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Source-backed analysis9

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.

9 reference sources

Information updated Nov 10, 2026

How we review
Kiro logo

Kiro Review

AWS's AI IDE and agent platform built around specs before code

Editorial Team6.8/10Write the first review

By Official AppDuo editorial team · Updated

  • Windows
  • macOS
  • Linux
  • Web
Freemium · $20.00/mo
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Decide at a glance

Our verdict

Kiro suits teams that want a structured workflow (requirements, design, tasks, property-based tests) and already live in the AWS ecosystem. The trade-offs are credit-based pricing that takes effort to model, Free-tier content that may be used for training by default, and very few public reviews (Trustpilot 2.3/5 from just 7 reviews).

Best for: Teams that want agents to work from explicit specs and tests rather than free-form chat

Skip it if: Anyone who just wants quick completions at a simple flat price

Pros

  • Spec workflow covering requirements, design and tasks, plus property-based testing to check code against the spec
  • An IDE (Windows, macOS, Linux), a CLI, a web agent and Crew, sharing .kiro configuration
  • A Free plan; Pro at 20 USD a month with 1,000 credits; Teams at 20 USD per seat with a shared credit pool

Cons

  • Monthly credits do not roll over and consumption varies by model, which makes budgeting harder; extra credits cost 0.04 USD each
  • Free tier and social or Builder ID sign-in: content may be used for training unless you opt out
All pros and cons · Who is it for?

Pros

  • Supports MCP, ACP, AGENTS.md and Skills, with Claude, GPT and open-weight models

Cons

  • Trustpilot 2.3/5 with all 7 reviews one-star (tiny sample, unclaimed profile): complaints about payments, cancellations and slow support

Best for

  • AWS-centric organizations needing IAM Identity Center sign-in and AWS billing
  • VS Code users who want to import settings and Open VSX-compatible extensions

Skip it if

  • Anyone who needs every VS Code extension: the docs only mention Open VSX-compatible ones

Problems it solves

Experience & key features

What is Kiro?

Per its home page, Kiro is an agentic AI engineering system from Amazon Web Services, available through an IDE, CLI, web interface, a mobile app (early access) and Kiro Crew. The official post says Kiro launched in preview in July 2025 and reached general availability on 17 November 2025. The FAQ states the IDE is based on Code OSS.

How it works and key features

Kiro's distinguishing idea is specs: capture intent before code, analyze requirements, add property-based tests and Bugfix Specs to verify results afterwards. It also has hooks that run tasks automatically, steering, memory across sessions, workflows that split long work into checked steps, and parallel cloud agents. In the CLI, /autonomous mode (3 November 2026) runs without per-command approval with sandboxing enabled. It supports MCP, ACP, AGENTS.md, Skills and Open VSX extensions, with Claude, GPT and open-weight models such as DeepSeek and Qwen.

Pricing and value

The pricing page lists Free (50 credits), Pro at 20 USD (1,000 credits), Pro+ at 40 USD (2,000), Pro Max at 100 USD (5,000) and Power at 200 USD (10,000) a month, plus Teams at 20 USD per seat a month with 500 credits per seat pooled. Extra credits cost 0.04 USD and expire after 12 months; monthly credits do not roll over. No yearly prices are listed. Credit pooling for enterprise admins launched on 4 November 2026.

More analysis

Who it's for and how it compares

Kiro fits teams that value a documented, verifiable workflow, especially those already on AWS. Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Claude Code and Windsurf (now Devin Desktop) are the closest alternatives; Kiro's main difference is its focus on specs. Public review data is very thin, so consider starting on Free and checking the data-sharing settings.

Screenshots

Official Kiro preview image from the home page
Official Kiro preview image from the home page
Image from the official post announcing Kiro's general availability
Image from the official post announcing Kiro's general availability
Image from Kiro's official pricing page
Image from Kiro's official pricing page

Plans & pricing

Prices last verified Nov 10, 2026

Free

Personal

Free

50 credits a month; open-weight models and limited Claude Sonnet 4.5.

Pro

Personal

$20/mo/user

20 USD a month, 1,000 credits a month, premium models; extra credits at 0.04 USD each.

Pro+

Personal

$40/mo/user

40 USD a month, 2,000 credits a month; extra credits at 0.04 USD each.

Pro Max

Personal

$100/mo/user

100 USD a month, 5,000 credits a month; extra credits at 0.04 USD each.

Power

Personal

$200/mo/user

200 USD a month, 10,000 credits a month; extra credits at 0.04 USD each.

Teams

Business

$20/mo/user

20 USD per seat a month, 2+ seats. Each seat adds 500 credits to a shared pool; extra credits at 0.04 USD each.

Free plan limits
Free includes 50 credits a month with open-weight models and Claude Sonnet 4.5. There is no free tier for Enterprise or AWS GovCloud (US).
Free trial
No free trial
Cancellation & refunds

The pages opened state no refund policy. The first upgrade from Free to Pro gives the rest of that month free plus 500 trial credits usable within 12 months; a valid credit card is required.

