What it is
Cline is an open-source (Apache 2.0) coding agent that runs inside VS Code and its forks, as a CLI and as a Desktop app. It plans a change, shows you each file edit and terminal command for approval, and can use a browser and MCP tools. A JetBrains extension is part of the Enterprise plan.
Cline does not tie you to one AI company. You bring your own API key from providers such as Anthropic, OpenAI, Google Gemini, OpenRouter, AWS Bedrock, GCP Vertex, Azure OpenAI, Groq, Cerebras or DeepSeek, run a local model, or buy inference through Cline at cost. With your own key, code goes straight from your machine to the provider you chose.
ClinePass, a $9.99 monthly subscription, bundles open-weight models such as Kimi K3, DeepSeek V4 Pro and GLM 5.3; it does not include Claude, GPT or Gemini.
Our review
Cline's case is control, and it is a real one. Every file edit and command is shown before it runs, the code is Apache 2.0 licensed with more than 70,000 GitHub stars, and with your own key the prompts go from your machine to the provider you picked. That suits companies that already hold an Anthropic, Bedrock or Vertex contract and will not approve a new SaaS processor for source code.
The cost model is the trade-off. The open-source tier has no seat fee, so the bill is whatever the agent burns in tokens, and long sessions on frontier models can pass a $20 flat subscription quickly; you see the total only afterwards. ClinePass caps spend at $9.99 a month for open-weight models, but its quotas are described only as 2 to 5 times standard API rate limits, and the models most teams reach for on hard tasks are not in it. There is still no tab autocomplete of its own.
Defaults deserve a look before a rollout. According to Cline's telemetry docs, usage reporting is on by default in every Cline product, including with your own keys. It records feature use, token counts, model names and errors rather than code, but requests routed through Cline's own provider or ClinePass can include prompts and replies. Admins can enforce the setting in VS Code and JetBrains; Desktop and the CLI ignore it. In February 2026 an attacker used an npm token that had survived a botched rotation to publish cline@2.3.0 with a postinstall script that installed another package. It was live for about eight hours, according to Snyk; the marketplace extensions were not affected, and Cline moved npm publishing to OIDC provenance afterwards.
Cline's official pricing page shows two tiers only: the free open-source build and custom-priced Enterprise, which adds SSO with SCIM, role-based access, the JetBrains extension, audit logs, and VPC, on-prem or air-gapped deployment. Third-party guides describe a $20 per user Teams plan that does not appear on that page. Neither the pricing nor the enterprise page names a SOC 2 or ISO certification; Cline's blog argues that compliance comes from the model provider you route to, which holds for code sent with your own key but not for Cline's telemetry or its own inference service.
Where it earns its place
A platform team at a bank with an existing AWS Bedrock contract
Give 50 developers a coding agent without adding a new code processor
Point Cline at Bedrock with the bank's own credentials so prompts stay with an approved provider, and switch telemetry off on each machine or enforce it through Enterprise remote config. Cost is Bedrock token spend plus an unpublished Enterprise fee if SSO and RBAC are required.
A freelance developer keeping AI spend near $10 a month
Run an agent for routine refactors and tests without frontier-model rates
ClinePass at $9.99 a month covers open-weight models such as DeepSeek V4 Pro and Kimi K3; a pay-per-token Claude or GPT key handles the hard tasks. Quotas are not published, so a heavy week can hit the limit with no warning of where it is.
A DevOps engineer adding agent steps to CI
Have an agent draft fixes for failing tests from the terminal
The CLI runs outside the editor with a provider key from the CI secret store. Budget per run in tokens, and set telemetryOptOut in the CLI's settings file, because organisation telemetry policy does not reach the CLI.
Before you commit
- Setup
- Install the extension from the VS Code Marketplace or Open VSX, add an API key or sign in to Cline's provider, and a first task can run in minutes; the CLI installs from npm.
- Integrations
- Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, OpenRouter, Bedrock, Vertex, Azure OpenAI, Groq, Cerebras, DeepSeek and local models; MCP servers through the built-in marketplace; JetBrains on Enterprise.
- Data and privacy
- Your own key sends code straight to your provider. Usage telemetry without code is on by default and can be switched off per machine; prompts are recorded only for Cline's provider and ClinePass. No certification is named on Cline's pricing or enterprise pages.
- Cost at scale
- No seat fee on the open-source tier, so a team pays its provider's token rates for each developer; Enterprise pricing is not published, and ClinePass is $9.99 per person a month for open-weight models only.
- Limits
- ClinePass quotas are not published; Cline's security policy patches only the latest minor release, so pinned old versions go unpatched.
What's good
- Apache 2.0 code that security teams can audit
- Works with almost any provider, including Bedrock, Vertex and local models
- Every edit and command is approved before it runs
- With your own key, code skips Cline's servers entirely
- VPC, on-prem and air-gapped options on Enterprise
What's not
- Token billing can exceed a flat subscription, and you see it after the fact
- Telemetry is on by default; Desktop and CLI ignore admin policy
- No built-in tab autocomplete
- JetBrains, SSO and RBAC are Enterprise-only
- No SOC 2 report named on Cline's own pages
Best for
Developers and security-minded teams who want an open-source, bring-your-own-model agent in VS Code.
Alternatives
Cline: common questions
- Is Cline worth it?
- An auditable, any-model agent for VS Code that hands you the token bill and the security decisions along with the control. We rate it 4.2 out of 5.
- How much does Cline cost?
- Extension and CLI are free and open source; you pay your model provider (or Cline, at cost) for tokens. ClinePass $9.99/month for open-weight models. Enterprise (SSO with SCIM, JetBrains extension, RBAC, audit logs, VPC or on-prem deployment) is custom-priced.
- What are the downsides of Cline?
- Token billing can exceed a flat subscription, and you see it after the fact; telemetry is on by default; Desktop and CLI ignore admin policy; no built-in tab autocomplete; jetBrains, SSO and RBAC are Enterprise-only; no SOC 2 report named on Cline's own pages.
- Who is Cline best for?
- Developers and security-minded teams who want an open-source, bring-your-own-model agent in VS Code.
- How much does Cline cost for a team or in production?
- No seat fee on the open-source tier, so a team pays its provider's token rates for each developer; Enterprise pricing is not published, and ClinePass is $9.99 per person a month for open-weight models only.
- Is Cline safe for company data?
- Your own key sends code straight to your provider. Usage telemetry without code is on by default and can be switched off per machine; prompts are recorded only for Cline's provider and ClinePass. No certification is named on Cline's pricing or enterprise pages.
- What are the best Cline alternatives?
- The closest alternatives we have reviewed are GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Claude Code and Zed.
Answers checked Oct 22, 2026.
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