For coding specifically, Claude Pro is honestly the best option right now, especially for complex debugging and architectural decisions. Working at an AI consulting firm, I see our developers using different models for different tasks. Claude Sonnet 4 handles multi-file refactoring and complex logic better than anything else. It's particularly good at understanding context across large codebases and suggesting practical solutions. ChatGPT Plus with GPT-4o is solid for general coding tasks and has better integration with development tools through plugins. The code interpreter feature is useful for data analysis and quick prototyping. For free options, Claude's free tier gives you decent access to Sonnet, though with usage limits. ChatGPT free is more restricted but still useful for simple coding questions. Here's what actually matters though - the model is way less important than how you use it. Most developers waste time with vague prompts when they should be providing full context, error messages, and specific requirements. Don't sleep on Cursor IDE if you're doing serious development work. It integrates Claude and GPT directly into your editor and understands your entire codebase context. Way more efficient than copy-pasting code between chat windows. For deployments specifically, none of these models are great at infrastructure management. They can help with configuration files and basic DevOps tasks, but don't expect them to understand complex deployment pipelines or troubleshoot production issues effectively. The real value comes from using AI for boilerplate generation, code review, and explaining unfamiliar codebases. Pick whichever tool fits your budget and focus on learning to prompt effectively rather than chasing the latest model. Claude Pro is worth the subscription if you're doing this professionally, but start with free tiers to figure out your actual usage patterns first. More on reddit.com

I've been using AWS CodeWhisperer and have liked it. They also recently launched a terminal autocomplete and command generation for Mac. It also has a chat-based assistant, Q, that's free while in preview. Edit to add: As someone who uses AWS for work, it's apparent they trained it against their own code and SDKs, and Q is pretty great at surfing their documentation (even criticizing it itself in the process). More on reddit.com

VSCode + Roo Code + Gemini Flash via Google AI Studio. Very reasonable limits, lots of requests per day. I'll add though, that DeepSeek V3/R1 are dirt cheap. More on reddit.com

Best setups right now are: Agents: Aider or Cline Then pair either one of those with : Autocomplete: continue.dev(with codestral) or Supermaven. Good free apis right now: Xai is giving $25 per month free api credits Google AI studio has Gemini pro and flash at pretty fair free API rates. Good dirt cheap api: Deepseek Qwen 2.5 Anything free on Openrouter. Edit: forgot to say because I figured most would know but: you’re doing all of this in VSCode. More on reddit.com