Claude Code vs Cline
Claude Code
claude.com
Cline
cline.botSide by side
| Figure | Claude Code | Cline |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $17/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 4 | 3 |
| Spec score · AI Coding Assistants | 9.5 (#2) | 8.6 (#32) |
| Spec score · AI Code Generators | 9.4 (#2) | 8.7 (#18) |
| Spec score · AI Code Generation Software | 9.3 (#2) | 8.6 (#10) |
| Spec score · Coding Tool | 9.2 (#3) | 8.5 (#13) |
| Coding agent | Yes | Yes |
| Chat assistance | Yes | Yes |
| Codebase indexing | Yes | Yes |
| Compliance | Anthropic's Trust Center lists SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001, ISO 42001, CSA STAR, HIPAA, FedRAMP High and NIST 800-171 scopes for applicable services. | Cline Bot’s Trust Center lists SOC 2 and GDPR under compliance. |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Integrations | Official integrations include GitHub, GitLab, Slack, VS Code, Cursor, JetBrains IDEs, desktop, web, iOS and Android. | Cline supports MCP servers and lists Slack, Discord, Telegram, Linear, GitHub Actions, and GitLab among its integrations. |
| Supported IDEs | VS Code,JetBrains IDEs,Cursor,Devin Desktop | VS Code,JetBrains IDEs,Cursor,Windsurf |
| Terminal access | Yes | Yes |
| What it does | Claude Code is an agentic coding tool that reads repositories, edits files, runs commands and works across terminal, IDE, desktop and browser. | Cline is an open-source coding agent that works in an editor, terminal, desktop app, browser, or embedded in other products. |
Plans
In their own words
Claude Code
Claude Code is a coding agent with chat assistance, terminal access, and codebase indexing. It supports VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, Cursor, and Devin Desktop, with agent mode, desktop app control, browser control, screen understanding, and human approval controls. Listed platforms include web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and a Chrome extension; deployment is hybrid. A free Claude plan is available, but Claude Code is not part of it. Pro includes Claude Code for $17 a month with an annual subscription discount and $200 billed up front. That plan also lists more usage, Projects, and more Claude models. Max 5x is $100 a month and lists five times Pro's usage and higher output limits. Max 20x is $200 a month, with 20 times Pro's usage and higher output limits. The maker was founded in 2021 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.