Pricing
Is Cline Free? The Extension Is, Your Model Bill Isn't (2026)
Is Cline free? The extension is open source, but models cost money. License, BYO API key costs, ClinePass, free model options and commercial use, sourced.
6 min read
Pricing, license, ClinePass, free models and provider options checked Nov 2, 2026 on Cline’s pricing page, Cline’s GitHub repo and Cline’s docs. Every source is listed at the bottom. No affiliate links on this page (how we work).
Short answer: yes, Cline itself is free, and no, using it usually isn’t. Cline’s pricing page says “The Cline open source extension is completely free for individual developers. You only pay for AI inference on a usage basis” (verified Nov 2, 2026). The code is Apache-2.0 on GitHub. What costs money is the model that does the thinking: your own API key, Cline’s pay-as-you-go provider, or the optional $9.99/month ClinePass for open models. You can get close to $0 with local models or Cline’s rotating free-model promos, with trade-offs.
Quick answer: the license and the price
- License: Apache-2.0, per Cline’s GitHub repo (verified Nov 2, 2026). That’s a permissive open-source license.
- Extension price: free. “There are no subscriptions or seat fees for the open source version” (cline.bot/pricing, verified Nov 2, 2026).
- What the free tier includes: the VS Code extension, the CLI, “Purchase and Model Inference at Cost or BYOK”, and the MCP Marketplace (same page).
- What isn’t in the free tier: the JetBrains extension, SSO, SLA, centralized billing and role-based access sit in Enterprise, which is “Custom” pricing (same page).
What costs money: BYO key vs the Cline provider vs ClinePass
There are three ways to pay for the model behind Cline, and you can mix them.
1. Bring your own API key
Plug in a key from a provider and pay that provider directly. Cline’s pricing page names Anthropic, Gemini, OpenAI, OpenRouter, AWS Bedrock, GCP Vertex, Groq, Cerebras, Vercel AI Gateway and DeepSeek (verified Nov 2, 2026). Cline adds nothing on top; your bill is whatever the provider charges per token. For Claude rates, see Claude API pricing.
There’s one twist for Claude subscribers. Cline’s Anthropic docs say you can pick the Claude Code provider to use your “Claude Max/Pro subscription through the Claude CLI”, which “Uses your Claude subscription limits instead of API token billing”. Image uploads and prompt caching are limited on that route (Cline docs, verified Nov 2, 2026). If you already pay for Claude, that’s the cheapest way to point Cline at Claude models. Is Claude Code free? covers what that subscription costs.
2. The Cline provider (pay-as-you-go credits)
Sign in with Google, GitHub or email and buy Cline credits that work across 100+ models. Cline’s pricing page calls this inference “at Cost” (verified Nov 2, 2026). No subscription, no seat fee; you top up and spend.
3. ClinePass ($9.99/month, optional)
ClinePass is $9.99 a month and gives “2-5x the API rate limits” on a list of open coding models. Cline calls it “completely optional” (ClinePass docs, verified Nov 2, 2026). As of Nov 2, 2026 it covers 15 models from DeepSeek, GLM, Kimi, MiniMax, MiMo, Qwen and Muse Spark. Examples include DeepSeek V4 Pro, GLM 5.3, Kimi K3.1 Pro and Qwen3.8 Max. No Claude models are on the list. Usage is capped across a 5-hour rolling window, a calendar week and a calendar month. Cline doesn’t publish the cap sizes.
Cline also retires models from the list. GLM-5.2, Kimi K2.6, Kimi K2.7 Code and DeepSeek V4 Flash are marked deprecated in the same doc, so check the list before you subscribe for one model.
Free ways to run Cline
Free model promotions. Cline runs “Limited-time free model promotions for users with a Cline account”. The models rotate, each has a limited usage quota, and they show a FREE tag in the model picker. They aren’t available through the Cline API. Read the fine print: usage “may be used to help improve model performance” (Cline docs, verified Nov 2, 2026). Don’t run client code through a promo model if that matters to you.
