting at
from $0
the agent itself is free (Apache-2.0); you pay for tokens or ClinePass $9.99/mo
Surfaces
6+
vscode · cli · jetbrains · desktop · sdk
Team pace
71/week
Average commits · github, 52 weeks
Quick start · VS Code
$ code --install-extension saoudrizwan.claude-dev▌benchmarks and competitors - analysis in 3.0 ↓
1.0
Should you get it
Use it if you need
- ✓control over every step: approvals for every edit and command, checkpoints for rollback
- ✓model freedom: your own key, cheap for small tasks and frontier for complex ones
- ✓privacy and offline: local models (Ollama, LM Studio) - code never leaves your machine
- ✓start with no money: free promo models or a local model
Choose it for control and openness: your own key, any model, free models to get started; skip it if you need maximum out-of-the-box quality without configuring models.
Pass by if needed
- ✗maximum out-of-the-box quality without hassle with keys and providers - that is Claude Code or Cursor
- ✗predictable fixed bill: cost varies by model and token volume
- ✗cloud fleet of parallel sessions - Cline is local; that is Devin's category
- ✗a team without its own API keys and no desire to set them up
The agent itself is free (Apache-2.0). You pay for tokens: your own provider key or Cline pay-as-you-go; ClinePass — $9.99 a month for open models. Free promo models work up to the quota. Enterprise — on request.
2.0
Installation by surface
VS Code extension→
Main surface: an agent next to your code, plan/act modes, approvals on every step, checkpoints for rollback. Also installs in Cursor, Windsurf, VSCodium and Antigravity. 5.45M installs in the Marketplace as of Sep 26, 2026 (ext id saoudrizwan.claude-dev).
$ code --install-extension saoudrizwan.claude-dev→Open Cline, choose a model provider, and enter a key (or Cline Provider)
>_CLI→
Terminal agent: interactive or headless mode. Node.js 20+. The same approvals and checkpoints engine as in the editor.
$ npm install -g cline$ cline>_JetBrains plugin→
Plugin for IntelliJ, PyCharm, WebStorm, GoLand - publicly available, not enterprise-only. The same agent inside a JetBrains editor.
>_Cline DesktopBeta→
A standalone app for macOS and Windows (Windows in beta): parallel sessions, scheduled tasks, importing conversations from Claude Code and Codex. Built around open models; you can start on the free ones.
>_SDK→
Programmatic access to the agent core: your own wrapper around the same engine (Node 18+). Queue tasks from your systems without an editor.
$ npm install @cline/sdk>_Zed / JetBrains / Neovim / Emacs (ACP)→
Through ACP the same agent runs inside Zed, JetBrains, Neovim, Emacs and any client with ACP. A Kanban board for parallel agents is in preview.
What you need before starting
You need an editor (VS Code or JetBrains) or Node.js 20+ for the CLI, and access to a model: your own provider key, a Cline account (free models, pay-as-you-go, ClinePass) or a local model (Ollama/LM Studio).
3.0
Rankings and benchmarks
No Cline+model pair in the site ranking · card reference points
Reach
12M+ installs and downloads · 09.2026 · VS Code Marketplace 5.45M + Open VSX 6.73M; 69.3k GitHub stars
vibecoding.tech agent rating
lower tier (beta) · 07.2026 · editorial rating; Cline's ceiling = the connected model's ceiling
Who is measured and how it is calculated - AI agent ranking
● agent ≠ model
A BYOK agent's score is always a «Cline + model» pair, not a single number: Cline's ceiling equals the ceiling of the connected model. As of Sep 26, 2026 there is no Cline+model pair at Artificial Analysis or in Terminal-Bench 2.0, so we do not show someone else's leaderboard. The card's reference points are the rows above.
4.0
What it can do: autonomy, techniques, character
Autonomy axis
Cline's autonomy axis is shifted toward control, not the cloud: the agent lives locally, with every step requiring approval by default. Autonomy is increased with the auto-approve toggle, not a fleet in someone else's cloud.
Cline· levels 01-03
01Approvals
every edit and command is confirmed manually; plan mode agrees on the strategy first
02Auto-approve
autopilot toggle: the agent edits and runs commands itself within set boundaries
03Parallelism (Kanban)
web Kanban board runs several agents in parallel; preview status
04Cloud fleet
launching a batch of sessions in someone else's cloud - Cline is local and does not do this
Asks at every stepWorks while your laptop is closed
Gray levels - Cline cannot do this
Team pace · ● live · api.github.com
In a year 3,675 commitsPeak 179/wkCurrent week 0
Weekly commits, 52 weeks - is the project alive at a glance
Project character · releases up, incidents down
2026-06-28
release
v4.0.6: 4.58M installs in VS Code Marketplace - 8.0M+ across all platforms with Open VSX, 64.4k GitHub stars.
5.0
Pricing and limits
Plans
Open Source $0 · ClinePass $9.99/mo · Cline pay-as-you-go · Enterprise custom
The agent itself is free for individual developers: no subscription, no per-seat fee. ClinePass is an optional $9.99 a month subscription for open models (GLM-5.3, Kimi K3, DeepSeek V4 Pro, Qwen3.8 Max and others) with 2–5 times the volume you get at the usual API price. Cline pay-as-you-go is credits for 100+ models. Enterprise (Contact Sales): SSO, SLA, RBAC, centralized billing.
