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Source-backed analysis12

Review basis

Research-based review: the AppDuo Editorial Team compiled it from official pages, documentation, app stores, press and user feedback, without hands-on testing. Every claim links to a source with the date it was checked.

12 reference sources

Information updated Nov 10, 2026

How we review
Cline logo

Cline Review

Open-source coding agent that runs on the AI models you choose

Editorial Team7.3/10Write the first review

By Official AppDuo editorial team · Updated

  • macOS
  • Windows
  • Linux
  • Browser extension
  • API
Open source · $9.99/mo
Visit Cline
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Decide at a glance

Our verdict

Cline suits developers who want an open-source agent, a free choice of model and provider, and pay-for-what-you-use costs. The trade-off is less predictable API spend, and you manage keys, models and per-action approvals yourself.

Best for: Developers who want to use their own API keys or local models

Skip it if: People who want one predictable flat price covering all frontier models

Pros

  • Open source under Apache-2.0, with about 71.5k GitHub stars
  • No provider lock-in: Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, OpenRouter, Bedrock, Ollama, LM Studio
  • Plan/Act modes, checkpoints and per-action approval

Cons

  • Inference cost depends on model and usage, with no fixed ceiling
  • Mixed marketplace ratings: 4.0/5 on VS Code Marketplace, 3.4/5 on JetBrains Marketplace, 3.3/5 on Open VSX
All pros and cons · Who is it for?

More pros

  • Extensible through MCP, .clinerules files, an SDK and a CLI, plus headless runs in CI

More cons

  • The free plan has community support only; dedicated support and an SLA are Enterprise features

Best for

  • Teams that need an open-source agent in VS Code, JetBrains or the CLI

Problems it solves

Experience & key features

What Cline is

Cline is an open-source coding agent from Cline Bot Inc. that runs in VS Code, JetBrains, Windsurf, Cursor, the terminal and a desktop app. Its homepage claims over 11 million developers, and its VS Code Marketplace page lists 5,894,120 installs.

How it works

You describe a task and settle on a plan with Cline in Plan mode; in Act mode it edits multiple files, shows diffs and runs terminal commands while reading their output. Checkpoints let you roll back, .clinerules files capture project conventions, and MCP connects external tools. Newer additions include an SDK, cron-scheduled agents and a headless mode for CI.

Pricing and cost

The pricing page lists the open-source version as free for individuals: you pay for inference by usage, or use your own API key. Per the docs, ClinePass costs 9.99 USD/month for a set of open models such as DeepSeek, GLM, Kimi and Qwen, with 5-hour, weekly and monthly limits. Enterprise is quoted individually and adds SSO, an SLA and centralized administration.

More analysis

Compared with alternatives

Unlike AI IDEs such as Cursor or Windsurf, Cline is an open-source extension: you bring your own API key instead of buying a subscription bundled with frontier models. That is flexible and transparent on cost, but anyone wanting an all-in-one plan may find Cursor or GitHub Copilot simpler.

Screenshots

Cline desktop app (light theme)
Cline desktop app (light theme)
Official Cline promotional image
Official Cline promotional image

Plans & pricing

Prices last verified Nov 10, 2026

Open Source

Personal

Free

Free for individual developers, with no subscription or seat fee. You pay only for AI inference by usage, or bring your own API keys.

ClinePass

Personal

$9.99/mo/user

Monthly subscription to a set of popular open coding models; the docs claim 2–5x the rate limits of standard API access. Usage is capped over a rolling 5-hour window, the calendar week and the calendar month.

Enterprise

Business

Contact sales

Custom pricing via sales. Adds SSO, an SLA, dedicated support, the JetBrains extension, centralized billing and role-based access control.

Free plan limits
Cline sets no usage cap on the open-source plan; costs come from whichever AI model provider you choose.
Free trial
No free trial
Cancellation & refunds

Neither the pricing page nor the ClinePass docs mention refunds.

Privacy

According to its telemetry docs, Cline records features used, errors, token counts, model and provider names, version, OS, a device identifier and, when signed in, your account. It excludes your code, file contents and prompts, except with the Cline or ClinePass providers, where telemetry can include the prompt and the model's response. With your own API key, prompts go only to the provider you choose. Telemetry can be turned off in VS Code, JetBrains, the desktop app and the CLI, but Cline still contacts its servers for sign-in and feature flags and sends a few required events. The privacy policy gives no data retention period.

Official pricing page

Cline alternatives

GitHub Copilot logo7.5/10

GitHub Copilot

An AI coding assistant that runs in most major IDEs and ties into GitHub

Freemium
Claude Code logo7.4/10

Claude Code

Anthropic's coding agent across terminal, IDE, web and CI

Paid
All alternatives

Frequently asked questions

Is Cline free?

According to the pricing page, Cline is free for individual developers. You pay only for AI inference by usage, or use your own API key.

Does Cline send my code to its servers?

Per the telemetry docs, the data Cline collects excludes code, file contents and prompts unless you use the Cline or ClinePass providers. With your own API key, prompts go only to your chosen model provider.

Where does Cline run?

VS Code, JetBrains, Windsurf, Cursor, a CLI (npm i -g cline) and a desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux.

Can I use local models?

Yes. The homepage and GitHub list local models through Ollama and LM Studio, plus any OpenAI-compatible endpoint.

Review evidence & sources12

Scores

Ease of use
7.0
Why this score

Installs as a VS Code extension or via npm, but you pick a provider, set API keys and watch costs yourself; by default every action waits for approval. English-only interface.

Features
8.2
Why this score

Per the homepage and GitHub: multi-file edits, terminal commands, Plan/Act, checkpoints, MCP, multi-agent teams, cron schedules, Slack/Linear integrations and headless CI mode.

Value for money
8.0
Why this score

The tool itself is free and you pay only for models; ClinePass costs 9.99 USD/month for a set of open models. Total cost depends on usage.

Performance
7.0
Why this score

Output quality depends on the chosen model. User ratings are mixed: 4.0/5 on VS Code Marketplace (326), 3.4/5 on JetBrains Marketplace (76) and 3.3/5 on Open VSX (16). No independent benchmark was available as evidence.

Support
6.5
Why this score

The free plan gets docs, a Discord and GitHub community and the [email protected] address; dedicated support and an SLA are Enterprise-only.

Privacy & security
7.3
Why this score

Telemetry is on by default and includes a device ID, but the docs state code and prompts are excluded (except with the Cline/ClinePass providers) and it can be turned off; with your own key, prompts go straight to the model provider. The general policy gives no retention period.

What users say

Sources

Specs & compatibility
Developer
Cline Bot Inc.
Headquarters
United States
Launched
2024
Category
DevelopmentAI

Capabilities

  • Open source
  • AI features
  • Public API
  • Integrations
  • Real-time collaboration

Platforms

  • macOS
  • Windows
  • Linux
  • Browser extension
  • API

Interface languages

  • English

Integrations

  • VS Code
  • JetBrains
  • Windsurf
  • Cursor
  • MCP
  • Slack
  • Discord
  • Telegram
  • Linear
  • Ollama
  • LM Studio
  • OpenRouter
  • AWS Bedrock

Support

  • Help center
  • Community forum
  • Email

Change history

  1. Company.Cline announced 32 million USD in combined seed and Series A funding, led by Emergence Capital and Pace Capital.
  2. Feature.Launched Cline Teams with organization management, centralized billing, a dashboard, budgets and audit logs.
  3. Update.At the funding announcement Cline cited 2.7 million installs across VS Marketplace and Open VSX and 48k GitHub stars.
About the author

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