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Cline vs Trae

Features, pricing, ratings, and pros and cons, side by side.

Verdict

Cline and Trae are both Coding AI tools. Cline scores higher in FinderAtlas's editorial review (8.2 vs 7.6 out of 10), led by feature depth and value for money. Both have a free plan or trial. Only Cline is available on VS Code Extension, JetBrains Plugin and CLI and offers an API. Only Trae is available on Web, iOS and Android.

Best overall

Cline

  • Software Engineers
  • Full-Stack Developers
  • Engineering Teams
  • Enterprise Development Organizations

Choose Cline if

  • You want a tool built for developers who want an open-source agent with a choice of model providers, human approval at each step, and extensibility through MCP servers.
  • Open source under Apache 2.0, with a large public community of 250+ contributors.
  • No subscription needed: pay only for inference, or bring your own API key.

Choose Trae if

  • You want a tool built for delegating end-to-end coding tasks to an agent, building MVPs, and moving work between desktop, web and mobile.
  • Permanent free tier with 5,000 autocompletions per month.
  • Covers macOS, Windows and Linux desktops plus web, iOS and Android.
Best for beginners
Trae
Best for business
Cline

Features

17 features compared.

  • Plan and Act Modes
    Cline
    Available
    Trae
    Not available
  • Multi-File Editing with Checkpoints
    Cline
    Available
    Trae
    Not available
  • Terminal and Browser Use
    Cline
    Available
    Trae
    Not available
  • Bring Your Own Model
    Cline
    Available
    Trae
    Not available
  • MCP Servers and Marketplace
    Cline
    Available
    Trae
    Not available
  • Rules Files
    Cline
    Available
    Trae
    Not available
  • Multi-Agent Teams and Scheduling
    Cline
    Available
    Trae
    Not available
  • Headless and Chat Access
    Cline
    Available
    Trae
    Not available
  • SDK
    Cline
    Available
    Trae
    Not available
  • IDE Mode
    Cline
    Not available
    Trae
    Available
  • SOLO / TRAE Work Agent
    Cline
    Not available
    Trae
    Available
  • Cloud Tasks
    Cline
    Not available
    Trae
    Available
  • Mobile Companion
    Cline
    Not available
    Trae
    Available
  • Large Context Windows
    Cline
    Not available
    Trae
    Available
  • Multi-Model Access
    Cline
    Not available
    Trae
    Available
  • Token-Based Usage
    Cline
    Not available
    Trae
    Available
  • Web Version
    Cline
    Not available
    Trae
    Available

Pricing

Plans as listed by each vendor. Check their sites for current prices.

  • Pricing model
    Cline
    Freemium
    Trae
    Freemium
  • Free plan
    Cline
    Yes
    Trae
    Yes
  • Starting price
    Cline
    $0
    Trae
    $0
  • Plans
    Cline
    3 plans
    Trae
    4 plans

Cline plans

  • Open Source

    Most popular

    $0

    Free for individual developers; pay only for model inference

    • VS Code extension
    • CLI
    • MCP Marketplace
    • multi-root workspaces
    • bring your own key
    • community support

  • ClinePass

    $9.99/month

    Optional flat subscription for open coding models via the Cline provider

    • Curated open coding models
    • 2-5x usage versus standard API rates
    • 5-hour
    • weekly and monthly limits

  • Enterprise

    Custom/custom

    Organizations needing security and administration controls

    • JetBrains extension
    • SSO
    • SLA
    • dedicated support
    • centralized billing
    • role-based access control
    • authentication logs

Trae plans

  • Free

    $0

    Entry tier with limited usage

    • Auto model only
    • limited usage
    • standard queue
    • 5,000 autocompletions/month
    • 2 concurrent cloud tasks

  • Pro

    Most popular

    $20/month

    Individual developers

    • Auto and all models
    • $20 usage/month
    • fast queue
    • unlimited autocomplete
    • 10 concurrent cloud tasks

  • Pro+

    $60/month

    Heavier usage (3x Pro)

    • Everything in Pro
    • $60 usage/month
    • 15 concurrent cloud tasks

  • Ultra

    $200/month

    Highest usage (10x Pro)

    • Everything in Pro+
    • $200 usage/month
    • model early access
    • 20 concurrent cloud tasks

Our ratings

Scored out of 10 by the Finder Atlas editorial team. Last reviewed October 2026.

