Kiro is AWS's agentic IDE and CLI, known for spec-driven development: it turns a prompt into requirements, a design and a task list before writing code. Free tier available; Pro is $20/user/month. It replaces Amazon Q Developer.
What is Kiro?
Kiro adds steering files, event-driven hooks, custom subagents and 'Powers' on top of a VS Code-based editor, so VS Code settings and extensions import directly.
The Kiro CLI is the successor to the Amazon Q Developer CLI and stays backwards compatible with q commands.
Kiro pricing
Plans as publicly listed on the official pricing page, verified 2026-10-10.
| Plan | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Starter credits |
| Pro | $20/user/mo | 1,000 credits |
| Pro+ | $40/user/mo | 2,000 credits |
| Pro Max | $100/user/mo | |
| Power | $200/user/mo | |
| Add-on credits | $0.04/credit |
Source: https://kiro.dev/pricing/. Prices in USD, excluding tax.
Supported models
Anthropic Claude models plus an 'Auto' router. Bring-your-own-key: not offered.
Claude
Features at a glance
- ✓ Agent mode
- ✓ Autocomplete
- ? Cloud / background agents
- ? PR code review
- ✓ MCP support
- — Self-host option
Interfaces: Kiro IDE (VS Code-based) · Kiro CLI.
Strengths and weaknesses
＋ Strengths
- Spec-driven workflow keeps agents on track
- Hooks and steering for team conventions
- Official migration path from Amazon Q
－ Weaknesses
- Credit-based limits
- Mostly Claude models
Who is Kiro best for?
Teams that want structured, spec-first agent development — especially AWS shops.
Kiro alternatives
Developers who want AI woven into everyday editing, with an agent one keystroke away.
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Former Windsurf users and teams who want one tool to run and supervise many agents.
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Developers who are comfortable in the terminal and want an agent that can own multi-step tasks end to end.
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Head-to-head: Kiro vs Cursor · Kiro vs Windsurf (now Devin Desktop) · Kiro vs Claude Code