AI coding tools range from free to $500/month. Understanding what you actually get at each price point helps you make the right investment. Here's a complete pricing breakdown for 2026.
Quick Price Comparison#
| Tool | Free Tier | Individual | Team | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Codeium | Unlimited | $10/mo | $15/user | Custom |
| Tabnine | Limited | $12/mo | $39/user | Custom |
| Copilot | None | $19/mo | $39/user | Custom |
| Bootspring | Yes | $20/mo | $30/user | Custom |
| Cursor | Trial | $20/mo | $40/user | Custom |
| Claude Code | Limited | $20/mo | N/A | Custom |
| CodeWhisperer | Individual | $19/user | $19/user | Custom |
| Devin | None | N/A | $500/seat | Custom |
Free Tier Analysis#
What You Get for $0#
Codeium Free
- Unlimited code completions
- Chat feature
- 40+ languages
- All IDE extensions
- Verdict: Best free tier available
Amazon CodeWhisperer Individual
- Unlimited suggestions
- 50 security scans/month
- Reference tracking
- Python/Java focus
- Verdict: Best for AWS developers
Tabnine Basic
- Short code completions
- Limited to 5 users
- No advanced features
- Verdict: Good for basic needs
Aider + Your API Key
- Free tool, pay for API usage
- ~$5-50/month depending on usage
- Full features
- Verdict: Best for flexibility
Free Tier Limitations#
| Tool | Main Limitation |
|---|---|
| Codeium | Less advanced reasoning |
| CodeWhisperer | Limited outside AWS |
| Tabnine | Short completions only |
| Bootspring | Usage limits |
| Cursor | 14-day trial only |
Individual Pricing ($10-25/month)#
Entry Level ($10-15)#
Codeium Pro - $10/month
- Everything in free plus:
- Faster responses
- Priority support
- Advanced features
Tabnine Pro - $12/month
- Full-length completions
- Chat feature
- Team patterns (solo)
- Priority support
Standard Level ($19-20)#
GitHub Copilot - $19/month
- Unlimited suggestions
- Copilot Chat
- All IDE support
- /commands
Amazon CodeWhisperer Pro - $19/month
- Professional features
- More security scans
- Team features
Cursor Pro - $20/month
- Unlimited completions
- Composer mode
- GPT-4/Claude access
- Fast model access
Bootspring Pro - $20/month
- Specialized agents
- Full MCP integration
- Database access
- Autonomous tasks
Claude Code - $20/month
- 200K context
- Autonomous operation
- CLI interface
- Advanced reasoning
Premium Individual ($25+)#
Most tools jump directly to team pricing at higher tiers.
Team Pricing Comparison#
Team pricing is where costs add up quickly. Here's the real math:
Per-User Costs#
| Tool | Per User/Month | 10-Person Team | 50-Person Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Codeium | $15 | $150 | $750 |
| CodeWhisperer | $19 | $190 | $950 |
| Bootspring | $30 | $300 | $1,500 |
| Copilot | $39 | $390 | $1,950 |
| Tabnine | $39 | $390 | $1,950 |
| Cursor | $40 | $400 | $2,000 |
Annual Team Costs#
| Team Size | Codeium | Bootspring | Copilot | Cursor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 users | $900 | $1,800 | $2,340 | $2,400 |
| 10 users | $1,800 | $3,600 | $4,680 | $4,800 |
| 25 users | $4,500 | $9,000 | $11,700 | $12,000 |
| 50 users | $9,000 | $18,000 | $23,400 | $24,000 |
| 100 users | $18,000 | $36,000 | $46,800 | $48,000 |
Team Feature Comparison#
| Feature | Codeium | Bootspring | Copilot | Cursor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Admin dashboard | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Usage analytics | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SSO | Business | Yes | Yes | Business |
| Shared context | No | Yes | No | No |
| Policy controls | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Priority support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Enterprise Pricing#
Enterprise pricing is typically negotiated, but here are typical ranges:
Expected Enterprise Costs#
| Tool | Typical Range | Volume Discount |
|---|---|---|
| Copilot Enterprise | $39-50/user | 10-20% at 500+ |
| Tabnine Enterprise | $35-50/user | 15-25% at 500+ |
| Bootspring Enterprise | $25-40/user | Custom |
| Cursor Enterprise | $35-45/user | Custom |
Enterprise-Only Features#
| Feature | Copilot | Tabnine | Bootspring | Cursor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| On-premise | No | Yes | Roadmap | No |
| Air-gapped | No | Yes | Roadmap | No |
