Cline vs Kiro
55 fields both were evaluated on, 26 of them different — including where one discloses something the other does not. Every value links to the document it came from. 29 further fields are disclosed by neither and are listed at the end rather than tabled.
Assurance
| Field | Cline | Kiro |
|---|---|---|
| Audit trail· | no public information kiro.dev · checked Aug 4, 2026 | |
| Explainability· | “Toggle Plan mode to align on a strategy, then Act to execute.”cline.bot · checked Aug 8, 2026 | “By using specs, Kiro works alongside you to define requirements, system design, and tasks to be implemented before writing any code. This approach explicitly documents the reasoning and implementation decisions”kiro.dev · checked Aug 4, 2026 |
| Permission scopes· | “Ship .clinerules with your repo to teach the agent your coding standards, architecture, and deployment conventions.”cline.bot · checked Aug 8, 2026 | |
| Compliance certifications· | no public information cline.bot · checked Aug 8, 2026 | “Built and operated by AWS, Kiro benefits from the same security, reliability, and privacy standards and controls trusted by millions of customers.”kiro.dev · checked Aug 4, 2026 |
Agency
| Field | Cline | Kiro |
|---|---|---|
| Human oversight· | “Approve every step, or flip auto-approve for autopilot.”cline.bot · checked Aug 8, 2026 | no public information kiro.dev · checked Aug 4, 2026 |
| Goal complexity· | turn prompts into executable specs, validate code correctness to find bugs unit tests miss, and build across large codebases with parallel agents that learn from every session “Kiro helps developers and teams do their best work: turn prompts into executable specs, validate code correctness to find bugs unit tests miss, and build across large codebases with parallel agents that learn from every session.”kiro.dev · checked Aug 4, 2026 | |
| Action space· | “Edits across your project Coordinated multi-file changes with linter-aware fixes, diffs, checkpoints, and one-click undo on every step. Runs bash commands Executes in your terminal and reacts to output as it appears. Long-running dev servers, tests, deploys, all handled live.”cline.bot · checked Aug 8, 2026 | turn your prompts into requirements, architectural designs, and sequenced tasks , then implements them with parallel agents . Property-based tests catch the edge cases that pass unit tests but break in production “Kiro turns your prompts into requirements, architectural designs, and sequenced tasks , then implements them with parallel agents . Property-based tests catch the edge cases that pass unit tests but break in production.”kiro.dev · checked Aug 4, 2026 |
| Operating environment· | no public information cline.bot · checked Aug 8, 2026 | “Kiro works as an agent in the [IDE](/docs/), with a [CLI](/docs/cli/), or in a [web browser](/docs/web/).”kiro.dev · checked Aug 4, 2026 Not in our latest capture. We captured this page again on Sep 10, 2026 and this quote was not there. How we re-check citations |
| Initiative· | “Kiro is just more than code. Aside from just listening to prompts and doing things, it can actually work on tasks based on predefined triggers, making the development experience more efficient.”kiro.dev · checked Aug 4, 2026 |
Practicality
| Field | Cline | Kiro |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model· | no public information cline.bot · checked Aug 8, 2026 | credit-based pricing model “Kiro offers a credit-based pricing model with no daily or weekly rate limits and pre-paid overages, so you can code without breaking your flow or getting a surprise bill.”kiro.dev · checked Aug 4, 2026 |
| Price point· | no public information cline.bot · checked Aug 8, 2026 | “$20 credit when you first sign up for a paid plan using social login or Builder ID ↗”kiro.dev · checked Aug 4, 2026 |
| Deployment options· | no public information cline.bot · checked Aug 8, 2026 | “Kiro works as an agent in the [IDE](/docs/), with a [CLI](/docs/cli/), or in a [web browser](/docs/web/).”kiro.dev · checked Aug 4, 2026 Not in our latest capture. We captured this page again on Sep 10, 2026 and this quote was not there. How we re-check citations |
| Supported regions· | “Works on macOS, Windows, Linux.”cline.bot · checked Aug 8, 2026 Not in our latest capture. We captured this page again on Sep 17, 2026 and this quote was not there. How we re-check citations | no public information kiro.dev · checked Aug 4, 2026 |
Foundation models
| Field | Cline | Kiro |
|---|---|---|
| Base models· | “Claude, GPT, Gemini, local Ollama / LM Studio, or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint.”cline.bot · checked Aug 8, 2026 | Anthropic Claude, open-weight models, or Auto , which picks the best model for the task based on complexity, factoring in model quality, latency, and cost. “Choose the best model for every task: Anthropic Claude, open-weight models, or Auto , which picks the best model for the task based on complexity, factoring in model quality, latency, and cost.”kiro.dev · checked Aug 4, 2026 |
