One month of free AI coding. 500 credits to burn on capable models—note that Claude Opus 4.5 is no longer available on the free tier as of January 2026.
✅ VERIFIED
Why This Tool
Kiro gives you something rare: generous free credits usable on various models. New accounts get exactly 500 bonus credits valid for 30 days.
The math: 500 credits translates to substantial usage on Sonnet 4.5 and other capable models. Enough for a month of serious architecture work, complex debugging, or learning advanced patterns.
What You Get
First Month (Free)
- Exactly 500 bonus credits for new accounts (source)
- 30-day expiration—use them or lose them
- Fractional consumption: Simple prompts use < 1 credit, complex prompts use more
- Available models on free tier: Auto, Sonnet 4.5, Haiku 4.5, Sonnet 4.0
Ongoing (Limited)
- 50 credits/month after first month
- Good for occasional queries
- Same model restrictions apply
Available Models
| Model | Type | Free Tier? | Credit Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude 4.5 Sonnet | Fast, capable | Yes | Standard |
| Claude 4 Sonnet | Reliable workhorse | Yes | Standard |
| Haiku 4.5 | Speed-optimized | Yes | Standard |
| Claude Opus 4.5 | Premium reasoning | NO (paid only) | N/A |
| GLM-5 | Fast coding alternative | Yes | Standard |
| Gemini | Google models | Paid | Standard |
The Setup
- Install Kiro CLI:
1npm install -g @kiro/cli - Run setup:
1kiro init - Create account (credit card required)
- Check your credits:
1kiro credits - Use available models (Opus 4.5 requires paid tier):
1kiro ask --model claude-4-5-sonnet "Your architecture question"
Time to first query: 3-5 minutes
The Catch
✅ VERIFIED Credit amounts: Exactly 500 credits for 30-day trial (source)
✅ VERIFIED Free tier models: Auto, Sonnet 4.5, Haiku 4.5, Sonnet 4.0 (source)
⚠️ UPDATED Opus 4.5 status: NO LONGER on free tier as of January 2026 (source, changelog)
Credit card required: Unlike Antigravity, you need a card to sign up.
30-day expiration: Credits don’t roll over. Use them within the first month.
Limited after month 1: 50 credits/month ongoing won’t sustain heavy usage. You’ll need to upgrade or switch tools.
Where Next
Comparing other agent tools? → AMP current access - Free harness; supply compute and model access. Earlier daily grants are historical. → Antigravity current access - $0 Individual plan with weekly limits and interaction-data controls
Want sustained Opus 4.5 without limits? → Claude Max ($200/month) - See Smart Spend Guide
Ready to pay $20 instead of $200? → Claude Code (now on Pro plan) - Official Anthropic CLI
Want other evaluation routes? → NVIDIA NIM - Current listing and historical setup; trial API and generated content excluded from production → OpenCode Zen roster - Limited-time offers and model-specific data terms
Pro Tip: Credit Optimization
Don’t burn all 500 credits immediately. Instead:
- Use Sonnet 4.5 for architecture decisions and complex debugging
- Switch to Haiku 4.5 for routine coding (lower credit cost)
- Reserve 100-150 credits for final week emergencies
Related links
- Free Frontier Stack - Complete free tier guide
- AMP current access - Free harness with separately supplied inference
- Antigravity current access - Check weekly limits and data controls
- Claude Opus 4.5 Data - Specifications and pricing
- Smart Spend Guide - When Claude Max makes sense
AMP, Antigravity, NVIDIA and Zen routing links corrected October 3, 2026; Kiro product details retain their prior scope. Last verified: January 30, 2026. Sources: kiro.dev/pricing, GitHub issue #5037, changelog.