| Custom models | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| SLA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Dedicated support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Custom integrations | Limited | Yes | Yes | Limited |
Hidden Costs#
API Usage (When Applicable)#
Tools like Aider require your own API keys:
| Provider | Input Cost | Output Cost | Example: 1M tokens |
|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAI GPT-4 | $0.03/1K | $0.06/1K | $90 |
| Claude 3.5 | $0.003/1K | $0.015/1K | $18 |
| GPT-3.5 | $0.0015/1K | $0.002/1K | $3.50 |
Monthly API cost estimates:
- Light usage: $5-15
- Moderate: $20-50
- Heavy: $50-100+
Integration Costs#
| Integration | Typical Cost |
|---|---|
| GitHub Enterprise | Already paying |
| Database connections | Usually free |
| CI/CD integration | Usually free |
| Custom MCP servers | Development time |
Training and Adoption#
| Factor | Estimated Cost |
|---|---|
| Learning curve | 2-8 hours per developer |
| Productivity dip | 1 week |
| Full adoption | 2-4 weeks |
Value Analysis#
Cost Per Feature#
What $20/month gets you:
| Tool | Primary Value |
|---|---|
| Cursor | Best AI IDE experience |
| Bootspring | Specialized agents + integration |
| Claude Code | Best reasoning + context |
| Copilot | Polished completion + chat |
ROI Calculation#
Developer productivity gain estimate:
| Task | Time Saved | Frequency | Monthly Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Code completion | 5 min/hour | 160 hours | 13 hours |
| Debugging | 15 min/issue | 20 issues | 5 hours |
| Documentation | 30 min/doc | 10 docs | 5 hours |
| Boilerplate | 20 min/feature | 8 features | 2.7 hours |
| Total | 25.7 hours |
At $75/hour developer cost: $1,927 monthly value vs $20 tool cost
Break-Even Analysis#
| Tool Cost | Time Savings Needed | At $75/hr |
|---|---|---|
| $10/month | 8 minutes | 8 min |
| $20/month | 16 minutes | 16 min |
| $39/month | 31 minutes | 31 min |
| $500/month (Devin) | 6.7 hours | 6.7 hr |
Most tools pay for themselves within the first day of each month.
Budget Recommendations#
Solo Developer Budgets#
Tight budget ($0-10):
- Codeium Free (best value)
- CodeWhisperer (if AWS)
Reasonable budget ($20):
- Cursor OR Bootspring OR Claude Code
- Pick based on workflow
Comfortable budget ($40+):
- Cursor + Bootspring combo
- Covers all use cases
Startup Team Budgets (10 developers)#
Bootstrapped ($1,500/month):
- Codeium Team: $150/month
- Bootspring individuals: $200/month
- Total: $350/month
- Remaining for infrastructure
Seed stage ($3,000/month):
- Bootspring Team: $300/month
- Cursor individuals as needed
- Good balance of features and cost
Series A+ ($5,000+/month):
- Full Bootspring Team: $300
- Cursor for all: $400
- Additional tools as needed
- Focus on productivity over cost
Enterprise Budgets (100+ developers)#
Conservative:
- Negotiate Codeium/Bootspring: ~$2,000/month
- Basic needs covered
Standard:
- Copilot Business: ~$4,000/month
- Good ecosystem integration
Premium:
- Multiple tools: $6,000-10,000/month
- Maximum productivity
Cost Optimization Tips#
1. Start Free, Upgrade When Needed#
1Month 1: Codeium Free
2- Evaluate if paid features needed
3- Most developers are happy
4
5Month 2+: Upgrade if:
6- Need better reasoning
7- Need autonomous tasks
8- Need team features2. Use Tool Combinations Strategically#
1Smart combo ($40/month):
2- Codeium (free) for completion
3- Bootspring ($20) for complex tasks
4- Claude Code ($20) for reasoning
5
6vs. All-in-one ($39/month):
7- Copilot Business
8- Less capability, higher cost3. Negotiate Annual Plans#
Most vendors offer discounts:
- 10-20% for annual payment
- Additional volume discounts
- Ask for startup programs
4. Evaluate Actual Usage#
Track what features you actually use:
- If only using completion → stay on free tier
- If using advanced features → paid tier justified
- If team features unused → individual plans
The Bottom Line#
Best free: Codeium Best $20: Bootspring (most capability) or Cursor (best IDE) Best team value: Bootspring Team at $30/user Most expensive: Devin at $500/seat
For most developers and teams, $20-30/user/month delivers excellent ROI. The productivity gains far exceed the costs.
Get maximum value from your AI coding investment. Try Bootspring free and see why teams choose specialized agents over generic completion.