Coding is both a skill and an art form, requiring both technical expertise and creative problem-solving. There is a large scope for AI to solve the complexities of coding and make the process more reliable. AI for coding can help suggest optimisations, identify bugs, enhance security, automate repetitive tasks and more. This allows developers to focus more on the creative aspects of their work. Before we get to the list of some of the best AI Coding Assistants that you can pick from, let’s provide some insight into what to expect.
AI for coding is an assistant coder by your side. Similar to what ChatGPT is for writers. These are sophisticated software tools that leverage artificial intelligence to make coding simpler. They are useful for both learners and expert developers. AI coding assistants learn and improve themselves from vast repositories of code. They understand your code context and suggest changes, fetch functions you need, and even predict large snippets of code you could use. This helps improve productivity and reduces errors.
These tools can:
You can’t completely trust AI tools. If you are still learning and can not immediately catch if AI-generated code is out of context or buggy, you should avoid depending too much on it. If you are an intermediate or even expert coder, suggestions from AI coding assistants can help you learn different techniques for doing things.
Bugs in AI-generated codes can be difficult to detect. So, it is essential that you first learn coding and know what you are doing to make the most of AI Coding tools.
Now, let’s talk about some of the best options that you must try.
The Cursor AI coding editor acts as a collaborator, understanding the context of your project and offering assistance throughout the coding workflow. Its Copilot++ feature can suggest midline completion. You can also chat with AI that’s monitoring your code and discuss before making changes. You can also set style guidelines, check details for unfamiliar variables or even auto debug your code.
The basic Cursor AI version is free. The Pro version costs $20 per month or $16 per month when billed annually.
One of the major advantages of GitHub Copilot is that is integrated into the GitHub ecosystem. While it supports various programming languages, its effectiveness varies, with stronger support for languages like JavaScript. It particularly shines for small programs where there is not much context or for tasks that can be automated.
GitHub Copilot is available for free to certain developers, provided they share their code with Microsoft for training the model. Subscriptions for team users cost $4 per month.
Codeium AI is another great free option for coders that supports multiple coding languages. It offers precise code suggestions, code explanations, and automated test generation, all aimed at refining code quality and clarity. It offers specific tips to improve your code, explaining code in simple terms, and even making tests automatically to check your code. It’s great for working together with others too, as it helps with sharing and reviewing code easily.
Codeium is free for individual users. Teams can opt for a paid subscription for $12 per month.
Amazon CodeWhisperer looks at what you’re typing and suggests how to finish it based on what you’ve written before. You can choose to accept, change, or ignore its suggestions. It also checks your code for security issues, like if it’s vulnerable to hackers, and tells you how to fix them. It works best with certain programming languages like Java and Python. You can use it in programs like Visual Studio Code and with Amazon’s cloud services. However, there is no option to chat with the code generator.
Amazon CodeWhisperer is free for individuals and affordable for businesses. To get it, you just need to add it to your program, connect it to Amazon, and sign in. If you use Amazon’s services a lot or care about open-source software, it’s a good choice.
Tabnine is a coding tool that cares about keeping your work safe and sound. You can also create bespoke models trained on your codebase to stick to your coding style. It suggests helpful changes to your code and can thus help you speed up your coding. Users can set their guidelines for static code analysis. They can also share and import code snippets with others within their own IDE.
You can use Tabnine for free with basic features for 90 days. The Pro version costs $12 a month.
AskCodi is a versatile tool that supports over 50 programming languages. You can directly access AskCodi features within popular IDEs like VS Code and PyCharm. It can generate codes based on natural language prompts and includes Real-time chat support. The premium version lets you switch between different AI models.
The Basic free plan includes 50 credits per month. The Premium plan costs $9.99 per month and gives you 500 credits per month. The Ultimate plan costs $29.99 per months and awards 3000 credits per month.
MutableAI offers a set of handy tools to make coding smoother and faster. Its AI Autocomplete feature suggests helpful bits of code as you type to make your job simpler. MutableAI not only helps you write code but also has a Production Quality Code feature that helps you tidy up your code, making it work better. You can chat with it and tell it what changes you want to make with the Prompt-driven Development tool. It even helps out with Test Generation, automatically creating tests to make sure your code works as it should. And it works with multiple languages and popular IDEs.
The basic plan starts at $2 a month per project, or you can go for the premium plan at $15 a month per project for some extra perks.
Replit serves as a dynamic Integrated Development Environment (IDE) powered by AI. It has a user-friendly interface, can be conveniently accessed via a browser and works with over 50 programming languages. You can simply hover over an identifier or function and a little window pops up with the type and some information from the documents. Its real-time collaboration feature fosters seamless teamwork, with changes visible instantaneously. Its version control system helps with effortless tracking and restoration of code and thus can save a lot of hassle. Its rich library of pre-built components and sharing functionalities further add value.
You can also access Replit via mobile and tablet apps to code on mobile devices. You can start with a free version and the Core plan costs $20 per month and $10 per month when billed annually.