Does Cline or Plandex have a free plan?

Cline is available for free. Plandex is a paid tool. Always verify current pricing directly with the vendor.

Cline vs Plandex

Q: Can I use Cline and Plandex together?

Yes, many teams use both tools together for different purposes. Use the Stack Builder section above to combine Cline and Plandex with other tools and save your AI toolkit.

Comprehensive side-by-side comparison — features, pricing, performance, and more.

Updated July 2026

Cline

Cline Bot Inc.

The Open Coding Agent

0.0(0)

Freemium

93% verification coverage

Plandex

Build real-world software with AI, designed for large projects and complex tasks.

0.0(0)

Open Source

88% verification coverage

Trust & Reliability

Cline

Users:1M-10M

Customers (per vendor):Samsung, Salesforce, SAP +7

Plandex

Users:10K-100K

GDPR

Overall Winner: Cline

8.0/10 vs Plandex at 6.0/10

Leads in:

Value for Money

Customization

Output Quality

AI Comparison Summary

Cline

8.0

avg score

Plandex

6.0

avg score

Cline leads overall — particularly in Ease of Use and Customization.

Based on 12 dimensions

How scores are calculated

Overall Winner

Cline

8.0 / 10

Cline

Best For

Individual developers seeking an AI coding partner

Engineering teams needing collaborative AI assistance

Enterprises with strict security and data sovereignty requirements

Developers working on large codebase refactoring

Consider Alternatives If

Non-technical users or those without coding experience

Tasks unrelated to software development or code manipulation

Users who require a fully autonomous, unsupervised AI agent for critical operations

Plandex

Best For

Software developers working on large codebases

Engineers needing robust AI assistance for complex tasks

Teams building entire features and applications with AI

Users requiring granular control over AI agent actions

Consider Alternatives If

Non-technical users or those uncomfortable with command-line interfaces

Individuals seeking a fully managed, cloud-hosted AI coding solution

Projects that require a visual development environment or IDE integration

* Verdict is based on our algorithmic scoring of publicly available data. Learn about our methodology

Cline is best for

🔍Research9.0✍️Writing & Content8.0💬Chat & Conversation8.0

Plandex is best for

✍️Writing & Content9.0💬Chat & Conversation9.0🤖Automation & Agents7.0

Filter by your use case:

Pros & Cons

Cline

Pros

Open-source and highly extensible
Ensures code privacy with client-side architecture
Supports bringing your own AI inference keys and providers
Offers flexible deployment options (VPC, on-prem, air-gapped)
Integrates seamlessly with popular IDEs (VS Code, JetBrains) and CLI
Provides collaborative features and team management for enterprises
Human-in-the-loop design ensures control and safety
No vendor lock-in for AI models

Cons

Requires explicit human approval for every action, which may slow down fully autonomous workflows
Advanced configuration management and fine-grained permissioning for enterprise are marked as 'Coming Soon'
Primarily focused on coding tasks, not suitable for general-purpose AI applications outside development
Teams tier transitions to a paid subscription after Q1 2026 (though first 10 seats remain free)

Plandex

Pros

Open source and community-driven
Designed for large-scale projects and files
Offers flexible autonomy levels
Supports multiple AI models to avoid vendor lock-in
Includes a diff review sandbox for isolated changes
Terminal-based workflow is familiar to developers

Cons

Requires command-line proficiency
No graphical user interface (GUI) available
Plandex Cloud service is winding down, focusing solely on self-hosted
May have a learning curve for new users unfamiliar with AI agents
Relies on external AI models, incurring their respective costs

Weighted Score — Adjust What Matters to You

Pick a profile or drag sliders — scores and radar update instantly on the right.

Quick profiles:

Ease of Use5

Output Quality5

Value for Money5

Customization5

Support5

Integration5

Accuracy & Reliability5

Safety & Alignment5

Performance5

Task Completion5

Tool Use Correctness5

Planning Quality5

Dimension Comparison

Cline

8.0

/ 10

Clear winner

Plandex

6.0

/ 10

Dimension Breakdown

Ease of Use

How intuitive is onboarding, UI navigation, and day-to-day usage for the target audience?

Cline

7.0▲ +3.0

Plandex

4.0

Output Quality

How accurate, reliable, and useful are the outputs this product generates?

Cline

8.0▲ +1.0

Plandex

7.0

Value for Money

How well does the pricing match the features and output quality delivered?

Cline

9.0▲ +1.0

Plandex

8.0

Customization

Calculated

How much can users tailor workflows, settings, prompts, or outputs to their needs?

Cline

9.0▲ +5.0

Plandex

4.0

Support

How strong is the documentation, customer support, community, and learning resources?

Cline

7.0▲ +1.0

Plandex

6.0

Integration

Calculated

How well does it connect with other tools, APIs, and workflows?

Cline

8.0▲ +1.0

Plandex

7.0

Accuracy & Reliability

Factual accuracy and hallucination resistance

Cline

—

Plandex

—

Safety & Alignment

Calculated

Bias mitigation, content filtering, harmful-output prevention

Cline

—

Plandex

—

Performance

Calculated

Latency + throughput speed

Cline

—

Plandex

—

Task Completion

End-to-end task success rate

Cline

—

Plandex

—

Tool Use Correctness

Picks the correct tool + correct arguments

Cline

—

Plandex

—

Planning Quality

Calculated

Multi-step planning depth + replanning capability

Cline

—

Plandex

—

Calculated = derived from verified integration count and API/open-source signals. AI = LLM-assessed from public website content. Methodology

Task Performance

Cline

Task

Plandex

8.0

Code Completion

7.0

Bug Detection

8.0

Code Explanation

7.0

9.0

Refactoring

7.0

Test Generation

6.0

7.0

Multi Language Support

7.0

8.0

Context Understanding

9.0

7.0

Documentation Generation

6.0

Performance Optimization

7.0

8.0

Security Scanning

5.0

* Task scores (1–10) are algorithmically generated from publicly available data.

Data is sourced from public information and vendor websites. It may not always be up-to-date — verify pricing and features directly with the vendor before purchasing.Report inaccuracy

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, Cline or Plandex?

Both are strong options. Cline has a rating of 0.0/5 (0 reviews), while Plandex has a rating of 0.0/5 (0 reviews). The best choice depends on your specific use case, budget, and workflow requirements.

Is Cline cheaper than Plandex?

Cline starts at free (freemium model). Plandex starts at free (open_source model). Use the Cost Calculator above for a detailed estimate.

What are the main differences between Cline and Plandex?

Cline — "The Open Coding Agent". Plandex — "Build real-world software with AI, designed for large projects and complex tasks.". Key differences include their pricing models, platform support, integrations, and technical capabilities. See the Feature Comparison table above for a complete side-by-side breakdown.

Can I use Cline and Plandex together?

Explore Alternatives

Cline Alternatives

Tools similar to Cline

Plandex Alternatives

Tools similar to Plandex

Compare More AI Tools

Use our comparison tool to compare up to 5 AI tools side-by-side with AI-powered recommendations.