Best free Vibe Coding Tools for vibe coders
Free starting points for vibe coding across 40 tracked tools in app builders, editors, and agents: 36 have a free plan and 0 have no monthly fee. We list free app builders first, then editors, then agents. 24 of those have test scores.
Free starting points for vibe coding, grouped in the prompt-to-app path: free app builders first, then free editors, then free agents. Scores appear only for tools we have tested. Official free-plan limits are dated on each tool page; free does not mean unlimited. For a score-ordered list of free plans across the same categories, see Best free AI Coding Tools.
“Free” does not mean unlimited. Limits and test editions are listed from tool records. Last updated: 2026-11-12 · Methodology
Free AI App Builders
| # | Tool | Free tier | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bolt.new | Yes: Free forever, no card — 300K tokens/day and 1M tokens/month; unused Free tokens do not roll over; public and private projects; website hosting with Bolt branding and up to 333k web requests; 10MB upload limit (bolt.new/pricing, 2026-11-12). | 8.7 |
| 2 | v0 | Yes: 7 messages/day; new users get one-time $5 credits | 8.3 |
| 3 | Base44 | Yes: Free plan with 25 message credits/mo, up to 5 message credits/day within that monthly total (official docs, 2026-11-12), 100 integration credits/mo, and up to 5 apps. Only the personal signup workspace gets free message credits; other Free workspaces get integration credits only. | 8.2 |
| 4 | Lovable | Yes: ongoing Free — 5 build credits/day (30/month grant cap), 20 Cloud + 4 AI + 1 connector credit/month, plus a daily chat allowance | 8 |
| 5 | Replit Agent | Yes (Starter): daily Agent allowance, Lite build only, 1 published app (30 days) | 7.6 |
| 6 | Google AI Studio | Yes: free with a Google login, within per-model free-tier rate limits; free-tier content may be used to improve Google products | 7.5 |
Free AI Code Editors & IDEs
Best free AI Code Editors & IDEs
| # | Tool | Free tier | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kiro | Yes: perpetual Free with 50 credits/mo — Auto, Claude Sonnet 4.5/4.0, and open-weight models (DeepSeek 3.2, MiniMax M2.5/M2.1, GLM-5, Qwen3 Coder Next); flagship Claude Opus / Sonnet 5.5 / GPT-5.6 need a paid plan | 9.7 |
| 2 | TRAE | Yes: TRAE IDE has limited monthly Auto-mode usage (no card claimed on docs). trae-agent OSS is free to self-host with your own model key. | 9 |
| 3 | Cursor | Yes: ongoing Free ($0) — limited Agent, Chat, and Tab with Cursor models (Grok and Composer); not a trial | 8.4 |
| 4 | Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) | Yes: light agent quota, limited models, unlimited Tab completions and inline edits | 8.1 |
| 5 | GitHub Copilot | Yes: Copilot Free with an allowance of GitHub AI Credits, 2,000 completions/mo, Auto model only (CLI and agent mode included) | 8 |
| 6 | Zed | Yes (Personal): free forever, unlimited with your own API keys or external agents | 6.8 |
| 7 | T3 Code | Yes: the app is free and open source; you need at least one installed and signed-in coding agent | Not yet tested |
| 8 | ThinkRail (JetBrains) | Yes: the app is free and open source; you need a model provider (JetBrains AI or your own credentials) | Not yet tested |
Free Coding Agents (CLI & Cloud)
Best free Coding Agents (CLI & Cloud)
| # | Tool | Free tier | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aider | Yes: free tool, BYO API key or local models | 9.3 |
| 2 | Cline | Yes: free for individuals, pay inference only | 9.2 |
| 3 | GitHub Copilot CLI | Yes: Copilot Free includes the CLI with a monthly AI Credits allowance, Auto model only | 9.2 |
| 4 | OpenCode | Yes: open-source agent free with own keys; some free Zen models | 9.2 |
| 5 | Memdoor | Yes: the CLI, decision model and workflows are free; bring your own model key (for example OpenRouter) or run a local model with memdoor connect local. No account needed | 9.1 |
