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Amazon Web ServicesReported

Kiro: what’s new and our verdict

AWS's agentic coding tool that turns prompts into requirements, designs and tasks (spec mode), with an IDE and a CLI.

Official site

Release Ruler for Kiro: marked at its Reported release date on the timeline of every AI model we track.

At a glance

Evidence
Reported
First covered
Oct 25, 2026
Last verified
Oct 25, 2026
Pricing
Official page, dated
Best for
AI coding agents, vibe coding

Evidence and ranking

Evidence behind this verdict

  1. Sources read3 cited sources, latest fetched Oct 25, 2026. (done)
  2. Facts re-checkedLast verified Oct 25, 2026. (done)
  3. Not run by us yetWe have not run it, so this is labelled Reported. (not done)

Where we rank it (editorial)

Listed here but not yet ranked. Ranks are editorial picks, not benchmark scores.

Pricing: Read from kiro.dev/pricing on 2026-10-25. The page offers $20 of credit on first upgrade using social login or AWS Builder ID. (checked 2026-10-25)

Our verdict

AWS's agentic coding tool that turns prompts into requirements, designs and tasks (spec mode), with an IDE and a CLI.

Good for

  • Developers who want structured specs before code is written
  • AWS users moving off Amazon Q Developer IDE plugins

Skip if

  • You want an open-source tool (Kiro is proprietary)
  • You want to avoid credit accounting

Status: Reported. This write-up is based on official release notes and docs; we have not run this release ourselves yet.

Best for

Key facts

Kiro's site says it turns prompts into requirements, architectural designs and sequenced tasks, then implements them, and that prompts run in vibe mode or spec mode. There is a CLI that can also run headless in CI/CD, per the site. Amazon's own page says AWS will discontinue Amazon Q Developer IDE plugins on April 30, 2027 and points to Kiro for similar capabilities.

  • License: Proprietary
  • Platforms: IDE and CLI (installer at cli.kiro.dev/install)
  • Pricing model: Freemium (credit-based)
  • Free tier: Kiro Free: $0 a month, 50 credits
  • Paid plans: Pro $20, Pro+ $40, Pro Max $100, Power $200, all per user per month (credit allotments per plan not captured); add-on credits $0.04 each; Enterprise on request
  • How to start: Download Kiro from kiro.dev, or install the CLI with the installer on the site, then sign in with a social login or AWS Builder ID.
  • Catalog entry: facts read from the vendor's pages on 2026-10-25. We do not track release notes for this entry.

How to set it up: Get started with Kiro

These steps come from the vendor's own pages as read on 2026-10-25. We have not run Kiro.

  1. Get access

    Download Kiro from kiro.dev, or install the CLI with the installer on the site, then sign in with a social login or AWS Builder ID.

  2. Check the limits and costs first

    Kiro Free: $0 a month, 50 credits. Paid: Pro $20, Pro+ $40, Pro Max $100, Power $200, all per user per month (credit allotments per plan not captured); add-on credits $0.04 each; Enterprise on request. Read from kiro.dev/pricing on 2026-10-25. The page offers $20 of credit on first upgrade using social login or AWS Builder ID.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Free tier with 50 credits
  • Spec mode adds a written plan before code
  • Clear per-credit add-on price

Cons

  • Credits are consumed unevenly: simple prompts use under one credit, complex ones more
  • Free tier limited to 50 credits

Alternatives and comparisons

  • Cursor: AI code editor and agent platform with cloud agents, a CLI and its own Git hosting (Origin).
  • Claude Code: Anthropic's agentic coding tool for your terminal, IDE and GitHub.
  • GitHub Copilot: GitHub's AI coding assistant in the editor, the CLI, GitHub.com and an agent app.
  • Windsurf (now Devin Desktop): Windsurf was renamed Devin Desktop on June 2, 2026: a full IDE with an Agent Command Center for managing local and cloud coding agents.

See all alternatives to Kiro

FAQ

What is Kiro?

Kiro's site says it turns prompts into requirements, architectural designs and sequenced tasks, then implements them, and that prompts run in vibe mode or spec mode. There is a CLI that can also run headless in CI/CD, per the site. Amazon's own page says AWS will discontinue Amazon Q Developer IDE plugins on April 30, 2027 and points to Kiro for similar capabilities.

Is Kiro free?

Kiro Free: $0 a month, 50 credits. Paid: Pro $20, Pro+ $40, Pro Max $100, Power $200, all per user per month (credit allotments per plan not captured); add-on credits $0.04 each; Enterprise on request. Read from kiro.dev/pricing on 2026-10-25. The page offers $20 of credit on first upgrade using social login or AWS Builder ID. Checked 2026-10-25; prices change, so confirm on the vendor's page.

What license is Kiro under?

Its license: Proprietary. Read from the project's own pages on 2026-10-25.

What we have not verified

  • Release date (none published on the pages we read; the date shown is the day we first covered this entry)
  • Quality of generated specs and code (not tested)
  • Supported OS list (not read)

Sources

Last verified · Agentic Weekly

  • Claude Code: Update now if you use the sandbox or run Claude Code on a cloud provider; skip if you wanted flashy new features, this is a hardening release.
  • Codex CLI: A quality-of-life release: worth updating if you re-type the same prompts or switch models a lot, not a reason to switch tools.
  • Cursor: Worth a look if you run agents on several repos or want one place for editor, cloud agents and Git hosting; the October changes are mostly for teams.

How to cite this page

Agentic Weekly, "Kiro: what's new, verdict & setup", last updated 2026-10-25, https://theagenticweekly.com/tools/kiro

Keep the Reported or Tested label when you quote a verdict. Plain-text version: https://theagenticweekly.com/tools/kiro.md. More for AI assistants: /ai, /tools.json, /llms.txt.