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

Claim

Windsurf — Free Tier

WindsurfVerified

  • Official source
  • Solo founder OK
  • No VC needed

Free Cascade agent with monthly premium-model quota

Claim

Codeium — Individual Free

CodeiumVerified

  • Official source
  • Solo founder OK
  • No VC needed

Free forever — unlimited autocomplete + chat

Claim

Sourcegraph Cody — Free

SourcegraphVerified

  • Official source
  • Solo founder OK
  • No VC needed

Free tier — monthly autocomplete + chat quota

Claim

Zed — Free Editor + AI

ZedVerified

  • Official source
  • Solo founder OK
  • No VC needed

Free editor with built-in agent (BYO key or hosted)

Claim

GitHub Copilot — Free Tier

GitHubVerified

  • Official source
  • Solo founder OK
  • No VC needed

Free tier — 2,000 completions / 50 chat / month

Claim