How we rate AI Developer tools

Every tool starts at zero and earns points for what it does and what it costs. Here is exactly what earns them.

Last updated September 2026

The short version

These tools do different jobs, so each kind has its own checklist: AI coding assistants on 5 things, code review and security tools on 5 things and AI app builders on 3 things. Each checklist is worth 100 points, and a tool is only ranked against its own kind.

The final score is those points out of 10. A tool with 84 points scores 8.4.

Everything comes from the tool's own website. We don't take payment for points.

AI coding assistants

Agents and your codebasePricingModel freedomPrivacy and securityWhere it works

What earns points

1. Agents and your codebase

25 of 100 points

Can it do real work on its own? Agents that work in the cloud and open a pull request, understanding your whole codebase, reviewing pull requests, and suggesting code as you type.

Agents that work in the cloud and open pull requestsup to 3

Yes	+3
No	0

Understands your whole codebaseup to 2.5

Yes	+2.5
No	0

Reviews pull requestsup to 2

Yes	+2
No	0

Suggests code as you typeup to 2.5

Yes	+2.5
No	0

Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 25 of the 100.

2. Pricing

20 of 100 points

What the cheapest paid plan costs each month, and whether there is a free plan. Tools that sell no plan, where you pay your AI provider directly, are judged on the free plan alone.

Monthly price, cheapest paid planup to 6

Up to $10	+6
Up to $20	+5
Up to $30	+4
Up to $40	+3
Over $40	+1.5

Free planup to 3

Yes	+3
No	0

Free trialup to 1

None	0
1 to 7 days	+0.5
8 days or more	+1

Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 20 of the 100.

3. Model freedom

20 of 100 points

Can you choose the AI model, use your own API key, or run a model on your own machine?

AI model families you can chooseup to 5

None	0
1 familie	+1.5
2 families	+2.5
3 families	+3.5
4 families	+4.5
5 families or more	+5

Bring your own API keyup to 3

Yes	+3
No	0

Runs models on your own machineup to 2

Yes	+2
No	0

Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 20 of the 100.

4. Privacy and security

20 of 100 points

Will your code stay private? Whether it trains AI on your code, can keep no copy of it, runs on your own servers, holds SOC 2, and covers you legally for the code it writes.

Does not train AI on your codeup to 3

Yes	+3
Only if you opt out	+1.5
No	0

Option to keep no copy of your codeup to 2

Yes	+2
No	0

Runs on your own servers or cloudup to 2

Yes	+2
No	0

SOC 2up to 2

Yes	+2
No	0

Legal cover for generated codeup to 1

Yes	+1
No	0

Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 20 of the 100.

5. Where it works

15 of 100 points

Does it work where you already code: VS Code, JetBrains, Visual Studio, Neovim, Xcode, the terminal or its own editor? And is it open source?

Editors and terminals it works inup to 8

None	0
1 place	+2
2 places	+4
3 places	+6
4 places	+7
5 places or more	+8

Open sourceup to 2

Yes	+2
No	0

Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 15 of the 100.

A real example: GitHub Copilot

Here is how GitHub Copilot got its 8.5.

Section	Points
Agents and your codebase	25 of 25
Pricing	20 of 20
Model freedom	15 of 20
Privacy and security	13 of 20
Where it works	12 of 15
Total	85 of 100 = 8.5 out of 10

See every fact behind GitHub Copilot's score.

Code review and security tools

Review qualitySecurity scanningPricingFits your stackPrivacy and deployment

What earns points

1. Review quality

25 of 100 points

Does it review like a colleague? Comments on the exact lines that need work, and learning from what your team accepts or rejects.

Comments on specific lines of codeup to 6

Yes	+6
No	0

Learns from your team's feedbackup to 4

Yes	+4
No	0

Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 25 of the 100.

2. Security scanning

25 of 100 points

Does it catch security problems before they ship: flaws in your code, vulnerable dependencies, leaked keys and misconfigured infrastructure?

