Amp Free vs Poolside AI
Side-by-side comparison of features, pricing, and ratings
At a glance
| Dimension | Amp Free | Poolside AI |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free (freemium) | Contact sales (enterprise) |
| Target Audience | Individual developers and small teams | Large enterprises in regulated industries |
| Deployment | VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, CLI | On-prem, VPC, workstation (defense only) |
| Model Access | Multi-model orchestration (GPT-5.5, Opus 4.8, etc.) | Laguna XS.2 (on-device) & M.1 (API), 256K context |
| Agent Features | Deep/smart/rush modes, subagents (Oracle, Librarian, Painter, Code Review) | Multi-agent orchestration, sandboxed execution, governance |
| Governance & Audit | Thread management, diff review, remote monitoring | Role-based access control, audit logs, data connectors |
Choose Poolside AI if you're an enterprise in a regulated industry needing on-prem deployment, auditability, and custom models. Choose Amp Free if you're an individual developer wanting free, frontier-code assistance with advanced agentic workflows. Poolside wins on security and governance; Amp Free wins on accessibility and cost.
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.
Visit Website
Open-weight agentic coding models — Laguna XS 2.1 (33B) and Laguna S 2.1 (118B) — built for code that cannot leave your security boundary.
Visit WebsiteWhat real users say: Amp Free vs Poolside 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
Poolside AI
40 mentions across 4 sources · 48% positive — mixed (averaged across 4 sources)
Hacker News, YouTube, Bluesky, Lemmy
What users praise
- • Open-weight models with strong SWE-bench scores (72.5%).
- • On-prem, VPC, and air-gapped deployment for high security.
- • 256K context length supports long-horizon reasoning tasks.
- • Multi-agent orchestration with sandboxed execution environments.
What frustrates them
- • Community feedback is scarce; limited real-world user reviews.
- • Platform is still in research preview as of April 2026.
- • Pricing is opaque; only 'contact us' with no published tiers.
- • Trademark dispute with Poolside FM creates name confusion.
Researched Jul 17, 2026
Who should pick which
- Enterprise Dev Team in FinancePick: Poolside AI
Requires on-prem deployment for data sovereignty, audit trails, and custom models. Poolside's governance and role-based access fit compliance needs.
- Solo Founder Building a Side ProjectPick: Amp Free
Needs free access to powerful agents with multi-model orchestration. Amp Free provides advanced features without cost.
- Healthcare Software EngineerPick: Poolside AI
Requires HIPAA-compliant, air-gapped environment with sandboxed execution and data connectors to medical databases.
- Open Source ContributorPick: Amp Free
Leverages free CLI integration and subagents (Librarian, Code Review) to accelerate contributions without spending.
- CI/CD Pipeline DeveloperPick: Amp Free
Amp's new 'orbs' allow running agents in headless remote machines, ideal for automated testing and deployment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Amp Free vs Poolside AI: which should you choose?
Choose Poolside AI if you're an enterprise in a regulated industry needing on-prem deployment, auditability, and custom models. Choose Amp Free if you're an individual developer wanting free, frontier-code assistance with advanced agentic workflows. Poolside wins on security and governance; Amp Free wins on accessibility and cost.
Can I use Poolside AI for free?
No, Poolside AI is enterprise-only with contact-based pricing. No free tier is available.
Is Amp Free truly free with no ads?
Yes, Amp Free is ad-free and provides access to frontier models and agentic features at no cost.
Which tool offers better security for regulated industries?
Poolside AI offers on-prem/VPC deployment, role-based access control, audit logs, and data connectors—designed for high-consequence environments.
Does Amp Free support multiple models?
Yes, Amp Free orchestrates models like GPT-5.5, Opus 4.8, and fast models, selecting the best for each task.
Can Poolside AI models run on my local machine?
Yes, Laguna XS.2 can run on-device with only 3B active parameters, suitable for workstations (defense only).
Does Amp Free have a plugin system?
Yes, Amp Free has a plugin system supporting custom agents, subagents, and skills.
Which tool is better for team collaboration?
Poolside AI provides multi-agent orchestration and role-based access, better for enterprise teams. Amp Free offers thread management but lacks team features.
Are both tools updated frequently?
Yes, both have recent updates: Poolside launched its Platform and models in 2026; Amp introduced orbs and larger threads in mid-2026.
More Amp Free or Poolside AI comparisons
Choose Recall if you're an individual Claude Code user who wants free, offline session memory to reduce token waste. Choose Poolside AI if you're an enterprise in a regulated industry needing custom f
Qoder is better for developers who want autonomous multi-agent coding on large codebases with a freemium entry point. Poolside AI is superior for regulated enterprises that need custom, open-weight mo
Poolside AI is built for enterprises needing secure, custom AI agents in regulated environments, while fanbox is a free, individual-focused tool for rapid, visual coding on Mac. Unless you have enterp
If you're building high-stakes software in finance or defense and need custom models deployed inside a VPC with enterprise governance, Poolside AI is the only option. But for most teams using AI codin
Poolside AI and TestSprite CLI solve entirely different problems. Choose Poolside if you need a secure, custom foundation model for code generation in regulated, air-gapped environments. Choose TestSp
Choose Windows-Copilot-API if you need a free, self-hosted API for prototyping with GPT-4/5 and can accept no uptime guarantees. Choose Poolside AI if you are an enterprise in a regulated industry tha
Explore each tool further
Browse these categories
One email a week — new tools, honest comparisons, no spam.
Last reviewed: July 3, 2026