What it is
Factory builds coding agents it calls Droids. You can run them from the Factory desktop app, the Droid CLI in your terminal, or the Droid SDK in your own scripts and pipelines, either on your machine or as background agents in the cloud. Plus and higher plans add Droid Computers, cloud machines that Factory manages for remote runs.
Droids are not tied to one AI company: Factory supports frontier models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google as well as open-weight models. When your standard allowance runs out, a set of open-weight models called Droid Core keeps working at no extra cost, or you can buy extra usage.
Factory raised a $150 million Series C led by Khosla Ventures at a $1.5 billion valuation in 2026 and switched from per-token plans to fixed tiers with rolling limits at around the same time. Its site moved from factory.ai to factory.com.
Our review
Factory's case rests on two things rivals tie together: the agent and the model vendor. Droids run on OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and open-weight models from the same desktop app, CLI or SDK, so a team can drive them interactively and from CI without standardising on one lab. When standard usage runs out, the docs move you to Droid Core, a pool of open-weight models with separate rate limits at no extra cost, and only then to prepaid Extra Usage.
The enterprise story is more developed than most start-ups'. Business adds SSO, SAML/SCIM provisioning, Zero Data Retention and audit logs; Enterprise adds on-premise deployment, data residency and a dedicated inference pool. Factory's Missions announcement states SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001 and ISO 42001, though its older security page still mentions only SOC 2 Type I, so procurement teams should take the report itself from the trust centre rather than the marketing copy. Factory says it does not train on customer code.
Individual pricing is where it is weakest. There is no free plan, and the pricing page and docs describe Plus and Max only as about 5x and 10x Pro, with no token or request figures. Three rolling windows (5 hours, 7 days, 30 days) run independently, and a request needs headroom in all three, so a heavy Monday can block work later in the week. Missions, Factory's multi-day project mode, need Extra Usage switched on and pause when they hit a limit.
Teams is priced for small groups: $60 a month plus $40 a seat, capped at 10 seats, after which you are in a sales conversation for Business. A five-person team pays $260 a month for Pro-level usage each, more than many engineers already pay for Claude Code or Codex through an existing Claude or ChatGPT plan, so the premium buys governance and model choice rather than a stronger agent.
Where it earns its place
A platform team at a 300-engineer fintech
Roll out a coding agent that legal and security will approve
Business or Enterprise gives SSO, SCIM, ZDR and audit logs, with model and network policies set centrally; Enterprise adds on-premise and data residency. Pricing is by quote, so budget time for a sales cycle and request the SOC 2 Type II report.
A DevOps engineer maintaining 40 internal services
Run an agent in CI to fix failing builds and dependency bumps
Call Droids from the SDK or CLI in pipeline jobs, routing routine work to Droid Core models to save standard usage. Missions and long jobs need Extra Usage enabled (prepaid, $10 minimum) and pause on a rate limit, so pipelines need a retry path.
A four-person agency switching between client stacks
Use one agent across editors and terminals without paying three model vendors
Teams costs $60 plus $160 in seats, $220 a month, with central billing; each member gets Pro-level usage. Plus at $100 per person is the step up if one person runs remote Droid Computers.
Before you commit
- Setup
- Install the desktop app or Droid CLI and sign in; usage is visible under Settings > Usage or with /limits in the CLI.
- Integrations
- Desktop app, CLI and SDK; cloud and local background agents; Droid Computers on Plus and above; BYOK is free up to an unpublished allowance on individual plans.
- Data and privacy
- Factory says it does not train on customer code. ZDR, SSO and audit logs are Business and Enterprise only; on-premise and data residency are Enterprise only.
- Cost at scale
- Teams tops out at 10 seats for $460 a month. Beyond that, or for ZDR, you move to Business at a quoted price; heavy individuals pay $100 or $200 plus prepaid Extra Usage.
- Limits
- Exact limits are not published. Three independent rolling windows (5-hour, 7-day, 30-day) all need headroom; Missions pause on a limit.
What's good
- Runs OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and open-weight models
- Same agent in a desktop app, CLI and SDK
- Droid Core open-weight pool keeps working after standard limits
- ZDR, SSO and SCIM on Business; on-premise and data residency on Enterprise
- States SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001 and ISO 42001
What's not
- No free plan
- Plan limits published only as multiples of Pro
- Three rolling windows can block work mid-week
- Teams caps at 10 seats and adds a $60 base fee
- Security page and Missions post disagree on SOC 2 type
Best for
Engineering teams and enterprises that want a model-agnostic coding agent across desktop, terminal and CI.
Alternatives
Factory (Droids): common questions
- Is Factory (Droids) worth it?
- Factory is the model-agnostic agent a security team can sign off on, with ZDR, SSO and on-premise options, but individuals pay $20 to $200 for limits Factory will only describe as multiples of each other. We rate it 4.0 out of 5.
- How much does Factory (Droids) cost?
- No free plan. Pro $20/month; Plus $100/month (about 5x Pro usage, Droid Computers); Max $200/month (about 10x); Teams $60/month per team plus $40/seat, up to 10 seats; Business and Enterprise via sales. Limits roll over 5-hour, 7-day and 30-day windows; Extra Usage is prepaid from $10.
- What are the downsides of Factory (Droids)?
- No free plan; plan limits published only as multiples of Pro; three rolling windows can block work mid-week; teams caps at 10 seats and adds a $60 base fee; security page and Missions post disagree on SOC 2 type.
- Who is Factory (Droids) best for?
- Engineering teams and enterprises that want a model-agnostic coding agent across desktop, terminal and CI.
- How much does Factory (Droids) cost for a team or in production?
- Teams tops out at 10 seats for $460 a month. Beyond that, or for ZDR, you move to Business at a quoted price; heavy individuals pay $100 or $200 plus prepaid Extra Usage.
- Is Factory (Droids) safe for company data?
- Factory says it does not train on customer code. ZDR, SSO and audit logs are Business and Enterprise only; on-premise and data residency are Enterprise only.
- What are the best Factory (Droids) alternatives?
- The closest alternatives we have reviewed are Devin (incl. Devin Desktop, formerly Windsurf), Claude Code, OpenAI Codex and Amp.
Answers checked Oct 22, 2026.
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