Kiro — AWS’s spec-driven IDE and the designated successor to Amazon Q Developer — where spec-mode requests cost five times what vibe-mode ones do.
Short answer: Kiro is AWS’s agentic, spec-driven AI IDE built on Code OSS, generally available since May 2026 and the successor to Amazon Q Developer, whose IDE plugins closed to new signups on 15 May 2026 with support ending 30 April 2027. Pricing is credit-based: a free tier with 50 credits, Pro at $20 a month for 1,000, Pro+ at $40, Pro Max at $100 and Power at $200 for 10,000, with $0.04 overage per credit.
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Verdict at a glance
Overall rating: 4.0/5 ★★★★☆
Standout: Spec-driven development. Kiro turns a prompt into requirements, a design and sequenced tasks before writing code, then implements them with parallel agents.
Watch out: Spec-mode requests cost five times vibe-mode ones — $0.20 against $0.04 per credit. The mode that makes Kiro distinctive is also the expensive one.
Kiro is AWS’s answer to agentic coding and the designated successor to Amazon Q Developer, whose IDE plugins and paid subscriptions closed to new signups on 15 May 2026 with support ending 30 April 2027. Anyone evaluating Q Developer should be looking at this instead. What Kiro does differently is spec-driven development: rather than generating code straight from a prompt, it produces requirements, a design and a sequence of tasks first, then implements them with parallel agents. For work where the specification matters as much as the code — anything a team will maintain, review or hand over — that intermediate artefact is genuinely valuable, and it is the clearest differentiation in this category. Pricing is credit-based across five tiers: free with 50 credits, Pro at $20 a month for 1,000, Pro+ at $40, Pro Max at $100 and Power at $200 for 10,000, with overage at $0.04 per credit. The detail that shapes real cost is that spec-mode requests consume five times what vibe-mode requests do — $0.20 against $0.04 — while inline autocomplete consumes nothing. So the capability that distinguishes Kiro is also the one that empties your balance fastest, and a team using spec mode consistently should price from that multiple rather than from the credit count.
Quick facts
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Ideal team | Teams who want a specification, not just generated code |
| Learning curve | Moderate — spec-driven workflow is a genuine change of habit |
| Setup time | Under an hour; built on Code OSS |
| Free trial | Free tier with 50 credits |
| Free tier | Yes — 50 credits |
| Pricing | $20 Pro · $40 Pro+ · $100 Pro Max · $200 Power |
| Credit costs | ⚠️ Spec mode $0.20 vs vibe mode $0.04 per credit |
| Context | ⭐ Successor to Amazon Q Developer, closed to new signups May 2026 |
Overview
Kiro is AWS’s agentic AI IDE, built on Code OSS and generally available since May 2026. Its distinguishing approach is spec-driven development: instead of generating code directly from a prompt, it first turns the prompt into requirements, then a design, then a sequenced set of tasks, and only then implements them — with parallel agents working through the sequence. For anything a team will maintain, review or hand over, that intermediate specification is a genuine artefact rather than a ceremony, and it addresses the main criticism of prompt-to-code tools, which is that the reasoning behind the output disappears.
The context matters as much as the product. AWS is sunsetting Amazon Q Developer’s IDE plugins and paid subscriptions in favour of Kiro — new signups closed on 15 May 2026 and support ends on 30 April 2027. Anyone currently evaluating Q Developer, or reading comparison articles that still include it, should understand that Kiro is the product with a future. Existing Q Developer customers have until April 2027 to migrate.
Pricing is credit-based across five tiers: a free tier with 50 credits, Pro at $20 a month for 1,000 credits, Pro+ at $40, Pro Max at $100, and Power at $200 for 10,000, with overage charged at $0.04 per credit. What determines your real consumption is which mode you work in. An agentic interaction — generating a spec, running a hook, executing a multi-step task — consumes credits, while inline autocomplete does not. Critically, spec-mode requests cost five times vibe-mode ones, at $0.20 against $0.04 per credit. That means the capability Kiro is built around is also its most expensive, and a team working primarily in spec mode should model costs from that multiple rather than from the headline credit allowance.