Privacy

Per Kiro's documentation, content from the Free tier and from users who sign in with social login or AWS Builder ID may be used for service improvement, including model training, unless you opt out in the IDE settings (Telemetry and Content). Pro, Pro+, Pro Max and Power users signed in through AWS IAM Identity Center or an external identity provider, and Enterprise users, are not subject to content use. Individual content is stored in US East (N. Virginia), and Free-tier inputs may be kept up to 60 days for abuse detection. Data is encrypted in transit (TLS 1.2+) and at rest. The pages opened do not state compliance certifications.

Official pricing page

Kiro alternatives

Visual Studio Code logo8.0/10

Visual Studio Code

Microsoft's free code editor, extended by add-ons, with built-in AI agents

Free
GitHub Copilot logo7.5/10

GitHub Copilot

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

Freemium
All alternatives

Frequently asked questions

Is Kiro free?

There is a Free plan with 50 credits a month and open-weight models plus Claude Sonnet 4.5. The first upgrade to Pro includes the rest of that month free plus 500 trial credits.

Which operating systems does Kiro run on?

The downloads page offers the IDE for macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel), Windows x64 and Linux x64. The CLI installs with one command; the page does not list supported operating systems for the CLI or Crew.

Does Kiro train on my code?

On Free and with social or AWS Builder ID sign-in, content may be used for service improvement, including training, unless you opt out in settings. Paid IAM Identity Center users and Enterprise are not subject to content use.

Is Kiro VS Code?

Not exactly. The FAQ says Kiro is based on Code OSS and lets you import VS Code settings, themes and Open VSX-compatible plugins, but it does not say every VS Code extension works.

Review evidence & sources9

Scores

Ease of use
7.0
Why this score

Familiar Code OSS base, VS Code settings import, and an IDE, CLI and web agent sharing configuration. Marked down because specs and credits add concepts to learn, and on 3 November 2026 the CLI moved to V3 and the Classic interface stopped working. The interface is English-only.

Features
8.0
Why this score

Specs, hooks, steering, memory, workflows, parallel cloud agents, a headless CLI for CI, MCP/ACP and Bugfix Specs. Held back because the sources opened contain no independent comparison.

Value for money
6.8
Why this score

Free at 50 credits and Pro at 20 USD for 1,000 credits are in line with peers, and Teams share a credit pool. But credits do not roll over, consumption depends on the model and GovCloud costs roughly 20% more.

Performance
6.5
Why this score

No independent measurements of speed or code quality in the sources opened. A few Trustpilot reviewers report failing tasks and rate limits, but these are isolated opinions.

Support
6.0
Why this score

Thorough docs, a changelog, Discord, GitHub, billing support and enterprise support. Marked down because some Trustpilot reviewers say emails go unanswered and the FAQ describes no support process or refund policy; with only 7 reviews, the evidence is too thin to mark it down further.

Privacy & security
6.8
Why this score

Paid IAM Identity Center users and Enterprise are excluded from content use, with TLS, KMS keys and enterprise region choice. Marked down because Free and social sign-in can be used for training by default, Free inputs are kept up to 60 days, and no compliance certifications appear on the page opened.

What users say

Sources

Specs & compatibility
Developer
Amazon Web Services
Headquarters
United States
Launched
2025
Category
Development

Capabilities

  • AI features
  • Integrations
  • Real-time collaboration
  • Templates
  • Public API

Platforms

  • Windows
  • macOS
  • Linux
  • Web

Interface languages

  • English

Integrations

  • GitHub
  • GitLab
  • Slack
  • Microsoft Teams
  • MCP servers
  • Open VSX extensions
  • AWS IAM Identity Center
  • ACP
  • AGENTS.md

Support

  • Help center
  • Community forum
  • Email

Change history

  1. Price.Credit pooling launches for enterprise admins: each 20 USD a month seat adds 500 credits to a shared pool.
  2. Feature.CLI 3.0.0 makes V3 the default and stops running the Classic (V1) interface, and introduces cloud sessions, Memory, /sandbox, Workflows and an /autonomous mode that runs without per-command approval.
  3. Feature.Claude Opus 5.5 and GPT-5.6 Sol become generally available, with their Experimental labels removed.
Full change history (5)
  1. Launch.Kiro reaches general availability with property-based testing, checkpointing, multi-root workspaces, Kiro CLI and organization plans through AWS IAM Identity Center.
  2. Launch.Kiro launches in preview.
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