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Best free AI coding agents for the terminal (2026)
9 of the 15 AI coding agents for the terminal we rank have a free plan, free tier or free open-source release. In our ranking order, the best free option is Antigravity CLI (#3), followed by OpenCode (#4) and goose (#7).
The 9 free options, in ranking order
From each tool's own pricing page- #3 Antigravity CLI
- Free plan: Antigravity Individual plan at $0 with access to a variety of agent models and basic weekly rate limits.Source: antigravity.google, checked Our verdict: Google's terminal coding agent (agy) and the successor to Gemini CLI for individuals. Runs subagents in parallel on the same agent engine as the Antigravity app. Free Individual plan; Google AI Pro and Ultra raise limits.
- #4 OpenCode
- Free plan: Free and open source. Free models are included with no account needed, or you can bring 200+ providers, including local models.Source: opencode.ai, checked Our verdict: Open-source coding agent with terminal, desktop and web clients on one shared local service; bring any model.
- #7 goose
- Free plan: Free and open source (Apache-2.0). You pay only your model provider, or use an existing Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini subscription.Source: github.com, checked Our verdict: Free open-source AI agent (desktop app, CLI and API) that works with 15+ model providers; part of the Linux Foundation's Agentic AI Foundation.
- #8 Aider
- Free plan: Free open-source software under the Apache License 2.0. Works with cloud and local models.Source: github.com, checked Our verdict: Open-source, git-native pair programmer that works with many models.
- #10 Mirror CLI
- Free plan: Free open-source CLI under the Apache-2.0 license.Source: github.com, checked Our verdict: Reflection's open-source (Apache-2.0) terminal coding agent, in early beta. Runs parallel tasks in separate worktrees and defaults to Reflection's open-weight Beam model, with OpenAI, Anthropic and OpenRouter as options.
- #11 Garuda
- Free plan: Free open-source agent under the Apache License 2.0.Source: github.com, checked Our verdict: Free, open-source (Apache-2.0) terminal agent that runs commands in an OS sandbox and asks before edits; works with Claude, OpenRouter or local models.
- #13 Croo
- Free plan: Free Mac app under the MIT license. Sign in with your Claude or ChatGPT plan, paste an API key, or run a model on your own machine.Source: ai.crooli.com, checked Our verdict: Small, free, MIT-licensed coding agent that is now a Mac app as well as a terminal tool. Sign in with your Claude or ChatGPT plan, paste an API key, or run a local model, and every edit and command waits for your OK. Apple Silicon only for the app, and still young.
- #14 fx
- Free plan: Free open-source agent under the Apache-2.0 license. Connect Vercel AI Gateway, a ChatGPT or Grok subscription, or an OpenAI-compatible endpoint such as Ollama or OpenRouter.Source: github.com, checked Our verdict: Vercel Labs' open-source (Apache-2.0) terminal agent shipped as one small native binary for macOS and Linux. Bring a ChatGPT or Grok subscription, Vercel AI Gateway, or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint such as Ollama. Experimental and pre-1.0, so use with care.
- #15 Orbi
- Free plan: Self-hosted Orbi is US$0 with your own model key. Orbi Cloud gives your first 3 merged pull requests free, with no credit card.Source: orbi.build, checked Our verdict: GitHub App that turns a labeled issue into an independently reviewed, merged pull request and, when you ask, a tagged release. Not a terminal tool; open source (AGPL-3.0) and self-hostable, with a hosted Cloud plan.
Ranks are from our full ranking of terminal coding agents (15 tools). OpenAI Codex (#2) is included in ChatGPT Free, but only in the desktop app; the Codex CLI needs ChatGPT Plus or an API key, so it is not listed as a free terminal agent. Amp has a free Hobby tier where you buy credits at list price, and Praex is free to start; neither lists an ongoing free allowance on our fact sheet. Ranked tools not listed have no ongoing free plan on their pricing page or our fact sheet. Free plans change often, so check the official page before you rely on one. Nothing on this page is sponsored.
Questions
Frequently asked
What is the best free AI coding agent?
Antigravity CLI, ranked #3 of 15. Its free option: Antigravity Individual plan at $0 with access to a variety of agent models and basic weekly rate limits. Source: https://antigravity.google/pricing, checked 2026-11-10.
Which terminal coding agents tools are free?
Antigravity CLI (#3), OpenCode (#4), goose (#7), Aider (#8), Mirror CLI (#10), Garuda (#11), Croo (#13), fx (#14), Orbi (#15).
How did you check the free plans?
We opened each tool's own pricing page or repository on Nov 10, 2026 and wrote down what the free option includes. Tools whose only free option is a trial or a one-time signup credit, or whose pricing page did not load for us, are left out.
Is the order the same as the full ranking?
Yes. Tools appear in the same order as our full ranking of terminal coding agents, which is based on how well each tool does the job, not on price.
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