Stay free if you only need full plan/act loop and mcp marketplace. Upgrade if you need sso and audit logs. Most solo builders can start free.
Why it matters: Token usage can be high on long agent loops — easy to burn through Claude credits if you don't watch context
Available from: Enterprise
Why it matters: Plan/Act paradigm has a learning curve compared to Copilot-style autocomplete
Available from: Enterprise
Why it matters: Some advanced features (browser automation, MCP) need extra setup beyond install
Available from: Enterprise
The Cline extension itself is free and open-source under the Apache 2.0 license, but the underlying AI models are not. You bring your own API key from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, OpenRouter, AWS Bedrock, or run a local model with Ollama, and you pay that provider directly for token usage. There is no Cline subscription required for the core product.
Cline is model-agnostic and supports Anthropic Claude (including Sonnet and Opus), OpenAI GPT models, Google Gemini, AWS Bedrock, Azure OpenAI, OpenRouter (which proxies hundreds of models), and any OpenAI-compatible endpoint. Local models are supported through Ollama and LM Studio, allowing fully offline operation.
Plan mode lets the agent read your codebase, ask clarifying questions, and write a structured plan without editing any files. Act mode executes the plan — creating files, applying diffs, and running terminal commands, each gated by your approval. The split is designed to catch misunderstandings before code is changed.
Cursor and Copilot are tightly integrated editor experiences with inline completion and flat-rate subscriptions. Cline is an autonomous agent that runs as a side panel inside your existing IDE, focuses on multi-step task execution, and uses pay-per-token pricing through your own API key. Many developers run Cline alongside Copilot — using Copilot for inline completion and Cline for larger agentic tasks.
Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard for connecting AI agents to external tools and data sources. Cline supports MCP natively, so you can install community-built servers (for Postgres, GitHub, Figma, browser automation, etc.) or write your own to give the agent capabilities specific to your stack — without modifying Cline itself.
Start with the free plan — upgrade when you need more.
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Last verified March 2026