Amazon Q Developer vs Kiro: AI Coding Tool Comparison
Amazon Q Developer and Kiro are both AWS products for AI-assisted development, and Kiro is Q Developer's named successor.
- Verified 13 Nov 2026Sources are dated on this page
- 7 sourcesLinked, typed and dated
- No winner declaredFit depends on your criteria
- Not tested by Stack18Editorial summary of documented facts
Amazon Q Developer vs Kiro: the short answer
Amazon Q Developer and Kiro are both AWS products for AI-assisted development, and Kiro is Q Developer's named successor. Q Developer is closed to new sign-ups and ends support in April 2027, while Kiro is AWS's actively sold agentic IDE with credit-based plans.
AWS describes the upgrade from Q Developer Pro to Kiro as one-way, so plan the move once rather than piecemeal. We compare what documentation supports and mark everything else Unknown. We declare no overall winner, because the better choice depends on workflow, model preferences, oversight needs and budget.
Choose Amazon Q Developer if you- Existing AWS customers finishing current projects
- Teams planning a move to Kiro
- Java upgrade work on AWS
Choose Kiro if you- Teams that value specs and traceability
- AWS-heavy organisations
- Developers exploring structured agentic workflows
Amazon Q Developer and Kiro at a glance.
One card per product, drawn from each full profile. Open a profile for features, pricing plans, limits and sources.
Amazon Q Developer
Amazon Web Services · AI Coding Agents
Amazon Q Developer is AWS's generative AI assistant for software development, with agentic coding, code transformation and AWS console help. AWS closed new Free and Pro sign-ups on 15 May 2026 and will end support for the IDE plugins and paid subscriptions on 30 April 2027, naming Kiro as the successor.
Agentic tool- Pricing
- Free tier and Pro $19 per user per month, both closed to new sign-ups since 15 May 2026.
- Best for
- Existing AWS customers finishing current projects
Kiro
Amazon Web Services · AI Coding Agents
Kiro is an agentic development environment from AWS. It turns prompts into requirements, design documents and task lists (spec-driven development) before the agent writes code, and also offers agent hooks, a CLI and a web agent.
Agentic tool- Pricing
- Free (50 credits); Pro $20, Pro+ $40, Pro Max $100 and Power $200 per month; Enterprise by contract.
- Best for
- Teams that value specs and traceability
Amazon Q Developer vs Kiro: feature-by-feature comparison.
Every row is drawn from the sources listed below. Rows that differ are marked, and you can filter the table to show only those.
- YesDocumented
- PartialAvailable with limits or on some plans
- NoDocumented as unavailable
- UnknownNot documented in the sources reviewed
| Dimension |  Amazon Q Developer |  Kiro |
|---|---|---|
| Product | ||
| Primary interface | YesIDE plugins and AWS console. | YesAgentic IDE, CLI and web agent. |
| Model choiceDiffers | YesClaude models via AWS. | PartialOpen-weight and Claude models, per third-party sources. |
| Open-source statusDiffers | NoProprietary. | UnknownLicence not reviewed for this profile. |
| Pricing | ||
| Free tier | YesClosed to new sign-ups. | YesFree tier with 50 credits per month. |
| Pricing model | YesFree tier; Pro $19 per user. | YesMonthly tiers with credits; add-on credits for individual plans. |
| Published plan prices reviewedDiffers | YesFree; Pro $19 per user; closed to new sign-ups. | PartialPro $20, Pro+ $40, Pro Max $100, Power $200, per third-party pricing pages. |
| Agents | ||
| Cloud or remote agentsDiffers | NoIDE and console based. | PartialA web agent is listed by a third-party summary. |
| Extensibility | ||
| MCP, skills and hooksDiffers | UnknownNot documented in the sources reviewed. | PartialMCP, hooks and steering files per third-party reviews. |
| Control | ||
| Documented approval and oversight controlsDiffers | UnknownNot documented in the sources reviewed. | PartialSpecs reviewed before code, per a third-party review. |
| Administration | ||
| Organisation and admin controlsDiffers | YesIAM Identity Center and IP indemnity on Pro. | PartialEnterprise discussed in Kiro's FAQ; SSO and billing features per a third-party review. |
Amazon Q Developer vs Kiro pricing.
Amazon Q Developer pricing
Free tier plus a $19 per user Pro subscription, with line-of-code overage for transformation.
- FreeFree
- Pro$19 per user per month
Prices from a vendor-published source. Checked 13 Nov 2026.
All Amazon Q Developer plans and sources
Kiro pricing
Per-user monthly subscriptions that include a credit allowance; extra credits can be bought for individual plans.
- FreeFree
- Pro$20 per user per month
- Pro+$40 per user per month
- Pro Max$100 per user per month
- Power$200 per user per month
Figures reported consistently by independent sources; vendor page not reviewed directly. Checked on the profile.
All Kiro plans and sourcesAmazon Q Developer: Free tier and Pro $19 per user per month, both closed to new sign-ups since 15 May 2026.
Kiro: Free (50 credits); Pro $20, Pro+ $40, Pro Max $100 and Power $200 per month; Enterprise by contract. Prices and allowances change often, so confirm on each vendor's live page.