Cline
8.2overall
Trae
7.6overall

Cline leads in 4 categories and Trae in 1.

  • Ease of Use

    Trae leads by 0.2
    Cline
    7.8
    Trae
    8.0

  • Feature Depth

    Cline leads by 0.8
    Cline
    8.8
    Trae
    8.0

  • Value for Money

    Cline leads by 1.1
    Cline
    8.6
    Trae
    7.5

  • Performance & Speed

    Cline leads by 0.5
    Cline
    8.0
    Trae
    7.5

  • Documentation & Support

    Cline leads by 1.0
    Cline
    8.0
    Trae
    7.0

Scores weigh documented features, plan value, platform coverage, integrations and user feedback. A missing score means we have not rated that area yet.

Pros and cons

Cline

Pros

  • Open source under Apache 2.0, with a large public community of 250+ contributors.
  • No subscription needed: pay only for inference, or bring your own API key.
  • Works with many model providers, including local models through Ollama and LM Studio.
  • Approval at every step, plus checkpoints and undo, keeps changes reviewable.
  • Available in VS Code, a desktop app, CLI, SDK and CI, so it fits several workflows.

Cons

  • Costs depend on token usage and are not capped on the free plan, so heavy agentic sessions can be hard to predict.
  • JetBrains support is listed as early access and as an Enterprise feature.
  • Documentation does not state specific ClinePass token or request allowances.

Trae

Pros

  • Permanent free tier with 5,000 autocompletions per month.
  • Covers macOS, Windows and Linux desktops plus web, iOS and Android.
  • Up to 1M-token context in Max mode and up to 20 concurrent cloud tasks on Ultra.
  • Agent workflow extends beyond coding to documents and analysis.
  • SOC 2 certification is shown on the vendor's site footer.

Cons

  • Free tier is limited to Auto mode and does not allow choosing models.
  • Token-based usage makes monthly cost harder to predict than a flat request count.
  • Pricing has changed several times in 2026 and older guides quote outdated figures.
  • Changelog page shows "No update record yet", and the product is operated by ByteDance, which some organisations may restrict.

Platforms

  • Web
    Cline
    Not supported
    Trae
    Supported
  • Windows
    Cline
    Supported
    Trae
    Supported
  • macOS
    Cline
    Supported
    Trae
    Supported
  • iOS
    Cline
    Not supported
    Trae
    Supported
  • Android
    Cline
    Not supported
    Trae
    Supported
  • API
    Cline
    Supported
    Trae
    Not supported
  • Browser Extension
    Cline
    Not supported
    Trae
    Not supported
  • Linux
    Cline
    Supported
    Trae
    Supported
  • VS Code Extension
    Cline
    Supported
    Trae
    Not supported
  • JetBrains Plugin
    Cline
    Supported
    Trae
    Not supported
  • CLI
    Cline
    Supported
    Trae
    Not supported

Integrations

Cline

17 integrations
  • VS Code
  • JetBrains
  • Cursor
  • Windsurf
  • Slack
  • Discord
  • Telegram
  • Linear
  • GitHub Actions
  • GitLab
  • Ollama
  • LM Studio
  • OpenRouter
  • AWS Bedrock
  • Anthropic
  • OpenAI
  • Google Gemini

Trae

3 integrations
  • Vercel
  • Supabase
  • BytePlus

Company

  • Company
    Cline
    Cline Bot Inc.
    Trae
    ByteDance
  • Founded
    Cline
    2024
    Trae
    2012
  • Headquarters
    Cline
    Not listed
    Trae
    Beijing, China
  • Listing
    Cline
    Claimed
    Trae
    Claimed

Frequently asked questions

Is Cline better than Trae?

It depends on your workflow. Cline is built for developers who want an open-source agent with a choice of model providers, human approval at each step, and extensibility through MCP servers. Trae is built for delegating end-to-end coding tasks to an agent, building MVPs, and moving work between desktop, web and mobile.

What are the key feature differences between Cline and Trae?

Cline: Open-source autonomous coding agent for your editor, terminal, and CI pipelines. Trae: ByteDance's AI IDE and agent workspace that plans, codes and ships software tasks.

Does Cline or Trae have a free plan?

Yes, both do. Cline is freemium and Trae is freemium, and each has a free plan or trial.

Which is cheaper, Cline or Trae?

Both can be used for free. Paid plans differ in limits and features, so compare the tiers in the pricing table above.