Amp Free vs Cognition AI

Side-by-side comparison of features, pricing, and ratings

Analysis reviewed Live tool data as of 2026-10-09
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At a glance

DimensionAmp FreeCognition AI
PricingFree forever (no ads, no tokens)Freemium (enterprise plans; Devin Desktop free tier available)
Target UserIndividual developers, hobbyists, those exploring agentic codingEnterprise engineering teams with large production codebases
Key FeaturesThree agent modes (deep/smart/rush), multi-model orchestration, subagents (Oracle, Librarian, Painter, Code Review), plugin system, thread management, remote agent orbsAutonomous planning/PR creation, Auto-Triage, FrontierCode eval, COBOL modernization, native Windows VM, Android emulator
Integration EcosystemVS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, JetBrains, Neovim, Zed, CLIGitHub, Slack, Jira, Linear, Datadog, Windsurf IDE, VS Code, Android Emulator, Windows VM
Best ForFree agentic coding with frontier models, tinkering with agent workflows, remote/distributed agent executionAutomated bug triage/incident response, cross-platform builds, legacy modernization

If you're an enterprise team needing an autonomous engineer that handles end-to-end production tasks and offers a productivity guarantee, choose Cognition AI's Devin. If you're an individual developer or hobbyist wanting free, ad-free access to frontier coding agents with flexible modes and the ability to run agents remotely, Amp Free is the better pick. For most solo devs and small projects, Amp Free provides more immediate value without cost.

Try Amp FreeTry Cognition AI
Amp Free
Amp Free

Amp Free is the $0 Hobby tier of Amp, an agentic coding agent with orbs, subagents, and Puck voice control — you supply the model keys.

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Cognition AI
Cognition AI

Cognition builds Devin, an autonomous AI software engineer that plans, codes, tests, and ships merge-ready pull requests inside your

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Pricing
Freemium
Contact Sales
Plans
$0
$20/mo
No extra charge
Custom
Contact sales
Popularity
17 views
7.3k views
Skill Level
Intermediate
Advanced
API Available
Platforms
WebCLIPluginAPIDesktopMobile
WebDesktopAPICLI
Categories
🛠️ Autonomous Coding Agents💻 Code & Development
🛠️ Autonomous Coding Agents
Features
Agentic coding agent that reasons, edits code, and completes tasks autonomously
Multi-model: GPT-5.6, Claude Fable 5.1, and fast models used for what each does best
Opus 5.5 now powers medium mode
6x faster inference for GPT-6 Astra
Orbs run agents on machines Amp creates per thread, with your code, tools, and plugins preconfigured
Pay-as-you-go for orb time, or use your own runners for free
Runners can serve many directories, create Git worktrees, and resolve your secrets
Shared runners across a workspace via --share
Amp for macOS starts a runner automatically from a folder in settings
Subagents: Oracle, Librarian, Painter, and Code Review
Dial with four agent modes: low, medium, high, and ultra
Customize Your Dial: choose the models behind your modes or put your own agents on it
Realtime voice control of agents through Puck
iOS and macOS apps with threads, orbs, notifications, dictation, and sharing
Plugin system for custom agents and skills, plus global plugins
Autonomous planning, coding, testing, and pull request creation inside your repo
SWE-2 coding model launched September 10, 2026 with multiple effort levels
SWE-1.7 coding model (July 2026) positioned as frontier intelligence at lower cost
Fusion harness for the Fable and Astra models, shipping in Devin Desktop and CLI
Vendor claim of up to 39% higher efficiency on major coding benchmarks with Fusion
FrontierCode 1.1 benchmark scoring whether code is merge-worthy, not just test-passing
FrontierCode rubrics covering correctness, test quality, scope discipline, style, and codebase standards
Auto-Triage for monitored bugs with automated fix pull requests
Security Vulnerability Remediation Program for clearing backlog findings
Session persistence so long jobs survive restarts instead of starting over
Scheduled Sessions that maintain state across recurring runs
Auto-fixes for review comments on open pull requests
Embedded IDE you can take over, plus an interactive browser Devin drives itself
Devin for Terminal CLI with /handoff to cloud Devin
Native Windows VMs for cross-platform builds and testing
Integrations
VS Code
Cursor
Windsurf
JetBrains
Neovim
Zed
Slack
MCP servers
Microsoft Teams
GitHub
GitLab
Bitbucket
Linear
Jira
Databricks
MongoDB
PagerDuty
Windsurf IDE

What real users say: Amp Free vs Cognition AI

Not marketing copy and not our opinion — a structured sweep of public discussion (reviews, forums, communities and video comments), showing what people praise and what they complain about for each tool.

