Stop overpaying for AI. Here’s how to get $800-1200 in monthly value for $200 or less—and where to find free frontier access if you’re not ready to pay.

Before you spend a dollar: See how to get free Opus 4.5, Kimi k2.5, and Claude-level coding tools without paying → Free Frontier Stack

The $200 Question: When Claude Max Makes Sense

Anthropic’s Max plan ($200/mo) delivers 20x Pro usage at 10x the price. If you’re hitting rate limits daily, the math works in your favor—especially compared to API costs that scale linearly with usage.

Simple rule:

  • Casual user? Free tier or Pro ($20/mo)
  • Power user burning context windows? Max pays for itself
  • Not sure? Try the free alternatives first (see below)

Cost comparison: /compare/claude-vs-openai/pricing/

Free Frontier Access (Verified)

You don’t need to pay to access frontier models. These options work as of February 1, 2026:

AMP — Ad-Supported Opus 4.5 (No Credit Card)

Sourcegraph’s AMP offers $10/day in free credits via an ad-supported tier—non-intrusive text ads in exchange for sustainable access to the $200/month model. Credits replenish hourly (~$300/month equivalent).

Best for: Developers who want predictable, ongoing Opus 4.5 access without worrying about preview terms changing (Antigravity) or credits expiring (Kiro). The ad experience is minimal (text-only, never influence responses) and daily limits are sufficient for focused coding sessions.

The catch: CLI execute mode and SDK require paid credits (not available on free tier). Data sharing for training no longer required.

Tool deep dive: /tools/amp/

Source: ampcode.com/news/amp-free-frontier

Antigravity — Free Opus 4.5 (No Credit Card, No Ads)

Google’s AI-native IDE offers free Claude Opus 4.5 access during public preview—the $200/month model with no credit card required. Also includes Gemini 3 Pro, Gemini 3 Flash, and agent workflows.

Best for: Sustained free access to the best reasoning model available without ads. No credit card required.

The catch: Public preview means terms can change. Rate limits apply. Data handling differs from Anthropic’s direct service.

Tool deep dive: /tools/antigravity/

OpenCode Zen — Free Kimi k2.5 & GLM 4.7

OpenCode’s hosted service offers free access to Kimi k2.5 and GLM 4.7 through its Zen tier. Note: Opus 4.5 is NOT available on the free Zen tier—it requires self-hosted mode with your own paid API key.

Best for: Trying frontier models before committing to paid plans. Same OpenCode interface, but with hosted model access instead of BYO API keys.

The catch:

  • Data used for training.
  • Rate limits apply—OpenCode uses a pay-as-you-go model with spending limits, not request-based limits. Exact numbers are not published (source).
  • Free models (GLM 4.7 Free, Kimi K2.5 Free) are time-limited promotions with data collection for training.
  • Paid tier is pay-per-use with per-token pricing.

Models available on free tier: Kimi k2.5, GLM 4.7. Opus 4.5 requires self-hosted with paid API key.

Last verified: January 30, 2026

Google AI Studio — Free Gemini 3 Flash

5-15 requests per minute (100-1000/day depending on model). The 1M token context window is available even on free tier.

Model: Gemini 3 Flash — 78% SWE-bench, FREE input tokens when you upgrade to paid API

Best for: High-context analysis, codebase review, document processing. The 1M context window fits entire repositories.

Trade-off: Free tier data is used for training. Enable billing to opt out without committing to usage charges.

Complete free tool breakdown: Free Frontier Stack

Coding Tools: Where the Value Is

Cursor — Still the Standard

Credit-based model: 50 requests/month free, Pro ($20/mo) gives you a $20 credit pool. The generous trial era is over, but it’s still the most polished AI coding IDE.

Windsurf — Avoid for Now

The product’s future is unclear after the acquisition collapse. If you loved Windsurf, you’re in limbo. Don’t build new workflows around it until Cognition clarifies the roadmap.

OpenAI Codex

Available to paid ChatGPT users (Plus/Pro/Team). Agentic coding for long-horizon work, large refactors, multi-file changes. Install via npm i -g @openai/codex.

Kiro CLI — 500 Free Credits (Verified)

New accounts get exactly 500 bonus credits (30-day expiration) usable on free tier models.

**CRITICAL UPDATE:** As of January 2026, **Claude Opus 4.5 is NO LONGER AVAILABLE on Kiro's free tier**. Free tier now includes: Auto, Sonnet 4.5, Haiku 4.5, Sonnet 4.0.

