Kiro vs Refact.ai
55 fields both were evaluated on, 29 of them different — including where one discloses something the other does not. Every value links to the document it came from. 26 further fields are disclosed by neither and are listed at the end rather than tabled.
Assurance
| Field | Kiro | Refact.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Explainability· | “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· | no public information refact.ai · checked Aug 1, 2026 | |
| Compliance certifications· | “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 | no public information refact.ai · checked Aug 1, 2026 |
Agency
| Field | Kiro | Refact.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Autonomy level· | no public information kiro.dev · checked Aug 4, 2026 | “Autonomous AI agent Delegate your coding tasks end-to-end Just describe what you need — Refact.ai Agent plans, executes, and deploys.”refact.ai · checked Aug 1, 2026 |
| Human oversight· | no public information kiro.dev · checked Aug 4, 2026 | “It works like another developer in your IDE, integrating with your codebase and stack, while letting you preview and control the process.”refact.ai · checked Aug 1, 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· | 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 | “Refact.ai Agent accesses your resources and handles related operations autonomously, mimicking your workflow.”refact.ai · checked Aug 1, 2026 |
| Operating environment· | “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 | Runs inside the developer's IDE, working against their codebase and stack “It works like another developer in your IDE, integrating with your codebase and stack, while letting you preview and control the process.”refact.ai · checked Aug 1, 2026 |
| 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 | no public information refact.ai · checked Aug 1, 2026 |
Safety
| Field | Kiro | Refact.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Data handling· | no public information kiro.dev · checked Aug 4, 2026 | On-premise deployment offered as the data-control option; no retention, training-use or deletion terms published on the page checked “On-premise deployment keeps your code private and fully under your control. It provides maximum security and complete data ownership.”refact.ai · checked Aug 1, 2026 |
Practicality
| Field | Kiro | Refact.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model· | 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 | no public information refact.ai · checked Aug 1, 2026 |
| Price point· | “$20 credit when you first sign up for a paid plan using social login or Builder ID ↗”kiro.dev · checked Aug 4, 2026 | |
| Availability· | no public information kiro.dev · checked Aug 4, 2026 | Hosted service being discontinued - the homepage carries a banner stating Refact Cloud is shutting down soon “Refact Cloud is shutting down soon”refact.ai · checked Aug 1, 2026 |
| Deployment options· | “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 | no public information refact.ai · checked Aug 1, 2026 |
| Support model· | no public information kiro.dev · checked Aug 4, 2026 | "Priority support and onboarding" named as a paid-tier feature; no response times or remedies published “Priority support and onboarding”refact.ai · checked Aug 1, 2026 |
Foundation models
| Field | Kiro | Refact.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Base models· | 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 | “Powered by Qwen2.5-Coder model and Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG)”refact.ai · checked Aug 1, 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 | “Use Claude 4, GPT-4o, or GPT-4o mini with AI Agent or for chat queries. Bring your own key Connect your API key and use any LLM: Gemini, Grok, OpenAI, Deepseek, and others.”refact.ai · checked Aug 1, 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 | “Bring your own key Connect your API key and use any LLM: Gemini, Grok, OpenAI, Deepseek, and others.”refact.ai · checked Aug 1, 2026 |
| Open weights· | 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 | no public information refact.ai · checked Aug 1, 2026 |
| Fine-tuning· | no public information kiro.dev · checked Aug 4, 2026 | “Fine-tune LLMs Train AI on your stack to customize its behavior.”refact.ai · checked Aug 1, 2026 |
Ecosystem
| Field | Kiro | Refact.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Protocols supported· | 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 | no public information refact.ai · checked Aug 1, 2026 |
| Tool use· | 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 | “Refact.ai Agent accesses your resources and handles related operations autonomously, mimicking your workflow.”refact.ai · checked Aug 1, 2026 |
| Multi-agent· | “build across large codebases with parallel agents that learn from every session.”kiro.dev · checked Aug 4, 2026 | no public information refact.ai · checked Aug 1, 2026 |
| Open source· | no public information kiro.dev · checked Aug 4, 2026 | Self-described as open source in the homepage headline; no licence named on the page checked “Your Open-Source, Autonomous AI Agent”refact.ai · checked Aug 1, 2026 |
| Marketplace presence· | no public information kiro.dev · checked Aug 4, 2026 | Plugins published for VS Code, JetBrains IDEs (PyCharm, WebStorm, GoLand, IntelliJ, CLion), Visual Studio, Neovim and Sublime Text; several marked beta “Download Refact.ai plugins: VS Code JetBrains Visual Studio beta Neovim beta Sublime Text beta PyCharm WebStorm GoLand IntelliJ CLion”refact.ai · checked Aug 1, 2026 |
Impact
| Field | Kiro | Refact.ai |
|---|---|---|
| User base· | ||
| Deployment scale· | “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 | no public information refact.ai · checked Aug 1, 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 | no public information refact.ai · checked Aug 1, 2026 |
| High-risk domains· | 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 | no public information refact.ai · checked Aug 1, 2026 |
Disclosed by neither
Both Kiro and Refact.ai publish nothing on these 26 fields. That is a finding about the category rather than a difference between them, so it is recorded here instead of as 26 identical table rows. Each is shown with its source check on the individual profiles.
- Documented incidents
- Integrations
- Supported regions
- Context window
- API access
- Safety evaluations
- Red teaming
- Safety policy
- Usage restrictions
- Model or system card
- Incident reporting
- Third-party evaluations
- Insurance available
- Insurance carriers
- Coverage limits
- Indemnification
- Liability cap
- Audit trail
- Tamper-evident log
- Runtime governance
- Regulatory alignment
- Outcome-based pricing
- Settlement mechanism
- Dispute process
- SLA terms
- Evaluation coverage
Questions
- How do Kiro and Refact.ai compare on target sectors?
- Kiro: designing AWS Cloud and AI solutions with Terraform and Python. Refact.ai: no public information disclosed.
- How do Kiro and Refact.ai compare on high-risk domains?
- 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.. Refact.ai: no public information disclosed.
- How do Kiro and Refact.ai compare on pricing model?
- Kiro: credit-based pricing model. Refact.ai: no public information disclosed.
- How do Kiro and Refact.ai compare on availability?
- Kiro: no public information disclosed. Refact.ai: Hosted service being discontinued - the homepage carries a banner stating Refact Cloud is shutting down soon.
- How do Kiro and Refact.ai compare on support model?
- Kiro: no public information disclosed. Refact.ai: "Priority support and onboarding" named as a paid-tier feature; no response times or remedies published.
- How do Kiro and Refact.ai compare on open weights?
- Kiro: open-weight models. Refact.ai: no public information disclosed.