Prompt Astra

Free AI Coding Tools for Developers

Assistants that write, explain and refactor code, inside your editor or in the browser. What each one gives you for free, and where the free plan stops.

ToolOn the free planThe catch
Claudeby AnthropicThe free plan gives you the Sonnet and Haiku models on web, desktop and mobile. It includes web search, file creation and code execution, Artifacts, memory, connectors, skills, voice mode and up to 5 Projects.Free does not include Claude Code, Opus or Research. Usage resets on a rolling 5-hour window, and Anthropic does not publish an exact message allowance, so heavy coding sessions can hit the cap.
GitHub Copilotby GitHubCopilot Free costs $0 and gives 2,000 inline code completions a month, plus a small monthly allowance of GitHub AI Credits for chat and agent use (GitHub does not publish its size). It includes agent mode, MCP servers, custom instructions, Copilot Spaces and the Copilot CLI, with automatic model selection.Chat and agent use is capped by a credit allowance whose size GitHub doesn't publish, so heavy sessions can hit the cap with little warning. PR code review and the cloud agent are not included.
Cursorby AnysphereThe Hobby plan is free with no credit card. It includes limited Agent requests, limited Tab completions and access to Cursor's Composer model. Cursor does not publish the exact numbers.Hobby limits are not published, so you only see what's left in your usage dashboard. Cloud agents, MCPs, skills, hooks and frontier models are Pro features, and daily agent use will hit the limits.
Google AI Studioby GoogleAI Studio is free, and the Gemini API has a free tier on many models, including Gemini 2.5 Pro, 2.5 Flash, Flash-Lite and Gemma. Limits are set per project and shown in AI Studio; daily quotas reset at midnight Pacific time.On the free tier, Google uses your prompts and responses to improve its products and human reviewers may read them, so don't send sensitive data. Rate limits aren't guaranteed, and apps serving the EEA, Switzerland or the UK must use paid services.

Every code astra

  • Code

    Claude

    by Anthropic

    Chat assistant for writing, reviewing and explaining code, debugging, and drafting docs and specs.

    Sonnet and Haiku models, Artifacts, web search and up to 5 Projects.

    The catch

    No Claude Code or Opus, and usage caps reset every 5 hours with no published allowance.

    Full Claude breakdownOpen Claude
  • Code

    GitHub Copilot

    by GitHub

    AI pair programmer in VS Code, JetBrains, the CLI and github.com: inline suggestions, chat and agent mode.

    2,000 completions a month plus a small credit allowance for chat and agent mode.

    The catch

    The chat and agent allowance isn't published, and code review and the cloud agent are paid.

    Full GitHub Copilot breakdownOpen GitHub Copilot
  • Code

    Cursor

    by Anysphere

    AI-first code editor (a VS Code fork) with tab autocomplete and an agent that edits across your codebase.

    Hobby plan: limited Agent requests and Tab completions, no card needed.

    The catch

    Limits aren't published, and frontier models, MCPs and cloud agents need Pro.

    Full Cursor breakdownOpen Cursor
  • Code

    Google AI Studio

    by Google

    Test Gemini models in the browser, then get an API key to call them from your own code.

    Free playground plus a free Gemini API tier on many models.

    The catch

    Free-tier prompts may be reviewed and used by Google, so keep sensitive data out.

    Full Google AI Studio breakdownOpen Google AI Studio