Local models. Cline works with Ollama and LM Studio, so the model runs on your machine and the per-token bill is zero. Cline’s docs suggest roughly 16–32GB of RAM for small models, 32–64GB for mid-size and 64GB or more for large ones, and recommend turning on “Use Compact Prompt” (verified Nov 2, 2026). The cost moves from your API bill to your hardware.
Your existing Claude plan. Covered above. It’s not free, but if you already pay for Claude Pro or Max, Cline adds no new bill.
What each setup costs
| Setup | You pay | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Extension only | $0 | cline.bot/pricing |
| Your API key | Provider’s rates | cline.bot/pricing |
| Cline provider | Credits at cost | cline.bot/pricing |
| ClinePass | $9.99/mo + caps | ClinePass docs |
| Free promos | $0, limited quota | Cline docs |
| Local models | $0 tokens, your RAM | Cline docs |
| Claude plan | Your Claude plan | Cline docs |
| Enterprise | Custom | cline.bot/pricing |
All verified Nov 2, 2026. Links are in Sources below.
Commercial use and teams
Cline’s pricing page says the open-source extension is free “for individual developers” (verified Nov 2, 2026). The code itself is Apache-2.0, a license that allows commercial use. So a freelancer or employee using Cline on paid work is covered by the license. What a company doesn’t get on the free tier is the admin layer: SSO, SLA, centralized billing, RBAC and the JetBrains extension are listed under Enterprise, with “Custom” pricing and no published number.
Here’s the part that bugs me. ClinePass promises “2-5x the API rate limits” on a list of open models, and the same doc already marks four models deprecated. Swapping in newer models is fine. But if you subscribed for one specific model, there’s no published notice period, and the caps behind the 5-hour, weekly and monthly windows aren’t published either. “2-5x” of an unpublished number is still an unpublished number. A $9.99 plan should come with one.
Here’s what I’d do
- Already paying for Claude Pro or Max: use Cline’s Claude Code provider. No new bill, and you get Claude in Cline.
- Want the cheapest daily driver with no Claude: try ClinePass at $9.99 for a month and see whether the caps fit your day.
- Mixing models or working on client code: bring your own key, so billing and data terms are with a provider you chose.
- Want truly $0: run a local model in Ollama or LM Studio if you have the RAM, and use the free promos for side projects only.
- Team of 10+: talk to Cline about Enterprise; the free tier has no SSO or central billing.
Still choosing a tool? Compare Cline vs Claude Code, check Is OpenCode free?, or see AI coding tools compared.
Comparing open-source coding extensions? Is Kilo Code free covers what the extension, models and autocomplete cost.
FAQ
Is Cline free to use in VS Code? Yes, the VS Code extension is free, but you pay for model usage unless you use a local model or a free promo model.
Is Cline free for commercial use? The code is Apache-2.0, which allows commercial use; Cline’s free tier is listed for individual developers, and team features are in custom-priced Enterprise.
Is Cline open source? Yes, Cline is open source under the Apache-2.0 license on GitHub (verified Nov 2, 2026).
Is Cline free for students? Not published; as of Nov 2, 2026 Cline lists no student offer.
How much is ClinePass? ClinePass is $9.99 a month for open coding models at 2-5x API rate limits, with no Claude models.
Can I use my Claude subscription with Cline? Yes, Cline’s Claude Code provider uses your Claude Pro or Max limits instead of API billing.
Sources
- Cline pricing (extension free for individual developers, no seat fees, Open Source and Enterprise tiers, providers): https://cline.bot/pricing (verified 2026-11-02)
- Cline GitHub repository (Apache-2.0 license): https://github.com/cline/cline (verified 2026-11-02)
- ClinePass docs ($9.99/month, 2-5x API rate limits, model list, limit windows, deprecated models): https://docs.cline.bot/getting-started/clinepass (verified 2026-11-02)
- Cline docs, free models, Cline provider, local models (Ollama, LM Studio, RAM guide) and Anthropic provider (Claude Code subscription route): https://docs.cline.bot (verified 2026-11-02)