AI coding tools: choose by workflow, sign-in and costs

Write down your scenario first

The table below only answers which form of tool to look at first for each scenario; every row must be checked on the tool's detail page. "Checked boundaries" lists only what official pages state; cells without evidence say "to be confirmed".

Article sources[1][2][3][4][5][7][6][8][9]

Your sign-in method decides which billing path applies

To first understand how software, access platforms and models are each billed, read AI coding costs: software, platforms and model usage; this article only uses the sign-in method to narrow your choices.

In Codex's official documentation, signing in with a ChatGPT account and signing in with an API key are two paths; the API-key path lacks some cloud features and is billed by API usage. Their quotas are not shared, so check each billing path separately and avoid counting the same usage twice; actual payments on each path can still be summed into your total budget.[7][6]

The free Cline open-source offer covers only the software; using a model needs your own key or separately purchased credits. ClinePass is another subscription path; the reference token prices in its documentation measure the subscription quota and are not per-call charges. The documentation says it can be used alongside other providers and the two paths are independent, so record them separately and do not count the same usage twice.[4][5]

Cursor's official model documentation distinguishes the usable models by tier. If you need a specific third-party model or your own key, confirm on the official page that your tier supports it; do not infer it from the price.[2][1]

Free tiers and eligibility

GitHub Copilot's official plans page lists a free tier, individual paid tiers, and team and enterprise tiers; some, such as the student tier, require eligibility verification. Having a free tier does not mean it suits your daily usage; compare the monthly allowance and covered features stated by the official page.[3]

Cursor's official pricing page likewise lists a free tier and several paid subscriptions. Tier names, quotas and prices follow the page as displayed at the time; this article does not copy prices so they cannot go stale.[1]

• Free tier: what monthly allowance and exclusions does the official page state?
• Eligibility tiers: is student or other verification required?
• Is the price tax-inclusive, billed annually, and in which currency?
• After the quota is used: does it stop, downgrade or switch to pay-as-you-go?

Selection example: one concrete input and expected output

Selection example (not a test result): Input — a small project in an existing Git repository where you want "add unit tests for one function and explain the change", you work in VS Code, there is no team purchasing, and you start with free tiers. Expected output — the added test code and a change summary that you review before merging. For this input, look first at editor or extension tools (such as Cursor, GitHub Copilot and Cline) and check their free-tier allowance, whether you must bring your own model key, and eligibility conditions; if the input becomes "edit many files in bulk on a server", look at command-line tools first. Whether any tool actually completes this task was not tried here, and no judgement is made.

What this article has not checked

Claude Code and OpenCode are listed on this site, but only product-entry and feature evidence exists; plan, price and license records are missing, so this article draws no conclusion on them until evidence is added.[8][9]

• Whether code is used for model training: check each tool's official privacy terms and record the date; not checked here.
• Enterprise compliance, data residency and SSO: check each tool's official documents; not checked here.
• How well different tools complete the same task: none of these tasks was actually performed here, so no comparison is offered.

Checklist before you decide

• Write down the main scenario: IDE, terminal or cloud, and whether several people collaborate.
• Confirm the sign-in method: subscription account, your own key, or both.
• Confirm tier conditions: quota, model coverage, eligibility, currency and tax.
• Open each official link from the site detail pages, check the current version and record the date.
• While "to be confirmed" items remain, validate on a free tier or trial before paying.

Browse more tools in the AI coding category. This article only organizes conditions from official sources; it is not purchase advice and does not claim any tool performs better on your tasks.