How to claim:

  1. Install: npm install -g @kiro/cli
  2. Create account during setup (credit card required)
  3. Check balance: kiro credits
  4. Use available models: kiro ask --model claude-4-5-sonnet "your prompt"

Credit details:

  • Exactly 500 bonus credits for new accounts
  • Credits consumed fractionally (simple prompts use < 1 credit)
  • After 30 days: 50 credits/month on Free tier, or upgrade to paid tiers (1,000-10,000 credits)
  • Credits expire after 30 days if unused
  • Opus 4.5 requires paid tier (no longer on free tier as of Jan 2026)

Sources: kiro.dev/pricing, GitHub issue #5037 Last verified: January 30, 2026

Kilo Code — BYOK Only (Free Kimi Removed)

DEPRECATED

**CRITICAL UPDATE (Feb 3, 2026):** Kilo Code removed free Kimi k2.5 from hosted tier. Free tier now BYOK-only for Kimi. This is a major shift—free Kimi k2.5 is consolidating to OpenCode Zen exclusively.

What remains:

  • BYOK mode — Use your own Moonshot API keys for Kimi k2.5
  • Other models — May still have free tier offers (check current status)
  • Kilo Pass — Paid subscriptions from $19/month

No longer available:

  • ❌ Free hosted Kimi k2.5 (removed Feb 3, 2026)
  • ❌ $5 instant signup credits for Kimi
  • ❌ $20 first top-up bonus for Kimi specifically

Alternatives for free Kimi k2.5:

  1. OpenCode Zen — Now the only ongoing free option
  2. Kimi Code haggling — $0.99-$11.99 first month
  3. Kimi Code trial — 7-day free (card required)

Tool deep dive: /tools/kilo-code/

Last verified: February 3, 2026 (free Kimi tier removed)

Kimi Code — 7-Day Trial OR $0.99 Haggling

What it is: Moonshot AI’s official IDE for Kimi k2.5 with two entry paths: traditional 7-day trial OR AI-negotiated first-month pricing.

Path A: AI Agent Haggling (Recommended)

  • Interact with “Kimmmmy” AI agent to unlock personalized pricing
  • Verified range: $0.99 to $11.99 first month (evidence: high)
  • Then auto-renews to $19/month Moderato
  • Strategy: Screenshot final offer before accepting—AI content “for reference only” per terms

Path B: Standard 7-Day Trial

  • 7 days free, then $19/month
  • Card required upfront
  • Set calendar reminder for day 6

Best for: Users wanting official Kimi IDE at minimum entry cost. At $0.99-$11.99 first month, this is the cheapest path to production-grade AI coding.

The catch:

  • Auto-renewal trap (converts to $19 unless cancelled)
  • Model lock-in (Kimi k2.5 only)
  • Geographic restrictions (mainland China excluded)
  • Data handling: Moonshot AI is Chinese company (see risks)

Pricing tiers:

  • Moderato: $19/month (individual, no swarm)
  • Allegretto: $39/month (Research Preview Agent Swarm, beta)
  • Vivace: $199/month (teams, 10x quota)

Deep dive: /value/kimi-access/ — Complete haggling guide and tier selection

Last verified: February 3, 2026

Optimize Your Spend

Route by Task Complexity

Not everything needs Opus 4.5:

  • Gemini 3 Flash: FREE input tokens, $3/1M output. 78% SWE-bench with 1M context window. Unbeatable for high-context workflows, RAG, and document processing. 8x cheaper than Claude Opus 4.5 with comparable performance.
  • Haiku/Light Models: Route simple requests to cheap models. Save frontier capacity for hard problems.
  • Local Models: Privacy, offline access, zero marginal cost. See /posts/local-llms-guide/

⚠️ The Compliance Shift

January 2026: Anthropic blocked OpenCode and other third-party clients that spoofed official interfaces. The pattern is industry-wide—Windsurf lost access, and third-party tooling faced increasing restrictions. See full analysis

September 2025: Data retention extended from 30 days to 5 years if you allow training.

What this means: Workflows built on unofficial access are increasingly risky. Official channels (Claude.ai, Claude Code, API) remain safe.

Note: A deep dive into API terms, compliance requirements, and safe client validation is planned. For now, use official channels only.

Verification resources:

My Stack (February 1, 2026)

Monthly spend: $200 (Claude Max) + variable overflow

Monthly value: ~$800-1200 equivalent in API costs

Free tier extensions:

Note: Kiro no longer offers Opus 4.5 on free tier as of Jan 2026. Kilo Code removed free Kimi k2.5 Feb 3, 2026—now BYOK-only. OpenCode Zen is the last standing free Kimi option. For current access methods, see the Kimi k2.5 access guide.

Claude Max is my only consistent subscription. Everything else is strategic free tier usage.

Not paying yet? Start here: Free Frontier Stack

Drop other great value deals, trials, and models in the comments.

Value Section:

Analysis:

Verification:

Comparisons:

Last verified: February 3, 2026 (Kilo Code free Kimi removal confirmed)