Prices and plans change. Confirm current terms with each vendor before you decide.
Amazon Q Developer vs Kiro: implementation, ecosystem, AI and security.
Ease of implementation and usability
We did not test setup or onboarding effort. Evaluate both tools on a real branch of your own repository, with your own tests and conventions.
Integrations and ecosystem
Amazon Q Developer: VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, Visual Studio, Eclipse, AWS console, IAM Identity Center. Kiro: MCP, Agent hooks, Steering files, AWS ecosystem, CLI and web agent.
AI capabilities
Model choice: Amazon Q Developer - Claude models via AWS. Kiro - Open-weight and Claude models, per third-party sources.
Security, deployment and administration
Approval and admin controls: Amazon Q Developer - IAM Identity Center and IP indemnity on Pro. Kiro - Enterprise discussed in Kiro's FAQ; SSO and billing features per a third-party review. Check each vendor's security documentation for certifications and data-retention terms.
Amazon Q Developer and Kiro: each option, in balance.
Amazon Q Developer
Strengths and limitations from the profile
- Pro pricing is a simple $19 per user, with transformation lines pooled at the account level.
- The transformation agent targets Java upgrades.
- AWS provides a defined upgrade path to Kiro.
- New Free accounts and Pro subscriptions closed on 15 May 2026.
- IDE plugins and paid subscriptions reach end of support on 30 April 2027.
- The upgrade to Kiro is one-way.
Kiro
Strengths and limitations from the profile
- Spec-driven workflow records requirements, design and tasks before code, which helps review.
- Offers a free tier and several paid tiers that scale credits up to 10,000 per month.
- Individual plans can buy add-on credits to keep working.
- Credits are an abstract unit, so cost is harder to predict than per-token or per-seat pricing.
- Spec-mode requests are reported to cost more credits than simple requests.
- The free tier is not available in Enterprise or AWS GovCloud (US) regions.
Amazon Q Developer or Kiro: which fits which situation?
No overall winner is declared. The better choice depends on the criteria that matter most to you, so test both against your own requirements.
Choose Amazon Q Developer if you…
- Existing AWS customers finishing current projects
- Teams planning a move to Kiro
- Java upgrade work on AWS
Choose Kiro if you…
- Teams that value specs and traceability
- AWS-heavy organisations
- Developers exploring structured agentic workflows
Switching between Amazon Q Developer and Kiro.
Moving between Amazon Q Developer and Kiro means re-creating project instructions and rules, re-adding MCP servers or other tool connections, and adjusting how your team reviews agent output. Trying each on a separate branch before committing is a low-risk way to compare them.
- Export a sample of your data and test an import into the other product.
- List the automations, integrations and permissions you would need to rebuild.
- Pilot with one team before a full cut-over.
- Check contract terms and notice periods with both vendors.
General guidance, not specific to either vendor. Confirm migration options with the vendors.
Amazon Q Developer vs Kiro: questions and answers
Is Amazon Q Developer or Kiro better?
The sources reviewed do not support a single ranking. Q Developer is closed to new sign-ups and ends support in April 2027, while Kiro is AWS's actively sold agentic IDE with credit-based plans. Test both on your own repository or project before choosing.
Does Amazon Q Developer have a free plan?
A perpetual Free tier exists for existing accounts, but new Free accounts have been closed since 15 May 2026.
Does Kiro have a free plan?
Free tier with 50 credits per month.
Which is cheaper, Amazon Q Developer or Kiro?
Amazon Q Developer: Free tier and Pro $19 per user per month, both closed to new sign-ups since 15 May 2026. Kiro: Free (50 credits); Pro $20, Pro+ $40, Pro Max $100 and Power $200 per month; Enterprise by contract. The cheaper option depends on seats, usage and which plan features you need.
Which supports more models, Amazon Q Developer or Kiro?
Amazon Q Developer: Claude models via AWS. Kiro: Open-weight and Claude models, per third-party sources.
Where this comparison comes from.
- Amazon Q Developer pricing Amazon Web Services Official Accessed 13 Nov 2026
- Amazon Q Developer pricing blueprint UsagePricing Third-party Accessed 13 Nov 2026 Used for the sign-up closure and Kiro upgrade terms.
- Amazon Q Developer How AI Works Third-party Accessed 13 Nov 2026 Used for the end-of-support date.
- Kiro FAQ Kiro (kiro.dev) Official Accessed 13 Nov 2026
- Kiro pricing Usage Pricing Third-party Accessed 13 Nov 2026 Used for tier prices, credit amounts and the list of surfaces.
- Kiro ToolDirectory.AI Third-party Accessed 13 Nov 2026 Used for the free-tier model description and spec-driven summary.
- Kiro StackPick Third-party Accessed 13 Nov 2026 Used for the feature description and the Amazon Q Developer relationship.
Comparison rows summarise the sources listed and the two profiles. Confirm current details with each vendor. Stack18 has not tested either product.
Ready to test Amazon Q Developer and Kiro?
Check each vendor's current pricing and terms, run both against a real scenario from your business, or talk to Stack18 if off-the-shelf software is not the answer.
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