The ladder
These are free and paid credits for AI coding tools — copilots, IDEs, and the APIs you actually ship code with.
Every major AI IDE and copilot ships a free tier worth using. Here's what to install this weekend — no credit card, no waitlist.
6 curated6 free tiersVerified weekly
Cursor — Free & Pro Trial
CursorVerified
- Official source
- Solo founder OK
- No VC needed
Free Hobby tier + 14-day Pro trial
Windsurf — Free Tier
WindsurfVerified
- Official source
- Solo founder OK
- No VC needed
Free Cascade agent with monthly premium-model quota
Codeium — Individual Free
CodeiumVerified
- Official source
- Solo founder OK
- No VC needed
Free forever — unlimited autocomplete + chat
Sourcegraph Cody — Free
SourcegraphVerified
- Official source
- Solo founder OK
- No VC needed
Free tier — monthly autocomplete + chat quota
Zed — Free Editor + AI
ZedVerified
- Official source
- Solo founder OK
- No VC needed
Free editor with built-in agent (BYO key or hosted)
GitHub Copilot — Free Tier
GitHubVerified
- Official source
- Solo founder OK
- No VC needed
Free tier — 2,000 completions / 50 chat / month