Which ONE AI coding subscription should I buy?
Updated 2026-10-17 · 3 min read · limits and prices from each vendor's own pages
| Subscription | Price/mo | What the limits look like |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub Copilot Pro | $10 | Free: 2,000 completions/mo + limited chat/agent. Pro: 1,500 AI credits/mo · Pro+: 7,000 · Max: 20,000. source (opens in a new tab) |
| Cursor Plus / Premium | $8 / $30 | Usage pool shared with Grok that refreshes weekly: Plus = base (Grok models only), Premium 4x, Super 15x, Ultra 50x Plus. No per-message numbers published. source (opens in a new tab) |
| Claude Pro (Claude Code) | $20 | Rolling 5-hour session limit + weekly limit, shared with Claude chat. Pro ≈ 10–40 Claude Code prompts per 5h (older Anthropic estimate); Max 5x/20x more per session. source (opens in a new tab) |
| ChatGPT Plus (Codex) | $20 | 5-hour window + weekly limit; local messages and cloud tasks share it. Plus ≈ 15–160 local messages/5h on mid-tier models, far fewer on the top model (OpenAI estimates; tables vary by model). Limited-time: Codex also on ChatGPT Free/Go. source (opens in a new tab) |
| Devin Desktop Pro (ex-Windsurf) | $20 | Daily + weekly quota (token-based; free models don't count). Pro: ~7–27 premium-plus, 8–101 premium or 47–190 lightweight messages/day (Mar 2026 estimate); Max: bigger weekly quota, no daily cap. source (opens in a new tab) |
| Kiro Pro | $20 | Monthly credits, used fractionally per request: Free 50 (rate-limited, weekly quota), Pro 1,000, Pro+ 2,000, Pro Max 5,000, Power 10,000. source (opens in a new tab) |
| Replit Core | $20 | Free Mode Agent work within each plan's allowance: Starter has a daily allowance; Core/Pro reset every 5 hours with weekly limits. Paid modes are effort-based. No exact numbers published. source (opens in a new tab) |
| Bolt.new Pro | $25 | Free: 300K tokens/day, 1M/mo. Pro: no daily limit, from 10M tokens/mo; unused tokens roll over 1 month. source (opens in a new tab) |
| Lovable Pro | $25 | Free: 5 credits/day, max 30/mo. Pro: 100 credits/mo + 5/day. Plan mode ≈ 1 credit/message; Build mode is usage-based. source (opens in a new tab) |
Claude Pro or ChatGPT Plus for coding?
Both are $20 and include a capable agent (Claude Code or Codex) with 5-hour plus weekly limits. In recent X discussions (Oct 2026), builders praised Claude Code for project context and readable diffs, and complained most about Codex limits running out, while some preferred Codex for cheaper runs and Godot work. That's community sentiment, not a benchmark. Try the free or cheapest tier of each on one real task.
Is Cursor still worth it after the pricing change?
Cursor now sells Plus ($8), Premium ($30), Super ($100) and Ultra ($200), sized in multiples of Plus usage, but it publishes no per-message numbers. It's the best fit if you want a full AI editor. If you mainly want an agent, a $20 Claude or ChatGPT plan may stretch further.
I can't code. Which one?
A browser app builder: Lovable for polished web apps, Bolt.new for full-stack apps with hosting and databases, Replit if you want build and hosting in one place. Watch the credit limits: running out of credits mid-build is the top complaint.
I'm starting over on a tight budget. What's cheapest?
$0: Google Antigravity plus GitHub Copilot Free. $8–10: Cursor Plus or Copilot Pro. Cline is free if you bring a cheap API key.
Do I need two subscriptions?
Usually not. One paid main plus a free backup from a different company covers most limit days, because each company's limits are separate.
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