| 6 | OpenHands | Yes: self-host Agent Canvas / CLI / SDK free with your own model key; Cloud free BYOK tier for individuals with usage limits. No card required for local BYOK | 9.1 |
| 7 | Zerg Client | Yes: free evaluation of the CLI/desktop under the source-available license; bring your own model keys or use Zerg Router billing. Commercial use requires a license (official product page, verified 2026-11-06) | 9.1 |
| 8 | Amp | Yes (Hobby): all features, local runners, BYOK; ad-supported Amp Free discontinued | 9 |
| 9 | Alysis Code | Yes: open-source CLI/engine free; 50 free Alysis credits/30 days with no card; BYOK and local models supported (official site, verified 2026-11-07) | 8.4 |
| 10 | Harness (Autonomous) | Yes: the Harness app is a free download and open source (MIT) | 8.4 |
| 11 | Jules | Yes: 15 tasks/24h, 3 concurrent | 8 |
| 12 | OpenAI Codex | Yes: Codex CLI, IDE extension and app on ChatGPT Free and Go with plan usage limits (no Codex Cloud) | 7.4 |
| 13 | Agent Manager | Yes: Apache-2.0 CLI/TUI free via Homebrew, binaries, or go install; no Agent Manager account or card (official site + GitHub, verified 2026-11-08) | Not yet tested |
| 14 | Conducted | Yes: MIT desktop app free to download; no Conducted account or card claimed (GitHub README + Releases, verified 2026-11-08) | Not yet tested |
| 15 | Crewplane | Yes: Apache-2.0 open source (GitHub API licence field, verified 2026-11-11) | Not yet tested |
| 16 | Devin | Yes: light agent quota | Not yet tested |
| 17 | Mirror (Reflection) | Yes: the CLI is free and open source; Reflection's API has a free daily allowance during the Beta, but needs card verification before keys work | Not yet tested |
| 18 | Parallax (Conifer) | Yes: $50 of Conifer credit and 5 free reviews when you sign up with GitHub | Not yet tested |
| 19 | psi | Yes: MIT open-source binary, no psi account or card claimed (psicode.ai + GitHub, verified 2026-11-09) | Not yet tested |
| 20 | Roomote (formerly Roo Code) | Yes: self-hosted free up to 10 users; you pay infrastructure and model providers. No credit card for the Roomote license itself. | Not yet tested |
| 21 | Ski | Yes: unlimited free text chats; free monthly voice credits on Free (no card claimed on the marketing site). Pro/Enterprise for higher concurrent voice (official site + Show HN, verified 2026-11-06) | Not yet tested |
| 22 | Wonder | Yes: Free plan $0 for one editor, no card claimed for Free; uses your Claude Code/Codex subscriptions (official changelog + Product Hunt, verified 2026-11-07) | Not yet tested |
1. Bolt.new — 8.7/10
Yes: Free forever, no card — 300K tokens/day and 1M tokens/month; unused Free tokens do not roll over; public and private projects; website hosting with Bolt branding and up to 333k web requests; 10MB upload limit (bolt.new/pricing, 2026-11-12).
Our T1 todo prompt gave a working preview in about 68s. Add, complete, delete, filters and localStorage persistence all passed with zero fixes, and it added an unrequested 'Clear done' button. The build used about 52K of the 1M free monthly tokens. Single run, not 3.
- Working todo app preview in about 68 seconds
- Every T1 check passed with zero fixes
- Free one-click publish to a .bolt.host URL
- Added an unrequested 'Clear done' feature
- Free plan is token-capped at 1M per month and 300K per day
- Custom domain and badge removal need Pro at $25/mo
- Signup needs a Cloudflare check and email confirmation
Who should pick this free plan: Prefer Bolt Free for an in-browser builder with published Free token caps (300K/day, 1M/month) and free .bolt.host publish. Free is ongoing (not a trial) but branded and without a custom domain (bolt.new/pricing, checked 2026-11-06).
2. v0 — 8.3/10
Yes: 7 messages/day; new users get one-time $5 credits
Our T1 todo prompt was done in about 94s, with a preview link at 25s. v0 tested its own work in its browser, found a missing lib/utils file and fixed it. Add, complete, delete, filters and reload persistence all passed with no manual fixes. The build cost $0.64 of the $5 free credit. Single run, not 3.
