How to give your coding agents product memory with PaellaDoc
Guide to solving context lost between sessions: from the instructions file to PaellaDoc's local factory with memory, gates and evidence.
AI for software development
Guides and comparator for AI programming tools: terminal agents like Claude Code and Codex, IDEs like Cursor and Windsurf, builders like Lovable and Bolt, and the orchestration, review and context layer around them. With 30 tools analyzed and checked pricing.
The guides, task by task
How to build an application without knowing how to code, sensibly
Guide to building with AI without code: choosing between Lovable, Bolt and Replit, iterating without burning credits and knowing when to eject to code.
How to run migrations and batch tasks with coding agents
Guide to batch work with AI: define the pattern with a pilot, scale with Devin or Conductor and verify twenty changes without reviewing twenty times.
How to choose your coding agent: the decision in four questions
Guide to choosing a coding agent with judgment: what you already pay for, terminal or IDE, your real budget and how to test without marrying anyone.
How to review AI-generated code without anything slipping through
Guide to reviewing agent code: the three-pass technique, CodeRabbit as first filter and the typical failures AI commits with confidence.
Security of AI-generated code: the pass that admits no shortcuts
Security guide for agent code: the typical failures AI introduces, directed review, secrets and dependencies, and what to automate.
What coding with AI really costs (and how to pay less)
Guide to coding agents' real cost: the map from free to intensive, the two-agent strategy and the patterns that blow up the bill.
Your first project with coding agents: the complete system
Guide to building your agent workflow: the instructions file, calibrating what to delegate, review with a net and the habits separating success from scares.
How to automate your daily work with free CLI agents
Guide to automating with free agents: Gemini CLI and Qwen Code in scripts and scheduled tasks, Goose for flows that cross tools.
How to work with several coding agents in parallel
Guide to parallel agent work: slicing independent tasks, orchestrating with Conductor or Codex's cloud and not dying in review.
How to document a SaaS product with AI: video guides, chatbot and onboarding
How to document a SaaS product with AI: video guides with Guidde, a help chatbot with FastGPT, onboarding decks with Decktopus and an update routine.
The tools these guides use
Each one has its own review with a verdict, checked pricing and alternatives.
Claude Code
From $174.4 Very good
Anthropic's coding agent: works in your terminal, your IDE and the web.
Cursor
From $204.2 Good
The code editor built around AI, with agents inside the IDE.
Cline
Free4.2 Good
The open source agent for VS Code that runs on whatever model you give it.
Goose
Free4.2 Good
Block's open agent, extensible and built to automate beyond code.
OpenAI Codex
From $204.1 Good
OpenAI's coding agent, included with ChatGPT: local in your terminal or in the cloud.
Guidde
Free trial4.0 Good
Step-by-step video guides created automatically as you work.
PaellaDoc
Free3.9 Fair
The autonomous local software factory: from discovery to validated code on your Mac.
GitHub Copilot
Free trial3.9 Fair
The coding assistant built into GitHub and your IDE, from $10.
Conductor
Free3.8 Fair
Orchestrates several Claude Code agents in parallel from a Mac app.
CodeRabbit
Free trial3.8 Fair
Automatic pull request review with context: it comments before a human arrives.
FastGPT
Free trial3.8 Fair
Open-source platform for building RAG chatbots on your documents.
Decktopus
Free trial3.8 Fair
Professional presentations generated with AI in minutes.
Qwen Code
Free3.6 Fair
Alibaba's terminal agent with a free tier that is hard to beat.
Replit
From $203.4 Fair
The complete cloud environment where the agent builds, runs and deploys your app.
Devin
From $203.4 Fair
Cognition's autonomous engineer, now across four surfaces: Desktop (the former Windsurf), Cloud, CLI and Review.
Lovable
From $253.3 Fair
Describe the app you want and it builds it complete, database and deployment included.
Gemini CLI
Free3.3 Fair
Google's terminal agent, open source with a generous free tier.
Bolt.new
From $253.1 Fair
Builds and edits complete web apps from the browser with an agent.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a coding agent and an IDE assistant?
The assistant autocompletes and answers while you type. The agent takes the whole task, reads the repository, edits files and executes until done, with your review at the end. Agents like Claude Code or Codex are this generation's real productivity jump.
Which one should I pick starting from zero?
It depends on what you already pay for and where you work: if you have paid Claude or ChatGPT, their agent is included. To try for free, Gemini CLI and Qwen Code have generous free tiers, and Copilot has the cheapest paid entry inside the IDE.
Do builders like Lovable replace knowing how to code?
For validating ideas and internal tools, in practice yes: they produce the complete app from a description. For a serious growing product, the project ends up demanding real code, and exporting to code is the criterion separating the serious options.
How much does coding with AI cost per month?
From zero on free tiers and open source tools, up to $20-25 for the typical subscription of a frontier agent or IDE. Real spend climbs with model consumption under intensive use, so understand each plan's limits before choosing.