Key features
- Spec-driven development — ⭐ requirements, design and tasks before code
- Parallel agents — implement sequenced tasks concurrently
- Built on Code OSS — a familiar editor foundation
- Vibe mode — lighter-weight interaction at $0.04 per credit
- Spec mode — ⚠️ the distinctive capability, at $0.20 per credit
- Hooks — automated agentic actions triggered by events
- Free inline autocomplete — ⭐ consumes no credits
- Free tier — 50 credits to evaluate the workflow
- AWS backing — vendor stability and enterprise credibility
- Successor to Amazon Q Developer — the supported path forward
Pricing (as of 2026-10-01)
Model: credit-based tiers where spec-mode requests cost 5x vibe-mode ones · Free tier: yes — 50 credits · Entry paid: $20/mo (Pro, 1,000 credits)
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 50 credits · ⭐ inline autocomplete consumes no credits at any tier |
| Pro | $20/mo | 1,000 credits · full spec-driven workflow and parallel agents |
| Pro+ | $40/mo | Higher credit allowance |
| Pro Max | $100/mo | Higher credit allowance again |
| Power | $200/mo | 10,000 credits |
| Overage and modes | ⚠️ $0.04 per credit overage | ⚠️ Spec-mode requests cost 5x vibe-mode ones — $0.20 against $0.04 per credit |
⚠️ Spec-mode requests consume five times what vibe-mode requests do — $0.20 against $0.04 per credit. The capability that makes Kiro distinctive is therefore also the one that empties your balance fastest. A team working primarily in spec mode should model costs from that multiple rather than from the headline credit allowance.
⭐ Inline autocomplete consumes no credits at any tier, so ordinary editing is free. Only agentic interactions — generating a spec, running a hook, executing a multi-step task — draw down the balance, which makes the metering more predictable than it first appears.
⭐ Kiro is the designated successor to Amazon Q Developer, whose IDE plugins and paid subscriptions closed to new signups on 15 May 2026 with support ending 30 April 2027. Anyone evaluating Q Developer, or reading comparisons that still include it, should be looking at Kiro instead.
Ratings breakdown
| Criterion | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Ease Of Use | 4.0/5 | Familiar Code OSS base; spec-driven working takes adjustment |
| Features | 4.5/5 | Spec-driven development with parallel agents is genuinely differentiated |
| Value | 3.5/5 | ⚠️ Good tiers, but spec mode’s 5x cost shapes the real bill |
| Support | 4.5/5 | AWS-backed, with the stability that implies |
Pros
- Spec-driven development produces requirements and design, not just code
- Parallel agents implement sequenced tasks concurrently
- Inline autocomplete consumes no credits at any tier
- Free tier with 50 credits to evaluate the workflow
- Built on Code OSS, so the editor is familiar
- AWS backing provides vendor stability and enterprise credibility
- Five tiers from $20 to $200 allow reasonably granular scaling
- The designated successor to Amazon Q Developer, so it has a roadmap
Cons
- ⚠️ Spec-mode requests cost 5x vibe-mode ones at $0.20 per credit
- ⚠️ The distinctive capability is also the most expensive to use
- Credit consumption is hard to predict before you start
- Overage at $0.04 per credit accrues on top of the tier
- Spec-driven working is a genuine change of habit, not just a feature
- Free tier’s 50 credits is a brief evaluation rather than a working plan
- Less mature than the tools it replaces, being GA only since May 2026
Who it’s for
- Teams who want a specification alongside the generated code
- Organisations already committed to AWS infrastructure
- Existing Amazon Q Developer users needing a migration path
- Developers building software that others will maintain
Who it’s not for
- Developers who want inference at cost — Cline and Aider are free tools
- Teams working primarily in prompt-to-code style, where spec mode is wasted
- Anyone needing a mature product with a long track record
- Budget-focused users, given spec mode’s 5x credit consumption
Best use cases
- Turning a feature request into requirements, design and sequenced tasks
- Implementing a task sequence with parallel agents
- Using free inline autocomplete without consuming any credits
- Migrating from Amazon Q Developer before support ends in April 2027
- Evaluating the spec-driven workflow on the free 50-credit tier
Integrations
Kiro is built on Code OSS, so the extension ecosystem and editor conventions are familiar, and AWS backing means integration with AWS services is the natural strength. Hooks allow agentic actions to be triggered by events, which is where the platform extends beyond an editor into workflow automation. For teams already inside AWS, that alignment is a substantial part of the argument alongside the spec-driven approach itself.