- Done in about 94 seconds, with a preview link after 25 seconds
- Tested its own work, found a missing file and fixed it without help
- Every T1 check passed with no manual fixes
- Publish button available on the free plan
- Signup requires phone SMS verification
- The $5 free credit covers only about 7 builds like ours at $0.64 each
- v0's own pages disagreed on whether the $5 credit renews monthly or is one-time
3. Base44 — 8.2/10
Yes: Free plan with 25 message credits/mo, up to 5 message credits/day within that monthly total (official docs, 2026-11-12), 100 integration credits/mo, and up to 5 apps. Only the personal signup workspace gets free message credits; other Free workspaces get integration credits only.
Our T1 todo prompt gave a working preview in about 3.4 minutes. Add, complete, delete, All/Active/Done filters and reload persistence all passed with no manual fixes. Its own verifier failed 3 times on a leftover placeholder page, then fixed itself. It also added sign-in and put the list behind login without being asked. The build cost 1 credit. Single run, not 3.
- Every T1 check passed with no manual fixes
- The build cost only 1 of 25 free monthly credits
- Free publish to a *.base44.app subdomain
- Signup needs only email and a 6-digit code, no phone
- Slower than Bolt: about 3.4 minutes to a working preview
- Added sign-in and put the list behind login without being asked
- Its verifier failed 3 times on a leftover placeholder page before fixing itself
- Custom domains need a paid plan
4. Kiro — 9.7/10
Yes: perpetual Free with 50 credits/mo — Auto, Claude Sonnet 4.5/4.0, and open-weight models (DeepSeek 3.2, MiniMax M2.5/M2.1, GLM-5, Qwen3 Coder Next); flagship Claude Opus / Sonnet 5.5 / GPT-5.6 need a paid plan
Three Free CLI T3 runs on 2026-11-02: each fixed the seeded cart.js discount bug so node --test passed 4/4 in 17–18s, leaving cart.test.js untouched and self-running the tests. Used about 0.80 of 50 monthly Free credits total ($0 spent) after Builder ID device-flow login; no API key.
- 3/3 Free CLI T3 runs fixed the bug in 17–18s with 4/4 tests passing
- Agent edited cart.js and ran node --test itself
- Used only about 0.80 of 50 monthly Free credits for three runs ($0)
- Free Builder ID session supports headless chat without an API key
- Free is 50 credits/mo and excludes Claude Opus, Sonnet 5.5, and GPT-5.6
- Official API keys / documented headless KIRO_API_KEY path need Pro or higher
- First login still needs interactive browser or device flow
- Headless Free runs need --trust-all-tools and --trust-workspace
5. TRAE — 9/10
Yes: TRAE IDE has limited monthly Auto-mode usage (no card claimed on docs). trae-agent OSS is free to self-host with your own model key.
trae-agent OSS CLI fixed our seeded cart discount bug in 3 of 3 runs (19–42s each) with a free Gemini key, never touched the test file. Cost $0. Overall 9.0 (outcome 10, speed 8, cost 10, DX 5, reliability 10). DX lost points because stock trae-agent sends Gemini tool results with role=tool, which the current Gemini API rejects until you patch google_client.py; a yaml config file is also required.
- Fixed the seeded bug in 3/3 CLI runs with a free model
- Did not modify the test file in any run
- OSS self-host / BYOK path needs no TRAE IDE account
- Fast once the Gemini client patch is applied (19–42s)
- Stock google_client uses role=tool and fails against current Gemini API until patched
- Requires a trae_config.yaml; CLI flags alone are not enough without a config file
- We scored the OSS CLI only, not the TRAE IDE free Auto mode
6. Cursor — 8.4/10
Yes: ongoing Free ($0) — limited Agent, Chat, and Tab with Cursor models (Grok and Composer); not a trial
In one agent turn with no follow-ups, Cursor built our T1 todo app as a single index.html in about 2.5 minutes and tested it in its built-in browser. We verified it ourselves in headless Chrome: add, complete, delete, filters, reload persistence and a 375px mobile layout all passed, and the only console error was a missing favicon. On Linux it needed --no-sandbox and showed a keyring dialog. Single run.