Cline pricing
2026-09-26
Free access
Yes: the agent is free, promo models are free up to a quota
The tool itself is free (Apache-2.0). On top of it, free models on rotation: as of Sep 26, 2026 these are DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, Gemini 3.8 Flash, Muse Spark 1.3 Contributor and MiMo V2.6 Flash plus two anonymous ones. A Cline account is required, they work only in the extension and the CLI, and requests may go toward improving models. Kimi K3 was given away free in September; as of Sep 26 it is in ClinePass. Past the quota: ClinePass, pay-as-you-go or your own key.
Cline docs: free models
2026-09-26
Limits
The agent has no quotas; quotas belong to free models and ClinePass
Spend is set by the model you connect. Your own key means the provider's rate. Cline pay-as-you-go means credits and a single balance. Free models work up to a quota whose size is not published. ClinePass gives 2–5 times more requests than the same amount at API prices: Kimi K3, for example, is listed at $3 per million input tokens and $15 per million output tokens.
Cline docs: free models
2026-09-26
● limits expire
All vendors in 2026 rebuilt billing around token credits; limit figures change every week. Each line above has a verification date - do not trust figures without a date, including ours.
6.0
Risks: privacy and control
Code privacy
Local First; opt-in telemetry
Code and files stay on your machine. Telemetry is off by default (opt-in), anonymous; it never includes code, paths, command arguments, conversation contents, or keys. BYOK caveat: during use, prompts and code go to the connected model provider - your choice and contract; with a local model, they do not go anywhere.
Cline docs: telemetry
2026-07-07
Open source
Yes: Apache-2.0, 69.3k stars
The github.com/cline/cline repository is open under Apache-2.0 (69,347 stars as of Sep 26, 2026); 250+ contributors. The agent core, the CLI and the SDK are readable and forkable - unlike the proprietary Claude Code, Cursor and Devin.
GitHub cline/cline
2026-09-26
Maintainer
Cline Bot Inc.; open project, 250+ contributors
Original author - Saoud Rizwan (ext id saoudrizwan.claude-dev); developed as an open project under Apache-2.0. Primary sources do not confirm funding-round or revenue data - not included in the card.
GitHub cline/cline
2026-07-07
7.0
Cline or Claude Code - openness versus out-of-the-box quality
Cline - an open BYOK agent: your own key, any model, local inference. Claude Code - a closed terminal-first agent on Claude models with maximum quality without configuration. The choice is "control and model freedom" versus "out-of-the-box quality ceiling."
Cline
Claude CodeCardopenness and BYOK: any provider, any model, local inference; approvals + checkpoints
Strength
depth and out-of-the-box quality on Claude models, terminal-first
not measured as a Cline+model pair in AA Index / Terminal-Bench; score = selected model
Benchmarks
Terminal-Bench 78.9% with Opus 4.8 (06.2026)
the agent itself $0 (Apache-2.0); provider tokens, Cline pay-as-you-go or ClinePass $9.99/mo
Economics
from $17/mo; limits in 5-hour windows + weekly
VS Code and forks, JetBrains, CLI, Desktop, SDK; plus Zed, Neovim and Emacs via ACP
Surfaces
14: CLI, IDE, desktop, web, iOS, CI, Slack, SDK
any: Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, OpenRouter, Bedrock, local Ollama/LM Studio
Models
Claude only (API/Bedrock/Vertex/Foundry)
Apache-2.0, 69.3k stars, 250+ contributors
Openness
no, proprietary CLI
- →Choose Cline for control and model freedom (your own key, local inference, readable diff); Claude Code for the out-of-the-box quality ceiling on Claude models without setup.
Other paths
Cline or Cursorproprietary editor with an agent - if you do not need BYOK or open source
Cline or Codexcloud tasks and terminal already included with ChatGPT
Cline or Continueanother open agent in the editor, if Cline did not click
Frequently asked questions
Cline or Claude Code - which should you choose?
A different trade-off. Choose Cline for control and openness: your own key, any model, local inference, readable diffs, and approvals at every step - but quality depends on the model you connect. Claude Code gives you the most out of the box with Claude models and no provider setup, but it is a closed tool and supports only Claude models. Need model freedom and open source - Cline; need the highest quality ceiling without the hassle - Claude Code.
How much does Cline cost and what is its price?
The agent itself is free (Apache-2.0): no subscription, no per-seat fee. You pay for the model's tokens: your own provider key or Cline pay-as-you-go. For open models there is ClinePass at $9.99 a month with 2–5 times the volume of API pricing. Enterprise is on request (SSO, RBAC, centralized billing). Verified Sep 26, 2026.
Is Cline free?
Yes, the agent itself is free and open (Apache-2.0). There are two ways to work without a bill. The first is a local model (Ollama, LM Studio). The second is Cline's free promo models: as of Sep 26, 2026 these are DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, Gemini 3.8 Flash, Muse Spark 1.3 and MiMo V2.6 Flash. They work up to a quota and need a Cline account.
What is BYOK in Cline?
BYOK (bring your own key) - you connect your own model provider key, and tokens are paid directly to that provider at its rate instead of through a Cline subscription. Upside: freedom of model and price (a cheap one for small things, frontier for the hard parts). Downside: you set up the keys and watch the spend yourself. The alternative without keys is Cline pay-as-you-go with credits or ClinePass at $9.99 a month.
Which is correct: Cline or klayn?
Canonical name - Cline (a Cline Bot Inc. product). The extension in VS Code Marketplace has historically been called Cline (Claude Dev), ext id saoudrizwan.claude-dev.
Watch and read on the topic
Entity · cline
Facts · 13, each with a source and date
Card editorial review · 2026-09-26
Facts verified · 2026-07-07
Where to go next
Rating updates
New cards, price and limit changes, ranking shifts - by email, no spam.