--- title: "Amp: coding agent for the terminal and cloud, free tier and alternatives" canonical_url: https://cookiesforai.app/tools/amp last_updated: 2026-10-03T15:11:25+02:00 type: tool summary: "Amp is a coding agent by Amp Frontier Corporation, spun out of Sourcegraph, that runs in a terminal CLI, a web app and macOS and iOS apps, with per-thread cloud machines." --- # Amp Amp is a coding agent by Amp Frontier Corporation, spun out of Sourcegraph, that runs in a terminal CLI, a web app and macOS and iOS apps, with per-thread cloud machines. | Fact | Value | |---|---| | Made by | Amp Frontier Corporation | | Type | Terminal coding agent | | License | Proprietary | | Runs on | macOS, Linux, Windows (WSL), Web, macOS app, iOS, Slack | | Free tier | Free plan | | Website | https://ampcode.com | | Page updated | 2026-10-03 | | Facts checked | 2026-10-02 | ## What it does Amp is a coding agent with a terminal CLI for macOS, Linux and Windows through WSL, a web app at ampcode.com, and macOS and iOS apps. Each thread can run on its own cloud machine, called an orb, billed by the minute, or on your own runners. Amp reads AGENTS.md files for project instructions and has an execute mode, amp -x, for scripts. Amp uses several models and routes between them, and you can link a ChatGPT subscription or bring your own keys. Beyond the agent itself it has Portals, Automations and Puck, a coordinator that can work from Slack. Plugins and model routing are configurable. Amp started at Sourcegraph and now belongs to Amp Frontier Corporation, which says Amp's growth spun it out. Paid subscriptions launched in beta on 2026-07-18. ## Who it is for - Developers who want each agent thread on its own cloud machine without managing servers - People who want to bring their own model keys or ChatGPT subscription - Teams that want pooled credits and SSO with no per-seat charge for the team plan - Starting and checking agent work from a phone with the iOS app ## Who should pick something else - Windows users who do not use WSL: the CLI runs on Windows through WSL - People who want one fixed monthly price for heavy use: usage past a plan is pay as you go - Developers who want an open source agent; OpenCode, Cline and Goose are open source Strength: Amp's paid plans include cloud machine time for orbs, and the free Hobby plan works with your own keys or runners. Limit: Amp's free route is thin: the Hobby plan relies on your own keys or runners, and Amp's news page says the free daily grant was paused or reduced for more users on 2026-05-23. ## What it costs Free tier: Free plan. Free Hobby plan: bring your own keys or a ChatGPT or other subscription with no Amp token fees, and pay as you go for orbs or use your own runners free; paid plans add orb minutes. Current prices: https://ampcode.com/pricing (we do not list prices; vendors change them often). ## Agent skills and MCP Skills: Amp supports Agent Skills natively. Project skills live in .agents/skills (and .claude/skills) in the project and parent folders; user skills in ~/.config/agents/skills, ~/.agents/skills, ~/.config/amp/skills and ~/.claude/skills, plus paths in amp.skills.path. amp skill add installs one, with --global for the user folder. The open skills CLI installs Amp skills into .agents/skills. The docs give no date skills were added. MCP: Amp adds MCP servers with a command, for example amp mcp add context7 -- npx -y @upstash/context7-mcp for a local server or amp mcp add linear https://mcp.linear.app/sse for a remote one. They are stored under amp.mcpServers in ~/.config/amp/settings.json or a workspace .amp/settings.json. Amp's docs recommend bundling MCP servers inside skills with an mcp.json instead. ## Alternatives - [Claude Code](https://cookiesforai.app/tools/claude-code): Claude Code is a terminal coding agent by Anthropic that reads a codebase, edits files and runs commands, and also works in VS Code, JetBrains, a desktop app and the web. - [OpenAI Codex](https://cookiesforai.app/tools/codex): OpenAI Codex is a coding agent by OpenAI that runs as an open source CLI on your machine and as a cloud agent in ChatGPT, editing code, running commands and opening pull requests. - [Devin](https://cookiesforai.app/tools/devin): Devin is a cloud coding agent by Cognition that works in its own virtual machines, takes tasks from Slack, GitHub, Linear or Jira, and also ships as a CLI and the Devin Desktop editor. - [OpenCode](https://cookiesforai.app/tools/opencode): OpenCode is an open source terminal coding agent by Anomaly that works with 75+ model providers, local models included, and also ships as a desktop app and IDE extension. - [Cursor](https://cookiesforai.app/tools/cursor): Cursor is an AI code editor by Anysphere that pairs a desktop editor with an agent, a CLI and cloud agents, using models from several vendors plus its own Composer models.