Amp Free

60 mentions across 4 sources · 49% positive — mixed (averaged across 4 sources)

Hacker News, Product Hunt, Bluesky, Lemmy

What users praise

  • • Free daily credits give real access to frontier models.
  • • Multi-model orchestration optimizes cost and speed.
  • • Subagents like Oracle and Code Review extend capabilities.
  • • Works across VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, JetBrains, CLI.

What frustrates them

  • • Frequent capacity caps block free user access.
  • • New applications have been closed due to demand.
  • • Forced to switch tools when Amp Free is full.
  • • Ads in free tier (despite 'ad-free' claims) may appear.

Researched Jul 4, 2026

Cognition AI

50 mentions across 3 sources · 43% positive — mixed (averaged across 3 sources)

Hacker News, Bluesky, Lemmy

What users praise

  • • End-to-end autonomous planning, coding, and PR creation for enterprise teams.
  • • FrontierCode evaluation ensures merge-worthy code output.
  • • Auto-Triage automates bug monitoring and fix PRs.
  • • Native Windows VM and Android emulator support for cross-platform testing.

What frustrates them

  • • Community feedback is almost nonexistent — little proof of reliability.
  • • Critics question the $10B valuation given unproven adoption.
  • • Political ties to Peter Thiel may deter some users.
  • • Limited transparency on actual customer success stories.

Researched Jul 16, 2026

Who should pick which

  • Solo founder building a side project
    Pick: Amp Free

    Amp Free provides free access to frontier coding agents (GPT-5.5, Opus 4.8) with flexible modes, subagents, and remote execution—perfect for low-budget, high-experimentation work.

  • Enterprise engineering manager with large production codebase
    Pick: Cognition AI

    Devin's autonomous planning, auto-triage, native Windows VM, and FrontierCode eval directly address enterprise needs like bug monitoring, cross-platform builds, and code quality assurance, with a financial guarantee.

  • Developer wanting to automate CI/CD tasks
    Pick: Amp Free

    Amp's new remote orbs (headless agent execution) allow running agents in CI/CD pipelines and cloud environments, making it ideal for automated testing, code review, and deployments.

  • Team needing legacy COBOL modernization
    Pick: Cognition AI

    Devin explicitly offers COBOL modernization capabilities, which is unique and directly supports large enterprises with legacy codebases.

  • Developer exploring agentic workflows with no budget
    Pick: Amp Free

    Amp Free is ad-free and truly free; it includes all features like custom agents, thread management, and plugin system, making it the best entry point for tinkering.

Frequently Asked Questions

Amp Free vs Cognition AI: which should you choose?

If you're an enterprise team needing an autonomous engineer that handles end-to-end production tasks and offers a productivity guarantee, choose Cognition AI's Devin. If you're an individual developer or hobbyist wanting free, ad-free access to frontier coding agents with flexible modes and the ability to run agents remotely, Amp Free is the better pick. For most solo devs and small projects, Amp Free provides more immediate value without cost.

Is Amp Free really free? Are there any hidden costs or token limits?

Yes, Amp Free is ad-free and free forever with no token limits. It offers all core features including multiple models (GPT-5.5, Opus 4.8) and remote orbs.

Does Devin have a free tier?

Yes, Devin Desktop includes a free tier with Windsurf IDE, Devin Cloud, and Agent Command Center. However, advanced enterprise features like Auto-Triage and native VMs may require paid plans.

Which tool supports legacy code modernization (COBOL)?

Only Cognition AI's Devin explicitly supports COBOL modernization as a feature.

Can I run agents remotely in CI/CD with these tools?

Amp Free introduced 'orbs' for remote headless agent execution, enabling CI/CD and cloud deployments. Devin currently focuses on local and desktop execution, but integrates with CI/CD via GitHub/Jira.

What IDEs are supported?

Amp Free supports VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, JetBrains (IntelliJ, WebStorm, GoLand), Neovim, and Zed, plus CLI. Devin integrates with Windsurf IDE and VS Code, and is built into Devin Desktop.

Which tool provides better code quality evaluation?

Devin's FrontierCode eval measures merge-worthiness beyond syntax, while Amp Free relies on agentic code review via subagents.

Is there a productivity guarantee?

Cognition AI offers up to $10M AI Productivity Guarantee for enterprise Devin usage. Amp Free does not offer such a guarantee.

Can I create custom agents or skills?

Yes, Amp Free has a plugin system that allows creating custom agents (as per latest news). Devin's capabilities are predefined but extensible via integrations.

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Explore each tool further

Amp Free
View Amp Free reviewAmp Free alternatives
Cognition AI
View Cognition AI reviewCognition AI alternatives

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Last reviewed: July 3, 2026