Quick Answer
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Aider pricing varies by team size and features, ranging from $0 to $100 per month in 2026. Your actual cost depends on the tier you choose, contract length, and negotiated discounts.

Use the interactive pricing calculator to estimate your exact cost based on team size and requirements.

  • Free tier: Yes
  • Billing: Monthly and annual (save 15-20%)
  • Hidden costs: Add ~35% for implementation, support, and training

Aider offers 1 pricing tiers: Free (Open Source). Standard paid plans include Free (Open Source) at $0/undefined.

Compared to other ai coding assistants software, Aider is positioned at the mid-market price point.

Aider is an AI pair programming tool that works directly in your terminal, allowing developers to collaborate with large language models to write and edit code in their local Git repositories. As a free, open-source solution, Aider stands out in the AI coding assistant market by eliminating subscription fees—developers only pay for the underlying AI model API usage they consume.

The tool integrates seamlessly with popular LLMs including Claude 3.7 Sonnet, DeepSeek R1, OpenAI o1, and GPT-4o, while also supporting local models through Ollama for completely free operation. Aider automatically commits changes with sensible commit messages, creates codebase maps for large projects, and can automatically lint and test code after each modification. With support for Python, JavaScript, Rust, Go, PHP, and dozens of other programming languages, Aider processes files for just $0.007 each and offers flexible pricing through multiple AI model options.

All Aider Plans & Pricing

Plan Monthly Annual Best For
Free (Open Source) Free Custom 0
View all features by plan

Free (Open Source)

  • Open-source terminal tool
  • Works with all major LLMs
  • Git integration with auto-commits
  • Multi-language support (Python, JavaScript, Rust, Go, etc.)
  • Codebase mapping for large projects
  • Automatic linting and testing
  • Local model support via Ollama

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Hidden Costs to Budget For

Watch for 6 hidden costs
  • API costs for Claude/GPT-4 ($3-15 per million tokens for Sonnet, $5-25 for Opus)
  • Typical usage: $10-50/month for casual developers
  • Power users: $50-200/month depending on model choice
  • DeepSeek alternative: $0.28-0.42 per million tokens (95% cheaper)
  • Local models via Ollama (free but requires local computing resources)
  • Prompt caching reduces costs by 90% for repeated content
Tip

Ask your Aider sales rep about these costs upfront. Getting them in writing before signing can save you from surprise charges later.

Full hidden costs breakdown →

Frequently Asked Questions

01 Is Aider free?

Yes, Aider is completely free and open-source software. You can download and use it without any subscription fees. However, you will need to pay for the underlying AI model API usage when using cloud-based LLMs like Claude or GPT-4.

02 How much does Aider cost to use?

Aider itself costs $0, but you pay for API usage of your chosen AI model. Typical costs range from $10-50/month for casual developers to $50-200/month for power users. Using DeepSeek can reduce costs to around $5-20/month, while local models via Ollama are completely free.

03 What models does Aider support?

Aider works best with Claude 3.7 Sonnet, DeepSeek R1 & Chat V3, OpenAI o1, o3-mini & GPT-4o. It can connect to almost any LLM including local models through Ollama. You can easily switch between different models since you only pay for API calls.

04 How does Aider compare to Cursor?

Aider is open-source and free (pay only for API usage, typically $10-50/month), while Cursor charges $20/month for Pro. Aider is terminal-based and IDE-agnostic, while Cursor is an integrated IDE. Aider offers more flexibility and lower costs, while Cursor provides a more integrated development environment.

05 Can I use Aider without API costs?

Yes, you can run Aider with local models through Ollama, which eliminates API costs entirely. However, this requires local computing resources and the quality may vary compared to cloud-based models like Claude or GPT-4.

06 What are typical Aider API costs per month?

Most developers spend $10-50/month for light to moderate use. One developer reported spending around $10/month maximum when using Aider with Cursor Pro. Power users working on large codebases may spend $50-200/month. Using cost-optimized models like DeepSeek can reduce costs to $5-20/month.