The Credit System
Kiro uses a credit-based pricing model. Every prompt you send — whether it’s a quick chat question, a spec task, or an agent hook execution — consumes credits from your monthly pool.
The clever bit: credits are fractional. A simple edit might cost 0.01 credits, while a complex spec task costs several. You’re charged in 0.01 increments, so you’re not burning a full credit on a one-line question.
The Four Plans
| Plan | Price | Monthly Credits | Overage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 50 | None |
| Pro | $20/mo | 1,000 | $0.04/credit |
| Pro+ | $40/mo | 2,000 | $0.04/credit |
| Power | $200/mo | 10,000 | $0.04/credit |
All paid plans include pay-as-you-go overage at $0.04 per additional credit, billed at month-end. Overage is disabled by default — you have to opt in via Settings, so there’s no surprise bill.
New users get a 500-credit bonus usable within 14 days on any plan, including Free. That’s a solid runway to properly evaluate Kiro before committing.
Auto vs Sonnet 4
Kiro defaults to Auto mode — an intelligent routing agent that blends frontier models like Sonnet 4 with specialised models, caching, and intent detection. The result is Sonnet 4-level quality at lower credit cost.
Running the same prompt through Sonnet 4 directly costs roughly 1.3x more credits than Auto. So if a task costs 10 credits on Auto, it would cost 13 credits on Sonnet 4.
For most day-to-day work, Auto is the right choice. Switch to Sonnet 4 when you need maximum reasoning power for complex architectural decisions or tricky debugging sessions.
Which Plan Makes Sense?
Free Tier — Students and Explorers
50 credits per month is enough to get a feel for Kiro’s workflow. You can run through a few spec cycles, try out steering files, and experiment with hooks. It’s limited, but it’s genuinely useful for learning.
If you’re a student, this is a no-brainer starting point. The spec workflow alone teaches you to think in requirements and design before coding — a skill worth more than any tool subscription.
Pro ($20/mo) — Solo Developers and Side Projects
1,000 credits covers a solid amount of daily development. With Auto mode’s fractional charging, simple prompts barely dent your balance. This is the sweet spot for developers using Kiro as their primary IDE on one or two projects.
At $20/month, it’s competitive with other AI coding tools — and the spec-driven workflow arguably delivers more structured output.
Pro+ ($40/mo) — Active Developers and Small Teams
2,000 credits for developers who live in Kiro all day. If you’re shipping features daily, running specs, and using hooks and custom agents extensively, Pro+ gives you breathing room without constantly watching your credit balance.
The overage safety net means you won’t hit a wall mid-sprint — you just pay $0.04 per extra credit.
Power ($200/mo) — Teams and Heavy Users
10,000 credits for teams or developers working on large, complex codebases. This tier also unlocks enterprise features:
- Usage analytics and reporting
- SAML/SCIM SSO via AWS IAM Identity Center
- Organisational management dashboard
- Enterprise security and privacy controls
- Ability to assign different plans to individual users
If you’re managing a team, the admin controls and per-user plan assignment make this the only real option.
Things to Know
- Credits reset monthly — unused credits don’t roll over
- Each developer needs their own subscription (no shared seats)
- Prices exclude VAT and applicable taxes
- Overage stays enabled once you turn it on (until you downgrade to Free)
- You can track credit usage in the IDE’s subscription dashboard, updated every 5 minutes
- Kiro is available in 40+ countries including the US, UK, EU, India, Japan, Australia, and more
The Bottom Line
For most individual developers, Pro at $20/month hits the right balance. You get enough credits for daily use with Auto mode, and the overage option means you’re never locked out. Students should start on Free and upgrade when they’re using it regularly.
The credit system is more transparent than flat “unlimited” plans that throttle you behind the scenes. You can see exactly what each prompt costs and optimise accordingly — use Auto for routine work, save Sonnet 4 for the heavy lifting.
Check the latest pricing and sign up at kiro.dev/pricing.