Finds security flaws in your codeup to 3.5

Yes	+3.5
No	0

Checks open-source dependenciesup to 2.5

Yes	+2.5
No	0

Finds leaked keys and passwordsup to 2

Yes	+2
No	0

Scans infrastructure codeup to 2

Yes	+2
No	0

Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 25 of the 100.

3. Pricing

20 of 100 points

What the cheapest paid plan costs per developer each month, and whether there is a free plan.

Monthly price per developer, cheapest paid planup to 6

Up to $20	+6
Up to $25	+5
Up to $30	+4
Up to $50	+3
Over $50	+1.5

Free planup to 3

Yes	+3
No	0

Free trialup to 1

None	0
1 to 7 days	+0.5
8 days or more	+1

Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 20 of the 100.

4. Fits your stack

15 of 100 points

Does it work with where your code lives: GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket and Azure DevOps?

Git hosts it works withup to 10

None	0
1 host	+2.5
2 hosts	+5
3 hosts	+7.5
4 hosts or more	+10

Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 15 of the 100.

5. Privacy and deployment

15 of 100 points

Can you run it on your own servers, does it keep your code out of AI training, and does it hold ISO 27001 and HIPAA?

Runs on your own servers or cloudup to 4

Yes	+4
No	0

Does not train AI on your codeup to 3

Yes	+3
Only if you opt out	+1.5
No	0

ISO 27001up to 1.5

Yes	+1.5
No	0

HIPAAup to 1.5

Yes	+1.5
No	0

Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 15 of the 100.

A real example: CodeRabbit

Here is how CodeRabbit got its 9.1.

Section	Points
Review quality	25 of 25
Security scanning	25 of 25
Pricing	15.6 of 20
Fits your stack	15 of 15
Privacy and deployment	10.5 of 15
Total	91.1 of 100 = 9.1 out of 10

See every fact behind CodeRabbit's score.

AI app builders

PricingWhat you can shipTrust and compliance

What earns points

1. Pricing

20 of 100 points

What the cheapest paid plan costs each month. All four have a free plan, so that earns no extra points here.

Monthly price, cheapest paid planup to 10

Up to $20	+10
Up to $25	+8.5
Up to $30	+7
Up to $50	+5
Over $50	+2.5

Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 20 of the 100.

2. What you can ship

45 of 100 points

Nearly everything else is the same on all four: hosting, a database, logins and GitHub. What differs is whether it builds mobile apps, has an API, and can run on your own servers.

Builds mobile appsup to 5

Yes	+5
No	0

APIup to 3

Yes	+3
No	0

Runs on your own servers or cloudup to 2

Yes	+2
No	0

Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 45 of the 100.

3. Trust and compliance

35 of 100 points

Can the apps you build handle health data (HIPAA), and does the vendor hold ISO 27001?

HIPAAup to 5

Yes	+5
No	0

ISO 27001up to 5

Yes	+5
No	0

Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 35 of the 100.

A real example: Emergent

Here is how Emergent got its 8.4.

Section	Points
Pricing	20 of 20
What you can ship	38.3 of 45
Trust and compliance	26.3 of 35
Total	84.6 of 100 = 8.4 out of 10

See every fact behind Emergent's score.

When a tool doesn't say

If a tool's website doesn't answer a yes-or-no question, it gets half the points for that item. Not zero, because a missing answer isn't the same as a no, and not full marks, because silence shouldn't beat a vendor who answers honestly. For a number, like a price, it gets the typical value of the tools that do publish one. Every item scored this way is marked on the tool's scorecard.

If a tool leaves out more than a third of what we check, we don't show a score for it at all. A number built mostly on guesses wouldn't be fair to you or to the tool. Right now 26 of the 27 tools we checked have enough information to be scored.

What the score doesn't tell you

We score what a tool offers and what it costs, as its own website describes it. That's not a hands-on test. The score can't tell you whether a tool is easy to use, whether its data is accurate, or whether support answers quickly. The review covers that.

See the AI Developer tools ranked or read how we review tools in general.