# Kiro Review

> Kiro review: Spec-driven AI IDE + CLI (ex-Q Developer CLI) + web/cloud agent; AWS successor to Amazon Q Developer. Verified pricing, features, and the.

![Kiro logo](https://www.versusref.com/logos/kiro.png)

Spec-driven AI IDE + CLI (ex-Q Developer CLI) + web/cloud agent; AWS successor to Amazon Q Developer

See pricing · facts verified Oct 2, 2026

## What we know about Kiro

Kiro is a ai coding agents platform: spec-driven AI IDE + CLI (ex-Q Developer CLI) + web/cloud agent; AWS successor to Amazon Q Developer. This profile tracks every Kiro fact we have verified, each linked to a primary source and dated.

Kiro does not publish a public per-minute rate we have been able to verify, so the price figure here stays blank until we can confirm one. We would rather show nothing than a guessed number; if you have a current Kiro quote, it is the fastest way for us to close that gap.

On capabilities, Kiro covers enterprise plan (contact sales), pick the model per task, admin audit logs, autonomous multi-file edits, runs terminal commands, and background / cloud agents, and does not offer runs local models, zero data retention option, and self-hosted / vpc deployment. Each of those is verified against Kiro's own docs or dashboard, not marketing copy.

In total we track 32 verified facts for Kiro today, each linking the primary source it came from so you can check our work - and vendor claims we have not measured ourselves are labeled as such on the Kiro fact sheet below.

## Fact sheet

### Pricing

| Fact | Value | Verified | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| How usage is metered | $ usage pool + model multipliers | Oct 2 | [source](https://kiro.dev/docs/billing) |
| What the free plan allows | 50 credits/month | Oct 2 | [source](https://kiro.dev/pricing/) |
| Cheapest paid plan (monthly) | $20 | Oct 2 | [source](https://kiro.dev/pricing/) |
| Top individual plan | $200 | Oct 2 | [source](https://kiro.dev/pricing/) |
| Usage included at entry tier | 1,000 credits/month (Kiro Pro) | Oct 2 | [source](https://kiro.dev/pricing/) |
| Rate-limit window | Monthly billing cycle | Oct 2 | [source](https://kiro.dev/docs/billing) |
| Price beyond the plan | $0.04 per add-on credit USD/credit | Oct 2 | [source](https://kiro.dev/docs/billing/add-on-credits) |
| Bring your own API key | No | Oct 2 | [source](https://kiro.dev/docs/models) |
| Team plan price | 20 USD/user/mo | Oct 2 | [source](https://kiro.dev/pricing/) |
| Enterprise plan (contact sales) | ✓  Yes | Oct 2 | [source](https://kiro.dev/pricing/) |

### Capabilities

| Fact | Value | Verified | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Models available | GPT-5.6 Sol/Terra/Luna, Claude Opus 5.5, Opus 5 +10 more | Oct 2 | [source](https://kiro.dev/docs/models) |
| Default model | Auto (recommended) | Oct 2 | [source](https://kiro.dev/docs/models/available-models) |
| Pick the model per task | ✓  Yes | Oct 2 | [source](https://kiro.dev/docs/models) |
| Runs local models | ✗  No | Oct 2 | [source](https://kiro.dev/docs/models) |
| Max context (published) | 1M tokens | Oct 2 | [source](https://kiro.dev/docs/models) |
| Published benchmark | GPT-5.6 Sol 80 | Oct 2 | [source](https://kiro.dev/docs/models/available-models) |

### Compliance & trust

| Fact | Value | Verified | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Trains on your code? | Free Tier and individual subscribers: "Subject to your... | Oct 2 | [source](https://kiro.dev/docs/privacy-and-security/data-protection) |
| Zero data retention option | ✗  No | Oct 2 | [source](https://kiro.dev/docs/privacy-and-security/data-protection) |
| SSO | Yes | Oct 2 | [source](https://kiro.dev/docs/enterprise/identity-provider) |
| Self-hosted / VPC deployment | ✗  No | Oct 2 | [source](https://kiro.dev/docs/privacy-and-security/vpc-endpoints) |
| Data residency | Enterprise profiles in US East (N. Virginia) | Oct 2 | [source](https://kiro.dev/docs/enterprise/supported-regions) |
| Admin audit logs | ✓  Yes | Oct 2 | [source](https://kiro.dev/docs/enterprise/monitor-and-track) |

### Build experience

| Fact | Value | Verified | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Where it runs | IDE, CLI, web (Kiro Web), mobile (iOS, preview) +2 more | Oct 2 | [source](https://kiro.dev/docs/how-kiro-works) |
| Editor support | Own IDE (Kiro IDE); ACP-compatible editors via Kiro CLI | Oct 2 | [source](https://kiro.dev/docs/acp) |
| Autonomous multi-file edits | ✓  Yes | Oct 2 | [source](https://kiro.dev/docs/web) |
| Runs terminal commands | ✓  Yes | Oct 2 | [source](https://kiro.dev/docs/permissions) |
| Background / cloud agents | ✓  Yes | Oct 2 | [source](https://kiro.dev/docs/cloud-sessions) |
| Parallel agents | ✓  Yes | Oct 2 | [source](https://kiro.dev/docs/cloud-sessions) |
| Opens PRs from issues | ✓  Yes | Oct 2 | [source](https://kiro.dev/docs/web) |
| MCP support | ✓  Yes | Oct 2 | [source](https://kiro.dev/docs/mcp) |
| Project rules files | Steering files: workspace .kiro/steering/ +5 more | Oct 2 | [source](https://kiro.dev/docs/steering) |
| Checkpoints / rollback | ✓  Yes | Oct 2 | [source](https://kiro.dev/docs/checkpoints) |

## Kiro head-to-head

| Comparison | Record | Per use case |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Kiro vs Cursor](https://www.versusref.com/coding-agents/cursor-vs-kiro/) | won 2 · lost 4 · tied 1 | Beginners: won; Enterprise: lost; Free Plans: lost; Local Models: lost; Open Source: tie; Terminal Workflows: won; VS Code: lost |
| [Kiro vs Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf)](https://www.versusref.com/coding-agents/devin-desktop-vs-kiro/) | won 3 · lost 2 · tied 2 | Beginners: won; Enterprise: lost; Free Plans: won; Local Models: tie; Open Source: tie; Terminal Workflows: won; VS Code: lost |

Source: https://www.versusref.com/coding-agents/tools/kiro/