A decision for a beginner, not a spec sheet. Scores are our weights. Prices are the public plans, and anything marked verify on the tool page should be re-checked before you pay.
Pick Amp if you want a repo you want an agent to work on in parallel, including while your laptop is closed.
Pick Claude Code if you want an agent in the terminal on an existing repo.
A coding agent you can run free on your own machine, or in Amp's cloud.
Cheapest verified paid plan: Megawatt · $20/mo
A terminal coding agent that shares your Claude plan.
Cheapest verified paid plan: Pro · $20/mo
Web app or SaaS
Mobile app
Game
Website or landing page
Automation or script
No code
I can follow a change
I already develop
Last verified 2026-10-19
Individual
Free
VerifiedAll product features. No monthly fee. Pay-as-you-go orbs, or your own runners at no Amp charge. Linked ChatGPT, Claude, and other subscriptions, and bring-your-own-key, with no Amp token fees or limits. No included orb minutes and no included Amp credits.
The Hobby card is on ampcode.com/pricing. Standard orb rates, if you do use cloud machines, are on the orb sizes page and start at $0.08 an hour for a1.tiny.
Individual
$20/mo
Verified45,000 minutes of orb time and $20 of Amp credits, then more credits at provider list price. Unlimited public and private repositories, and your own portal domains. Soft hosting limits on the card are 1 GB of repository storage and 10 GB of monthly transfer.
This is the Individual price shown on the default pricing tab. Included usage does not roll over. The $20 of credits is the amount the pricing card prints for this tier.
Individual
$10/mo
VerifiedThe same Megawatt allowance, at $10 a month for students and teachers. The pricing card shows $10 of included Amp credits when the education discount is applied.
The pricing FAQ says students and teachers can get Megawatt for $10 per month. Left out of budget matching so a general under-$10 question cannot be won by a discount most readers cannot buy.
Individual
$200/mo
Verified480,000 minutes of orb time, which is the Gigawatt tab's minute figure, and $200 of Amp credits. The underlying allowance is 1,000 hours of a1.xxlarge. a1.3xlarge orbs are limited to Gigawatt and Enterprise. Soft hosting limits are 10 GB of repository storage and 100 GB of monthly transfer.
The $200 price is the Gigawatt tier on ampcode.com/pricing. The default tab is Megawatt, so the $200 card is the other Individual tab. A note on the orb details says 10× limits for Gigawatt.
Last verified 2026-10-19
Individual
Free
VerifiedClaude chat only. Claude Code is not included.
Do not plan a coding workflow on the free plan.
Individual
$20/mo
Verified$17/mo when billed annually ($200 up front).
Includes Claude Code. At least 5x Free chat usage per five-hour session, plus weekly limits. Shared with claude.ai. No fixed prompt count.
Anthropic's pricing page lists $20 monthly and $17/mo annual.
Individual
$100/mo
Verified5x Pro usage per five-hour session, higher output limits, and a weekly cap. Max also has a separate weekly limit for Fable, and the pricing table caps Fable at 50% of weekly limits. Includes $100/mo of platform API credits that Anthropic says cannot be spent inside Claude Code.
Price is from Anthropic's Max plan help article. The marketing page says Max starts at $100.
Individual
$200/mo
Verified20x Pro usage per five-hour session, plus a separate weekly limit for Fable (50% of weekly limits on the pricing table). Includes $200/mo of platform API credits that do not spend inside Claude Code.
Price is from Anthropic's Max plan help article, which lists Max 20x at $200/mo.
Included Megawatt and Gigawatt usage resets at the end of the monthly billing period and does not roll over. Purchased credits expire 12 months after you buy them. A paused orb costs nothing. Amp pauses an idle orb 5 minutes after the agent stops, or 20 minutes after your last interaction, whichever is later.
On Hobby, use your own runner if the bill you are avoiding is orb time. Model limits on a linked ChatGPT or Claude subscription are that vendor's cap, not an Amp cap.
A rolling five-hour window, plus weekly limits on paid plans. Chat and Claude Code share one pool.
Wait for the five-hour window or the weekly reset. There is no fixed message count.
Amp Megawatt and Claude Code Pro are both listed at $20/mo.
Amp is for a repo you want an agent to work on in parallel, including while your laptop is closed, people who already pay for ChatGPT or Claude and want to use that subscription inside an agent, and developers who can review agent output and do not need a hosted app builder.
Claude Code is for developers who want an agent in the terminal on an existing repo, web app and automation work where you already have a project, and people who also want Claude chat and are fine sharing one allowance.
Amp scores 1 out of 5 for someone who does not want to read code. Claude Code scores 0 out of 5. Amp has the higher no-code score. You are starting threads against a project and reading what the agent did. This is not a no-code builder. Skip it. Claude Code assumes a terminal, a repo, and comfort with commands.
Amp: Free to Amp if you bring your own model subscription or key and run on your own machine. Cloud orbs are pay-as-you-go. Hobby includes no orb minutes and no Amp credits. Claude Code: Free Claude does not include Claude Code. You need Pro or Max before this tool exists for you.