Bolt vs Cline — Pricing, Plans, and Verified Costs (2026)
Cline starts at Free. Bolt uses custom pricing — request a quote to compare.
How pricing works
These two tools don't price the same way, so the headline numbers below aren't directly comparable until you plug in your own volume.
- Bolt (Hybrid) — Bolt is hybrid: a fixed subscription plus metered usage on top. Your real bill moves with volume, not seat count.
- Cline (Per Usage) — Cline bills purely on usage. There is no fixed per-seat fee, so the monthly cost depends entirely on how much you consume.
Per-minute, per-credit and per-token rates exclude any downstream model, speech or telephony costs unless the vendor states otherwise.
AI-native web development environment from StackBlitz. Prompt in natural language, generate full-stack apps that run in a browser-based WebContainer sandbox with instant preview. Token-metered pricing model — each AI generation consumes tokens from your monthly allocation. Pricing: Free (1M tokens/mo), Pro $25/mo (10M tokens, scales to $50 for 26M and $200 for 120M), Teams $30/user/mo. Annual billing saves up to 28%. Positioned as the fastest way to prototype full-stack apps entirely in the browser — no local setup, no separate hosting.
Open-source autonomous coding agent that runs in VS Code as an extension. Cline itself is free — users bring their own LLM API key (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Groq, OpenRouter, local models via Ollama). Cost is entirely determined by underlying LLM token usage. Popular with developers who want an agent-first coding experience but prefer to pay direct LLM costs rather than a marked-up subscription.
All plans compared
| Tier role | Plan | Bolt monthly | Bolt annual | Cline monthly | Cline annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free / starter | Free / Cline (extension) | Free | Free | Free | Free |
| Entry paid | Pro / — | $25 | $18 | — | — |
| Mid tier | Pro (50) / — | $50 | $36 | — | — |
| Pro / power | Pro (200) / — | $200 | $144 | — | — |
| Teams | Teams | $30 | $22 | $20 | $20 |
| Enterprise | — / Enterprise | — | — | Custom | Custom |
Tier names differ across vendors. Rows are aligned by tier role, not name. Full tier structures on each tool's page.
What each is best for
Bolt is worth it if… developers and prototypers who want browser-native, full-stack AI app generation without ever leaving the tab. The WebContainer runtime differentiates it from Lovable and v0 — apps actually execute in the browser, not just render as previews.
Cline is worth it if… developers who already have LLM API access and want an autonomous coding agent without a subscription markup. The BYOK model is the differentiator — typical monthly cost is $5-50 in Claude Sonnet tokens depending on usage, which beats most $20-60/mo subscription tools if you're a light user.
Bottom line: Choose based on how you want to pay — Bolt is hybrid, Cline is per usage.
Choose Bolt over Cline if…
Choose Bolt if…
- You're fine with a base subscription plus metered usage on top (custom pricing).
- You match the profile Bolt is built for: developers and prototypers who want browser-native, full-stack AI app generation without ever leaving the tab.
- You need a general-purpose developer & infrastructure option rather than a vertical-specific one.
Choose Cline if…
- You want to pay only for actual usage (per usage, a free entry tier).
- You match the profile Cline is built for: developers who already have LLM API access and want an autonomous coding agent without a subscription markup.
- You need a general-purpose developer & infrastructure option rather than a vertical-specific one.
At a glance
| Bolt | Cline | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Entry price | Custom | Free |
| Enterprise available | No | Yes |
| Pricing model | Hybrid | Per Usage |
| Last verified | September 20, 2026 | September 20, 2026 |
| Full pricing | View full pricing | View full pricing |
Pricing last verified September 20, 2026. Tracked daily.