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Amp vs Claude Code

Claude Code focuses on terminal/IDE agents; Amp adds a full development environment with Orbs and shared portals.

Short answer: Pick Amp if you want autonomous coding agents that run anywhere; pick Claude Code if you want agentic coding directly from terminal or IDE. Amp has a free plan; Claude Code starts at $100/month.

Which to pick

Pick Amp if you want…

  • Autonomous coding agents that run anywhere
  • A free plan to start with (Hobby)
  • Integrations with Google Cloud, OIDC or Git (on Amp's list, not Claude Code's)

Pick Claude Code if you want…

  • Agentic coding directly from terminal or IDE
  • Terminal-based agents
  • Integrations with VS Code, JetBrains or Slack (on Claude Code's list, not Amp's)

Side by side

What it is
Amp:Amp is an agentic coding environment that lets you build, run and ship software with autonomous agents called Orbs.
Claude Code:Claude Code is an agentic coding assistant that understands your codebase, edits files, runs commands, and helps ship features.
Best for
Amp:Autonomous coding agents that run anywhere
Claude Code:Agentic coding directly from terminal or IDE
Who it’s for
Amp:Developers and teams who want AI-driven automation for coding, testing and deployment.
Claude Code:Developers who want AI-assisted bug fixes, refactors, and feature implementation.
Pricing
Amp:Freemium
Claude Code:Paid
Starting price
Amp:—
Claude Code:$100/month (Max 5x)
Free plan or trial
Amp:Free plan (Hobby)
Claude Code:—
Plans
Amp:Hobby Free
Claude Code:Pro $17 per month with annual discount · Max 5x $100 per month · Max 20x $200 per month
Works with
Amp:Google Cloud, OIDC, Git, Vite, Ghostty terminal
Claude Code:VS Code, JetBrains, Slack, GitHub, GitLab, CLI tools, Claude desktop app

Amp features

  • Orbs runtime. Run AI agents (Orbs) on any machine or cloud and they continue after you close the laptop.
  • CLI & runner. Use a local command-line interface to start, control and continue Orbs on your own runners.
  • Production access via OIDC. Grant or revoke Orbs access to production resources using OIDC tokens.
  • Screenshot & visual testing. Add screenshot tests for dashboards and UI components directly through the agent.
  • PII encryption. Encrypt personally identifiable information at rest as part of the workflow.
  • Feature flag management. Create, promote and monitor experimental feature flags from within Amp.
  • Automated rollouts & monitoring. Agent can ship changes, monitor rollouts and report status automatically.
  • Shared portals & multiplayer threads. Collaborate in real-time with shared portals, plugins and multi-user threads.

Claude Code features

  • Codebase understanding. Analyzes project structure and dependencies to provide high-level overviews and context.
  • File editing & PR creation. Writes code, runs tests, and opens pull requests in GitHub or GitLab.
  • Multi-hour refactors. Handles long-running migrations and refactors across many files.
  • IDE integrations. Native extensions for VS Code and JetBrains IDEs.
  • Terminal & Slack access. Works from your shell or Slack without leaving your workflow.
  • Projects grouping. Groups related coding sessions for parallel agent supervision.
  • Self-hosted beta. Runs Claude Code sessions on private infrastructure.
  • Artifacts preview. Generates live, shareable artifacts of in-progress work.

Amp vs Claude Code FAQ

What is the difference between Amp and Claude Code?+

Claude Code focuses on terminal/IDE agents; Amp adds a full development environment with Orbs and shared portals.

Should I use Amp or Claude Code?+

Pick Amp if you want autonomous coding agents that run anywhere, a free plan to start with (Hobby) or integrations with Google Cloud, OIDC or Git (on Amp's list, not Claude Code's). Pick Claude Code if you want agentic coding directly from terminal or IDE, terminal-based agents or integrations with VS Code, JetBrains or Slack (on Claude Code's list, not Amp's).

Is Amp or Claude Code free?+

Amp has a free plan (Hobby) and paid plans. Claude Code is paid, from $100/month (Max 5x).

Do Amp and Claude Code integrate with the same tools?+

Their integration lists don't overlap: Amp lists Google Cloud, OIDC, Git, Vite and 1 more; Claude Code lists VS Code, JetBrains, Slack, GitHub and 3 more.

On DevHunt

Based on each tool's website and DevHunt data. Details may change; check the official sites.