- Working todo app in one turn, about 2.5 minutes, with no follow-ups
- Every T1 check passed in our own headless browser test, including mobile
- Tested its own work in a built-in browser
- Free Hobby plan was enough for one T1; no visible quota limit hit (Agent Stats 0/394)
- On Linux it needed --no-sandbox and showed an OS keyring dialog on first launch
- The agent ran commands without asking for approval by default
- Free usage is published as Limited, not a hard public number; heavier Agent work needs a paid X Subscription plan
- Free and Plus do not include third-party models; Premium and above bill them at API list price from prepaid credit
Who should pick this free plan: Best for developers evaluating an AI-first VS Code-style editor on Cursor models without paying. Not ideal for third-party models on day one (Premium and above), Cloud Agents, Bugbot, or Origin (Premium and above), or your own API keys (not on Plus, and not listed on Free). Choose Free to try Agent, Chat, and Tab on Cursor models. Upgrade when you need a larger weekly Cursor-model pool, third-party models at API list price from prepaid credit, or team admin features.
7. Aider — 9.3/10
Yes: free tool, BYO API key or local models
3/3 runs fixed our seeded cart bug (4/4 tests pass) in 9-13s with a free OpenRouter model, without touching the test file. Install needed uv because pip was blocked on the system Python.
- Fixed the seeded bug correctly in 3 of 3 runs, in 9-13 seconds
- Works with free OpenRouter models, so our test cost $0
- Built-in --auto-test loop runs your tests after each edit
- pip install was refused on Debian's system Python; we needed uv
- Unattended runs need several flags (--yes-always, --message, --test-cmd)
- Free model slugs change; one we tried returned 'unavailable for free'
8. Cline — 9.2/10
Yes: free for individuals, pay inference only
3/3 headless CLI runs fixed our seeded cart bug (4/4 tests pass) in 24-35s with a free OpenRouter model, without editing the test file.
- Headless CLI with a -y mode ran start to finish with no prompts
- Fixed the seeded bug in 3 of 3 runs and never touched the test file
- Works with free OpenRouter models, so our test cost $0
- Slower than Aider on the same model (24-35s vs 9-13s)
- Warns on Node versions below 22.15
- The -k flag saves your API key into the config directory
9. GitHub Copilot CLI — 9.2/10
Yes: Copilot Free includes the CLI with a monthly AI Credits allowance, Auto model only
3/3 runs fixed our seeded cart bug (4/4 tests pass) in 22-26s on Copilot Free, using 0.16-0.27 AI Credits each. It used our existing gh login with no browser step and never touched the test file.
- Fixed the seeded bug correctly in 3 of 3 runs, in 22-26 seconds
- Runs headlessly with an existing GitHub CLI login (GH_TOKEN), no browser step
- Ran the test suite itself before finishing
- Copilot Free is limited to the Auto model
- The Free AI Credits allowance isn't stated in GitHub's docs, so heavy use is hard to plan
- Unattended runs need --allow-all-tools, which lets it run any command in the folder
Other tracked tools
- Anything — No usable free tier: in our 2026-10-16 test the first build hit a paywall (Pro $19/mo, Max $199/mo)
- Claude Code — No (not included in Claude Free)
- Gemini CLI — No longer via Google sign-in (consumer users moved to Antigravity CLI June 18, 2026); free API-key quota unclear
- Reason — Partly: the Free plan includes no agent runs (our API check showed the quota exhausted at zero usage); you can bring your own model API key. Reason Network is free.
FAQ
Why are app builders listed first?
This free-tier guide follows the prompt-to-app path, so free app builders come first even when a free editor or agent has a higher recorded score. For a score-ordered free list of the same categories, see Best free AI Coding Tools.
Which free Vibe Coding Tools tool scored highest?
Kiro scored 9.7/10 overall.
Does free mean unlimited?
No. A free plan may have usage limits; check each tool’s published free-tier details.
Full Vibe Coding Tools ranking · All best-free guides · Free-tier measurements · All tools · Best free AI Coding Agents · Best free AI Coding Tools
Scores come from our own tests and are never for sale; sponsored placements are always labelled. Some links are affiliate links (currently Railway). Disclosure