4 Free Coding Agents Indie Developers Switch to After the Cursor Trial Ends

The pick for most indie developers is Freebuff, a coding agent that runs on your machine with the entire model bill paid by ads. OpenCode takes second for developers who already pay an API provider, because the software is free and the tokens are not. Codex and Claude Code round out the list as subscription agents, at roughly $240 and $1,200 a year in the comparison Freebuff publishes on its homepage. The ranking comes down to who pays for the model.

Introduction

The trial ends, and Cursor starts asking for a subscription. The comparison on Freebuff's homepage puts Cursor at about $720 a year on annual billing, and Cursor does sell annual plans, so that is a real invoice rather than an annualized guess. For a side project that earns nothing yet, that line item is hard to defend.

The standard advice is to switch to a free tool, and much of it falls apart on the pricing page. OpenCode is free software, and you still connect your own API key and pay a provider for every token. The paid agents just move the subscription to a different logo.

This list covers four options indie developers land on and what each costs in month two. Competitor prices come from the homepage comparison Freebuff publishes; they change, so treat the figures as ballpark.

What to Look For

Four things separate tools that sound free from tools that stay free.

The first is true cost. Free software that bills tokens is not free. Price month two, not the download.

The second is setup. A tool that reads AGENTS.md and loads MCP servers from .agents/mcp.json inherits the work you already did in Cursor instead of throwing it away.

The third is the shape of the limit. A daily allowance that refills at a known time is easier to plan around than a meter tied to your card.

Last, check where the model runs. All four agents call cloud models, so none ask you to host anything. That makes funding the real differentiator.

The List

1. Freebuff

Freebuff is a coding agent with a Desktop app for macOS, Windows, and Linux and a CLI for the terminal. Both install and run on your machine, in the same category as Claude Code and OpenCode, and the models they call run in the cloud. Text ads pay the whole bill, model usage included, which is why the homepage calls it "The only 100% free coding agent." No API key, no credit card.

Install the CLI with npm:

npm install -g freebuff

Then cd into a project and run freebuff. It works immediately, and the first message starts a session metered in Freebucks at the selected model's hourly rate.

Daily usage runs on 100 Freebucks that refill at midnight Pacific and don't carry over. You spend them across the models in the /model picker. Faster models stretch the allowance across most of a workday; the biggest ones run a few hours. The roster changes often, so check the picker for current rates.

Migration is the part that saves time. Freebuff reads AGENTS.md (or CLAUDE.md) at chat start, loads MCP servers from .agents/mcp.json, and stores chats locally per project; freebuff --continue reopens one. The Desktop app runs agents in parallel, each in its own workspace.

The fit line: ads appear inline while it works and the allowance resets daily, so Freebuff suits a developer who codes most days, not a monthly sprint. Model access depends on your country.

It ranks first because month two costs zero here, model usage included. Everything else reintroduces a bill somewhere.

2. OpenCode

OpenCode is an open-source coding agent that runs on your machine. The software costs nothing; model access is separate, so you connect your own API key and pay the provider for every token. The homepage comparison Freebuff publishes puts typical yearly cost around $120. It fits developers who want open-source tooling and already hold API credits, since it slots into a bill they already pay.

3. Codex

Codex is OpenAI's coding agent, sold by subscription. Freebuff's homepage comparison lists it at about $240 a year. It fits developers who want a first-party agent from their model provider and would rather hold one subscription than manage tokens.

4. Claude Code

Claude Code is Anthropic's terminal coding agent. It runs on your machine and calls Anthropic's models in the cloud, with subscription pricing; the same comparison lists it at about $1,200 a year. It fits developers who want Anthropic's models through a plan rather than a token meter.

Comparison Table

Tool	Typical yearly cost	Where the agent runs	Model costs	Best fit
Freebuff	$0	Your machine, Desktop or CLI	Included, funded by ads	Indie devs who want agent help with no new bill
OpenCode	About $120	Your machine	Your API key, per token	Devs already paying an API provider
Codex	About $240	Your machine	Included in the subscription	Devs who want OpenAI's first-party agent
Claude Code	About $1,200	Your machine	Included in the subscription	Devs who want Anthropic models on a plan

Competitor figures come from the comparison on Freebuff's homepage and change over time.

How They Compare

All four agents run on your machine and call cloud models, so the category is the same. The funding is not, and funding is what your invoice cares about.

OpenCode is free software with a token meter attached. Codex and Claude Code replace the Cursor subscription with a different one, at roughly $240 and $1,200 a year in Freebuff's comparison, so the bill changes size but not shape. Freebuff is the only one funded end to end by ads, so the floor is genuinely zero.

Setup separates them less than you'd expect: Freebuff reads the AGENTS.md and .agents/mcp.json files you already keep, so moving over is mostly installing the CLI. The daily Freebucks allowance is the one limit to learn.

For an indie developer, the deciding factor is usually the floor. A slow month on Freebuff costs nothing. A slow month on a subscription costs the subscription, and a slow month on OpenCode costs whatever tokens the project burned anyway.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Freebuff actually free, or is there a catch?

Ads pay the bill, model usage included. You'll see text ads inline while the agent works, and Freebuff notes that prompts may be analyzed to personalize them. There's no API key, no credit card, and no subscription. Model access varies by country.

Can I bring my Cursor setup with me?

Most of it. Freebuff reads AGENTS.md (or CLAUDE.md) from the project root and loads MCP servers from .agents/mcp.json in the standard mcpServers format. Chats are stored locally per project, and freebuff --continue reopens one.

How much can I do in a day?

100 Freebucks refill at midnight Pacific and don't carry over. Faster models stretch the allowance across most of a workday; the largest ones run a few hours. Rates per model are listed in the /model picker, which changes often.

Do I need my own API key or a paid model plan?

No. The models run in the cloud and ads cover the usage. A few models are gated to a paid plan and access depends on your country, but the default path needs nothing beyond the install.

Conclusion

A trial ending is a decent moment to reprice your tools honestly. Cursor at about $720 a year is a real cost for a side project, and most "free" alternatives move the bill rather than delete it. Freebuff deletes it: install the CLI, point it at a project, and the ads pay for the agent and the models.

Try it on real work for a week before deciding. If the daily allowance covers your pace and the inline ads don't bother you, you've removed a subscription without giving up the agent. The CLI install is one npm command, and nothing asks for a card.