Free · Coding · 9 of 11 tools · updated Oct 17, 2026
Free AI tools for AI code editor
Continue is the strongest tool for AI code editor you can use without paying, at 89/100. What you get for nothing: Free; optional hosted plans. 9 of the 11 tools tracked for this job have a free tier, an open-source licence, or are free outright. It is also the top-ranked tool for this job overall, free or not.
Same evidence score as the ranking — GitHub stars, Hacker News mentions, release activity, free access — recomputed nightly, never sold. See all 11 tools for AI code editor.
Top 3
evidence / 100
+ Works with local Ollama models or any API, with fully customisable config.
− Setup is more fiddly than Copilot and autocomplete quality depends entirely on the model you choose.
+ Startup and typing latency are far lower than any Electron-based AI editor.
− Extension ecosystem is small compared with VS Code and Windows support only arrived in 2025.
+ Tab autocomplete predicts multi-line edits across files better than any competitor.
− Usage-based pricing changes and request limits on Pro have repeatedly frustrated heavy users.
All 9, side by side
| Tool | Score | Pricing | What you get free | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continue | 89 | Open source | Free; optional hosted plans | vscode-extension, jetbrains-plugin, cli |
| Zed | 79 | Open source | Editor free; Zed Pro $20/mo for hosted models | mac, linux, windows |
| Cursor | 62 | Free tier | Pro $20/mo | mac, windows, linux |
 GitHub Copilot | 53 | Free tier | Free tier; Pro $10/mo; Pro+ $39/mo | vscode-extension, jetbrains-plugin, cli, web |
 Kiro | 26 | Free tier | Free tier; Pro $20/mo | mac, windows, linux |
 JetBrains AI Assistant & Junie | 11 | Free tier | AI Pro $10/mo; included in All Products Pack | jetbrains-plugin, mac, windows, linux |
 Windsurf | 11 | Free tier | Pro $15/mo | mac, windows, linux, vscode-extension, jetbrains-plugin |
 Trae | 10 | Free tier | Free; Pro $10/mo | mac, windows, linux |
 Firebase Studio | 8 | Free | Free with workspace limits | web |
A free tier counts, and so does an open-source licence you can self-host — both are in the table, so a tool that is only free for a trial is not here.
Head to head: Continue vs Zed Continue vs Cursor Zed vs Cursor