kitio.aiCline vs Tabby
A side-by-side look at pricing plans, free tiers, features, pros and cons, updated for 2026. Cline has the lower starting price: about $10 a month, against $19 for Tabby.
At a glance
Best for
Pricing model
Starting price
Free plan
Made by
Based in
Rating
Key features
- Plan and Act modes
- Bring your own key
- MCP support
- Cline CLI
- Per-task cost display
- Self-hosted server
- Code completion
- Answer engine chat
- Repository indexing
- Admin dashboard
| Feature | Cline | Tabby |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Open-source coding agent for VS Code and the terminal | Open-source, self-hosted AI coding assistant |
| Category | Coding | Coding |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | $9.99/mo | $19/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Made by | Cline Bot Inc. | TabbyML |
| Based in | United States | United States |
| Rating | No ratings yet | No ratings yet |
| Key features |
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Pricing compared
Cline has the lower starting price: about $10 a month, against $19 for Tabby.
Free plan
Cheapest paid plan
Top plan
Free trial
2 plans
Open Source
Free
- Free VS Code extension and CLI
- Bring your own model API keys
Enterprise
Contact sales
- JetBrains extension
- SSO and SLA
- Dedicated support
- Centralized billing
3 plans
Community
Free
- Up to 5 users
- Self-hosted code completion
- Answer engine and inline chat
Team
$19/mo
- Per seat
- Up to 50 users
- Flexible deployment
Enterprise
Custom
- Unlimited users
- Customized deployment
- Enhanced security and groups
- Billed annually
Prices in USD, checked Oct 28, 2026 or later. Plans change often, so confirm on each tool's site before you buy.
Pros and cons
Cline
- Free and open source
- Transparent token costs
- Works with local models
- API bills can grow quickly
- Approving each step slows long tasks
Tabby
- Code stays on your servers
- Runs on consumer GPUs
- Choose any open model
- You manage hardware and updates
- Weaker than frontier cloud models
Which one should you choose?
Choose Cline if you want:
- Free and open source
- Transparent token costs
- Works with local models
Watch out: api bills can grow quickly.
Choose Tabby if you want:
- Code stays on your servers
- Runs on consumer GPUs
- Choose any open model
Watch out: you manage hardware and updates.
Cline vs Tabby FAQ
What is the difference between Cline and Tabby?
Cline: Open-source coding agent for VS Code and the terminal. Tabby: Open-source, self-hosted AI coding assistant. Both are coding tools.
Is Cline or Tabby cheaper?
Cline has the lower starting price: about $10 a month, against $19 for Tabby.
Do Cline and Tabby have free plans?
Cline: Yes. Tabby: Yes.
Who makes Cline?
Cline is made by Cline Bot Inc., based in United States.
Who makes Tabby?
Tabby is made by TabbyML, based in United States.
Which should I choose, Cline or Tabby?
Choose Cline if you value free and open source and transparent token costs. Choose Tabby if you value code stays on your servers and runs on consumer gpus.