| Model provider· | Anthropic Claude, open-weight models, or Auto , which picks the best model for the task based on complexity, factoring in model quality, latency, and cost. “Choose the best model for every task: Anthropic Claude, open-weight models, or Auto , which picks the best model for the task based on complexity, factoring in model quality, latency, and cost.”kiro.dev · checked Aug 4, 2026 | |
| Model swappable· | “Choose the best model for every task: Anthropic Claude, open-weight models, or Auto , which picks the best model for the task based on complexity, factoring in model quality, latency, and cost.”kiro.dev · checked Aug 4, 2026 | |
| Open weights· | no public information cline.bot · checked Aug 8, 2026 | open-weight models “Choose the best model for every task: Anthropic Claude, open-weight models, or Auto , which picks the best model for the task based on complexity, factoring in model quality, latency, and cost.”kiro.dev · checked Aug 4, 2026 |
Ecosystem
| Field | Cline | Kiro |
|---|---|---|
| Protocols supported· | “Plug in MCP servers for databases, APIs, and infrastructure.”cline.bot · checked Aug 8, 2026 | compatible with Agent Client Protocol (ACP) so you can bring it to your favorite tools. It supports AGENTS.md, Skills.md , and MCP . “The Kiro agent is compatible with Agent Client Protocol (ACP) so you can bring it to your favorite tools. It supports AGENTS.md, Skills.md , and MCP .”kiro.dev · checked Aug 4, 2026 |
| Tool use· | “Extend with MCP and plugins Register custom tools and lifecycle hooks via the SDK.”cline.bot · checked Aug 8, 2026 | pull context from tools like Figma or Terraform . “Catch bugs with property-based tests , or pull context from tools like Figma or Terraform .”kiro.dev · checked Aug 4, 2026 |
| Multi-agent· | “Multi-agent teams and schedules Coordinator agents delegate to specialists with their own tools and context.”cline.bot · checked Aug 8, 2026 | “build across large codebases with parallel agents that learn from every session.”kiro.dev · checked Aug 4, 2026 |
| Open source· | no public information kiro.dev · checked Aug 4, 2026 | |
| Marketplace presence· | “8.0M + installs across all platforms marketplace + open vsx registry 65.9k stars ★ 4.1 /5 from 307 VS Code Marketplace ratings”cline.bot · checked Aug 8, 2026 Not in our latest capture. We captured this page again on Sep 17, 2026 and this quote was not there. How we re-check citations | no public information kiro.dev · checked Aug 4, 2026 |
Impact
| Field | Cline | Kiro |
|---|---|---|
| User base· | no public information cline.bot · checked Aug 8, 2026 | |
| Deployment scale· | “8.0M + installs across all platforms marketplace + open vsx registry 65.9k stars ★ 4.1 /5 from 307 VS Code Marketplace ratings”cline.bot · checked Aug 8, 2026 Not in our latest capture. We captured this page again on Sep 17, 2026 and this quote was not there. How we re-check citations | “Kiro offers a credit-based pricing model with no daily or weekly rate limits and pre-paid overages, so you can code without breaking your flow or getting a surprise bill.”kiro.dev · checked Aug 4, 2026 |
| Target sectors· | designing AWS Cloud and AI solutions with Terraform and Python “In my role designing AWS Cloud and AI solutions with Terraform and Python”kiro.dev · checked Aug 4, 2026 | |
| High-risk domains· | no public information cline.bot · checked Aug 8, 2026 | built a secure file sharing application from scratch. By simply sharing my requirements with Kiro, I was able to create a fully secure application that incorporates encryption and various security coding practices—no additional prompts needed. “In roughly two days, I built a secure file sharing application from scratch. By simply sharing my requirements with Kiro, I was able to create a fully secure application that incorporates encryption and various security coding practices—no additional prompts needed.”kiro.dev · checked Aug 4, 2026 |
Disclosed by neither
Both Cline and Kiro publish nothing on these 29 fields. That is a finding about the category rather than a difference between them, so it is recorded here instead of as 29 identical table rows. Each is shown with its source check on the individual profiles.
- Autonomy level
- Documented incidents
- Availability
- Integrations
- Support model
- Fine-tuning
- Context window
- API access
- Safety evaluations
- Red teaming
- Safety policy
- Usage restrictions
- Model or system card
- Incident reporting
- Third-party evaluations
- Data handling
- Insurance available
- Insurance carriers
- Coverage limits
- Indemnification
- Liability cap
- Tamper-evident log
- Runtime governance
- Regulatory alignment
- Outcome-based pricing
- Settlement mechanism
- Dispute process
- SLA terms
- Evaluation coverage
Questions
- How do Cline and Kiro compare on high-risk domains?
- Cline: no public information disclosed. Kiro: built a secure file sharing application from scratch. By simply sharing my requirements with Kiro, I was able to create a fully secure application that incorporates encryption and various security coding practices—no additional prompts needed..
- How do Cline and Kiro compare on pricing model?
- Cline: no public information disclosed. Kiro: credit-based pricing model.
- How do Cline and Kiro compare on open weights?
- Cline: no public information disclosed. Kiro: open-weight models.