How it compares
| Kiro | Cline | Aider | Devin | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entry paid | $20/mo (Pro) | ⭐ $0 open source | ⭐ $0 Apache 2.0 | $20/mo (Pro) |
| Metering | ⚠️ Credits, spec mode 5x | Pay provider directly | Pay provider directly | Refreshing quota, overage at API pricing |
| Free tier | 50 credits | ⭐ Extension free, 10 seats free | ⭐ Entirely free | ⭐ Yes — light quota |
| Spec-driven workflow | ⭐ Core capability | Plan/Act modes | No | Autonomous planning |
| Autocomplete cost | ⭐ Free, no credits | Provider cost | Provider cost | n/a |
| Vendor backing | ⭐ AWS | Community + Enterprise tier | ⚠️ Community only | Cognition |
| Best fit | Spec-driven agentic IDE | Open-source agent in VS Code | Terminal agent at cost | Autonomous engineering |
Replit prices are vendor-published and verified 2026-09-25. Cline, Aider, Kiro and Devin figures are from published third-party reporting where the vendors’ own pages could not be retrieved directly.
Alternatives
Cline and Aider are free open-source agents where you pay model providers directly, which is far cheaper at volume but offers no spec-driven workflow. Devin is an autonomous agent on a subscription, from $20 a month on Pro. Replit provides a browser IDE with an agent from $17 a month annually.
Recent changes
Kiro is AWS’s agentic, spec-driven AI IDE built on Code OSS and generally available since May 2026. It is the designated successor to Amazon Q Developer, whose IDE plugins and paid subscriptions closed to new signups on 15 May 2026 with end of support scheduled for 30 April 2027. Pricing verified in July 2026 comprises a free tier, Pro at $20 a month, Pro+ at $40, Pro Max at $100 and Power at $200. Billing is credit-based, with the free tier including 50 credits, Pro providing 1,000 credits at $20 a month and Power providing 10,000 at $200, with overage charged at $0.04 per credit. Spec-mode requests cost five times more than vibe-mode requests, at $0.20 against $0.04 per credit. Agentic interactions — generating a spec, running a hook or executing a multi-step task — consume credits, while inline autocomplete does not.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Kiro cost?
The free tier includes 50 credits. Pro is $20 a month for 1,000 credits, Pro+ $40, Pro Max $100 and Power $200 for 10,000, with overage at $0.04 per credit. Critically, spec-mode requests cost five times vibe-mode ones — $0.20 against $0.04 — so your mode of working drives the bill.
Why do Kiro’s spec-mode requests cost five times more?
Because spec mode does considerably more work: it generates requirements, a design and a sequenced task list before implementing anything, rather than producing code directly. That is the capability Kiro is built around, so the pricing reflects it — but it means the distinctive feature is also the one that empties your credit balance fastest.
What happened to Amazon Q Developer?
AWS is sunsetting its IDE plugins and paid subscriptions in favour of Kiro. New signups closed on 15 May 2026 and support ends on 30 April 2027. Anyone currently evaluating Q Developer, or reading comparison articles that still list it, should be looking at Kiro — it is the product with a roadmap.
What is spec-driven development?
Rather than generating code from a prompt, Kiro first produces requirements, then a design, then a sequence of tasks, and implements them with parallel agents. The specification is a real artefact rather than a ceremony — for anything a team will maintain, review or hand over, having the reasoning captured alongside the code is genuinely valuable.
Does inline autocomplete use Kiro credits?
No — inline autocomplete consumes no credits at any tier. Only agentic interactions draw down the balance: generating a spec, running a hook or executing a multi-step task. That makes the metering more predictable than pure usage pricing, since ordinary editing costs nothing regardless of volume.
Kiro or Cline?
Cline is free and open source with inference at provider cost, which is far cheaper at volume — but it has no spec-driven workflow. Kiro if the specification artefact matters and AWS backing is worth paying for. The choice is between structured methodology with a vendor, and raw economics without one.
Is Kiro’s free tier enough to evaluate it?
Fifty credits is enough to try the spec-driven workflow a few times, which is the point — you are evaluating a way of working rather than raw capability. Given spec-mode’s $0.20 credit cost, those 50 credits go quickly in spec mode, so use them deliberately on a representative task rather than exploring casually.
Sources
- Kiro — pricing (vendor)
- Pingax — Kiro AWS pricing 2026: free tier vs Pro vs Pro Max compared
- Nerova — Kiro pricing explained: credits, overage, enterprise
- Costbench — Amazon Q Developer pricing 2026: free and $19/user/month
- Cline — official pricing page
- Replit — official pricing page
Compiled from public sources; last verified 2026-10-01. Pricing is subject to change — verify with the vendor. Ratings reflect editorial opinion based on documented capabilities, published pricing, and aggregated user reviews. DigiJaws does not accept payment for review placement or rating.
Kiro Review (4/5): Pricing & Verdict (2026). DigiJaws, 2026. https://digijaws.com/reviews/kiro-review/