How is Freebuff free? Ads, hours and paid plans, explained
Who pays for the AI you use, what the ads look like, why your free hours depend on your country, and what paid plans add.
In short
- Advertisers pay for Freebuff. Ads appear in the app, labeled "Sponsored".
- Free usage is measured in hours. Every session is an hour with unlimited messages, and your daily allowance depends on your country.
- Allowances differ by country because advertisers pay different amounts in different places.
- Paid plans start at $8 a month and add hours and models. You never need one to code.
Running an AI coding agent costs money every time it thinks. When the product is free, it is reasonable to ask who is paying. For Freebuff the answer is advertisers, and this post explains exactly how that works and where its limits are.
Who pays: advertisers
Freebuff shows ads inside the app while you work. They are labeled "Sponsored".
Some agent suggestions are sponsored as well. A sponsored suggestion names the sponsor, carries the same label and does nothing unless you click Accept. Ads are chosen partly from what you are working on, including your recent messages, and the privacy policy describes exactly what is used.
What you get for free: hours
Your balance is measured in hours. A session lasts an hour with unlimited messages inside it, so a long task costs the same as a short one. Each model shows a multiplier: an hour on a 3x model uses three hours of allowance. Daily hours refill at midnight in your timezone and do not roll over.
- United States: up to 30 hours a day.
- Canada, the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, the Nordic countries, the Netherlands, Austria and Luxembourg: 21 hours.
- France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Belgium, Liechtenstein, Malta and South Korea: 12 hours.
- Everywhere else (limited mode): 5 hours, or 4 over a VPN.
Why it depends on your country
Advertisers pay very different amounts to reach people in different countries, and the free allowance follows what the ads in each place can pay for. We would rather offer a smaller free allowance everywhere than shut whole countries out. Limited mode works in every country, including over a VPN.
What paid plans add
Paid plans are for people who want more. In full-access countries, Starter ($8 a month) raises the daily allowance to 50 hours, Plus ($25) to 80, and Pro ($60) to 130, plus monthly bonus hours and access to models the free tier does not include. Plans are optional: the free agent stays free.
What changed this fall
We changed the free tier this fall: usage moved to daily hours set by country, and several models were retired or moved to paid plans. Some users told us it felt less free than before. We think a free tier has to be one we can keep paying for, and the hours model is how we do that. If you think we got the balance wrong, tell us in Discord or at support@freebuff.com.
Start free
No card, no trial clock. Your daily hours show in the app.