Kiro is the AWS answer to agentic coding, and its bet is process. Before the agent edits a file, it writes a spec you can read and approve. For teams that already buy through AWS, it is also the default path off Amazon Q Developer.
Key Takeaways
- Specs before code. — Kiro turns a prompt into requirements, a design and a task list, then implements the tasks. Property-based tests check the code against the spec.
- The Amazon Q Developer successor. — AWS stopped new Q Developer subscriptions on May 15, 2026 and ends support for the IDE plugins on April 30, 2027. Kiro is the named replacement.
- Credits, published to the cent. — Free (50 credits), Pro $20 (1,000), Pro+ $40, Pro Max $100 and Power $200 (10,000), with overage at $0.04 a credit, as published in November 2026.
What does Kiro do?
You describe a feature. Kiro writes three artifacts: requirements, a technical design, and a numbered task list. You edit and approve them, then the agent works through the tasks. Steering files hold persistent project conventions, and hooks trigger agent actions on events such as saving a file. The November 17, 2025 general availability added property-based tests that check generated code against the spec, checkpoints that rewind agent changes, and the Kiro CLI for the terminal (SiliconANGLE).
Kiro is now AWS's main developer agent. In 2026, AWS stopped new Amazon Q Developer subscriptions on May 15 and set April 30, 2027 as end of support for the Q Developer IDE plugins, naming Kiro, with specs, hooks, steering, custom subagents and powers, as the successor (AWS).
How does Kiro score?
WTF Radar scores four criteria from 1 to 5, using published vendor documentation rather than benchmarks or hands-on tests: how far the agent runs without a person (autonomy), what reviewers and admins can constrain (control), how many places it works (integration), and whether the price of real usage is published (pricing clarity). Total: 18/20.
| Criterion | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Autonomy | 4/5 | Implements whole task lists from a spec; hooks run agents on file events; a CLI covers the terminal. |
| Control | 5/5 | Spec and task approval are built-in checkpoints; steering files, checkpoints to rewind, overages off by default on Enterprise. |
| Integration | 4/5 | Own IDE plus Kiro CLI; Enterprise billing and SSO through AWS. No plugin for other editors. |
| Pricing clarity | 5/5 | Credits per plan, overage rate, add-on packs and GovCloud uplift are all published. |
How much does Kiro cost?
As published in November 2026 (Kiro), per user per month:
| Plan | Price | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 50 |
| Pro | $20 | 1,000 |
| Pro+ | $40 | 2,000 |
| Pro Max | $100 | 5,000 |
| Power | $200 | 10,000 |
Overage is $0.04 a credit, and credit cost varies by model. Enterprise adds SSO, usage analytics and central billing through AWS, with overages disabled until an admin enables them. AWS GovCloud (US) pricing is about 20% above commercial pricing. The first upgrade from Free includes the rest of that month free plus 500 trial credits.
Who is Kiro for?
- Fits: AWS-centred teams moving off Amazon Q Developer, and teams that want a written spec and task list as the review artifact before code changes land.
- Look elsewhere: if developers want to stay in their current editor (Cline runs inside VS Code, JetBrains and Cursor), or if the work is small fixes where writing a spec costs more than the change.
What are the Kiro alternatives?
- Cursor: Anysphere's agentic editor, owned by SpaceX since August 2026; see the head-to-head.
- Windsurf (now Devin Desktop): Cognition's editor with local and cloud agents on one board.
- Cline: open source, Plan and Act modes, bring your own model key.
- Factory: enterprise agents with admin-set autonomy levels.
Related questions
- Kiro or Cursor: which agentic IDE fits your team?
- Where do humans stay in the loop in an agentic software lifecycle? (partner site CTAIO)
- How should a CTO compare AI coding agents? (partner site CTAIO)
- What is agentic software development?
Sources
- Kiro, Pricing (fetched Nov 3, 2026).
- SiliconANGLE, AWS launches Kiro general availability, team features and CLI (Nov 17, 2025).
- AWS, Amazon Q Developer end of support announcement (2026).
What is Kiro?
Kiro is an agentic development environment from AWS, available as an IDE and a CLI. It is built around spec-driven development: the agent writes requirements, a technical design and a task list for you to approve, then implements the tasks. It was previewed in July 2025 and became generally available on November 17, 2025.
How much does Kiro cost?
As published in November 2026: Kiro Free is $0 with 50 credits a month, Pro is $20 with 1,000 credits, Pro+ $40 with 2,000, Pro Max $100 with 5,000 and Power $200 with 10,000. Extra credits cost $0.04 each. Enterprise plans are bought and billed through AWS, and AWS GovCloud (US) pricing is about 20% higher.
Is Kiro replacing Amazon Q Developer?
Yes. AWS names Kiro as the successor to the Amazon Q Developer IDE plugins and paid subscriptions. New Q Developer subscriptions stopped on May 15, 2026, and the plugins reach end of support on April 30, 2027. Q Developer in the AWS Management Console is not affected.
Which models does Kiro use?
The default is Auto, which mixes frontier and specialised models. Kiro's pricing page also lists Anthropic Claude models, OpenAI GPT-5.6 variants and open-weight models such as DeepSeek, GLM and Qwen3 Coder, each with its own credit multiplier.
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