Coding · alternatives
mpai is open source and its structured data lists a price of $0, but the setup is demanding. It is a public alpha (version 0.4.19 when we checked), the site lists macOS only with Tailscale required, guests need Node.js 20+ and the host needs Homebrew or Node.js. You also need Codex and/or Claude Code already in use. Prices checked on 2026-10-02.
GitHub Copilot's Copilot Pro is $10 per user per month, with a free tier, and Cursor's Individual (Pro) is $20 per month, also with a free tier. Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) lists Pro at $20 and has a free tier. These are paid products with no network setup, but they replace the coding agent rather than mpai's remote-access role.
"Better suited" below is based on documented features and pricing from our verified profiles, not on a head-to-head test. Prices are USD as published by each vendor.
Taken from the documented limitations in our mpai profile.
| Tool | Starting price | Free tier | Platforms | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| mpai (this page) | Not published | Yes | — | It is a public alpha that is macOS-only and requires Tailscale. |
| GitHub Copilot | $10/mo (Copilot Pro) | Yes | Web, Desktop, Mobile | Chat, agents, code review and CLI all draw from a monthly GitHub AI Credits allowance that varies by model and task, so heavy agent use can exhaust a plan mid-month and require paid extra usage or an upgrade. |
| Cursor | From $20/mo (Individual (Pro)) | Yes | Desktop | Hobby has only limited Agent requests, and usage beyond the included amount is billed on demand. |
| Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) | $20/mo (Pro) | Yes | Desktop | Free plan has light agent quota and limited model availability; enterprise features require contact. |
| Alternative | Pick it when | Starting price | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub Copilot |
$10/mo (Copilot Pro) | ||
| Cursor |
From $20/mo (Individual (Pro)) | ||
| Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) |
$20/mo (Pro) |
AI coding assistant from GitHub offering code completions, chat and agent features in editors, the terminal and GitHub.
Free stops at: 2,000 completions per month, Limited chat and agent usage (allowance of GitHub AI Credits)
Verified github.com (opens GitHub Copilot website in a new tab)
Free · paid from $10/mo US · checked Sep 30
AI code editor with agents, cloud agents and code review, offered with a free Hobby tier and paid plans.
Free stops at: Limited Agent requests
Free · paid from $20/mo US · checked Sep 29
AI coding IDE, formerly Windsurf, now Devin Desktop: manage local and cloud coding agents inside a full IDE.
Free stops at: Light quota for agent usage, resets daily and weekly, Limited model availability
Verified windsurf.com (opens Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) website in a new tab)
Free · paid from $20/mo US · checked Sep 29
Open-source terminal AI agent from Google bringing Gemini to the command line; site notes unpaid and Google One users moved to Antigravity CLI.
Free stops at: Verify current availability
Verified geminicli.com (opens Gemini CLI website in a new tab)
Pricing US price unconfirmed
OpenAI's coding agent for the CLI, IDE extension, desktop app, web and iOS, included in ChatGPT plans or billed by API.
Free stops at: Desktop app only listed, Usage limits apply
Verified developers.openai.com (opens OpenAI Codex website in a new tab)
Free · paid from $8/mo US · checked Sep 29
Anthropic's agentic coding tool that reads your codebase, edits files and runs commands from the terminal, IDEs, desktop app or browser.
Watch out: Not included in the Free Claude plan, and usage on subscriptions is capped by plan limits.
Verified code.claude.com (opens Claude Code website in a new tab)
From $20/mo US · checked Sep 29
Private inference endpoint for open-weight models, built for coding agents, with zero request retention.
Watch out: Monthly plans cover estimated token totals, not fixed allowances, and agent tool calls (web search, fetch) ar…
Verified zro.moonmath.ai (opens Zro (by MoonMath) website in a new tab)
From $20/mo US · checked Sep 29
Full-stack design-to-code platform for building and deploying software with AI agents and real-time team collaboration.
Watch out: No pricing is published and access is through an early-access waitlist.
Pricing US price unconfirmed
E-commerce purchasing API that lets developers and AI agents search, buy, track and return products across thousands of retailers.
Free stops at: Search on the agent flow is described as free; agent sandbox with test keys.
From $1/order US · checked Sep 29
mpai is open source at $0. GitHub Copilot, Cursor and Devin Desktop each have a free option.
It is a public alpha, macOS only, and requires Tailscale plus existing Codex or Claude Code access.
The software is $0, but you need Codex and/or Claude Code access and Tailscale.
Copilot Pro $10 per user per month; Cursor Individual (Pro) and Devin Desktop Pro $20.
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