Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the way software is developed. AI-powered programming assistants are designed to accelerate, simplify and improve the code writing process. These tools use advanced algorithms to offer features like intelligent autocomplete, code generation, code review, and more.
Whether you’re a novice or experienced developer, an AI assistant can help you code faster and more accurately. In this article we’ll explore in depth the 11 best options for AI programming assistants currently available. Let’s get started!
The 11 Best AI Programming Assistants
FlutterFlow
FlutterFlow is a comprehensive platform for developing apps using artificial intelligence to simplify every step of the process. Its features include automatic code generation from your designs, state management, and backend service integration. Allowing easy publishing to multiple platforms like iOS, Android and web.
FlutterFlow offers free and paid plans starting at $18 per month. Get more information about FlutterFlow.
Amazon CodeWhisperer
Amazon’s CodeWhisperer uses AI to generate code recommendations based on comments in natural language. It allows you to write simple word descriptions of what you want to accomplish, and the tool suggests code implementation options.
This makes it much faster and easier for developers to translate ideas into functional code. CodeWhisperer also analyzes existing code to identify improvements, security issues, and cross-browser/device compatibility.
It has a free usage plan and a professional plan for $19/month per user. More information about Amazon CodeWhisperer.
Refact AI
Refact AI is an assistant that integrates into your IDE and uses AI to provide suggestions and real-time analysis as you code. Its AI engine inspects your code, identifies improvement opportunities, and then provides specific recommendations to optimize it.
This helps improve your efficiency and apply best coding practices. Refact AI also learns from your coding patterns to customize its suggestions.
It has free plans and professional plans starting at $10 per month with additional features. More information about Refact AI.
CodeSandbox
CodeSandbox is a cloud-based IDE that facilitates collaboration and one-click deployment of web apps. It includes an integrated terminal, version control, and one-click deployment options.
It uses AI to offer relevant code suggestions, identify bugs, security issues, and review code change requests. This streamlines development and improves the quality of the software produced.
It offers a free plan, a Pro plan from $15/month, and customization for organizations. Learn more about CodeSandbox.
Quest AI
Quest AI converts Figma designs into ready-to-use React components. It uses advanced AI to analyze designs and identify patterns, automatically generating clean, functional code that replicates the visual interface.
This eliminates the need to manually write interface code, speeding up front-end development and improving consistency between design and final product. Quest AI also generates code documentation and handles complex interactions like state management.
Its plans range from free to Pro for $93/month. More details about Quest AI.
Tabnine
Tabnine is an AI-powered code completion tool that integrates into your IDE and learns your coding style to provide personalized suggestions. It analyzes your code for patterns and then uses trained language models to generate contextually relevant recommendations.
This allows you to code faster and focus on logic rather than waste time remembering syntax or consulting documentation.
It offers a free plan and a Pro plan from $12/month per user. Learn about Tabnine in depth.
Safurai
Safurai is an assistant that integrates into VS Code and uses AI to generate code, search your codebase, and learn from your coding patterns. For example, you can describe in natural language the functionality you want to implement and Safurai will generate relevant code you can customize.
It also has an intelligent searcher to quickly find functions and classes in your project. Safurai keeps learning as you code, adapting its suggestions and searches to meet your specific needs.
It offers a free plan and Pro plans from €9.99/month. Discover Safurai in depth.
Taiga
Taiga is a programming mentor accessible via Slack that uses AI to answer questions and provide assistance on coding assignments. You can consult Taiga about specific code problems and receive detailed explanations, examples, links to relevant documentation, and more.
Taiga also works to prepare you for technical interviews, acting as an interviewer to help you practice your coding skills. The AI system is designed to simulate a realistic conversation with a human mentor.
It has a pay per use flexible pricing model. Learn more about Taiga.
Replit
Replit is an online IDE with real-time collaboration and integrated app deployment. Its Pro plan includes Ghostwriter, an AI assistant that analyzes your code and identifies improvements, bugs and vulnerabilities.
Ghostwriter also makes personalized recommendations on how to simplify your code, improve its efficiency, and apply best coding practices. This helps both beginners and professionals improve the quality of their work.
Its plans range from free to Pro for $20/month. Learn more about Replit.
Codeium
Codeium is an AI assistant that offers intelligent autocomplete, search within your code, and adapts to your personal preferences. It uses machine learning to analyze your coding style and generate hyper-relevant contextual code suggestions in real time as you program.
Codeium also allows you to search your codebase using natural language. For example, you can ask “Where is the UserModel class defined?” and get instant answers. This saves a lot of time compared to manually searching.
It has a free plan for individuals and an enterprise version with additional security. Discover Codeium here.
AI Code Mentor
AI Code Mentor analyzes and explains code snippets to help you understand and improve them. It uses language models trained on large datasets of code to generate detailed natural language descriptions.
This allows developers, especially less experienced ones, to quickly learn new techniques and patterns. AI Code Mentor can also identify potential issues in the code and even suggest refactoring options.
It offers a free basic plan and Pro plans from $7 per month with more advanced capabilities. Learn more about AI Code Mentor.
AI Programming Assistant Pricing
Below we provide a comparative pricing table for the 11 AI programming assistants:
| Platform | Free Plan | Individual Plan | Team Plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| FlutterFlow | Yes | $18/month | $42/user/month |
| AI Code Mentor | Yes | $7/month | – |
| Refact AI | Yes | $10/month | – |
| CodeSandbox | Yes | $15/month | Custom pricing |
| Quest AI | Yes | $58/month | $93/month |
| Tabnine | Yes | $12/month | Custom pricing |
| Amazon CodeWhisperer | Yes | $19/month | – |
| Safurai | Yes | €9.99/month | Custom pricing |
| Taiga | – | Pay per use | – |
| Replit | Yes | $20/month | – |
| Codeium | Yes | – | Custom pricing |
As detailed in the table above, most of these platforms offer free plans and affordable options for individual users ranging between $7 and $20 per month for the most part.
Comparison and Analysis of Programming Assistants
The above chart represents a comparison and analysis of several AI programming assistants according to their main focus. The assistants have been grouped into four categories:
- Automation and Error Reduction: With tools like CodeSandbox, Replit, Codeium and Tabnine.
- Code Analysis: With tools like Refact AI and AI Code Mentor.
- Code Generation: With tools like Quest AI and Amazon CodeWhisperer.
- Comprehensive Assistance: With tools like Safurai and Taiga.
Use Cases for AI Programming Assistants
AI-powered programming assistants have many practical uses:
- They accelerate software development and improve productivity.
- They reduce errors and improve code quality.
- They make learning new programming languages easier.
- They allow teams to stay more focused on logic and design.
- They improve collaboration between development teams.
- They help implement and maintain good coding practices.
- They generate functional code from high-level specifications.
- They identify optimization and refactoring opportunities.
- They efficiently search large codebases.
The Future of AI Programming Assistants
AI programming assistants are expected to become ubiquitous in the coming years. As AI models continue to evolve, these tools will become more intelligent and capable of performing more advanced tasks.
They will likely be able to generate complex code from natural language descriptions, identify and fix bugs on their own, refactor legacy code, and more. This could drastically reduce time spent on repetitive tasks, allowing developers to focus on solving complex problems.
AI assistants will transform how software is built across industries. Software development-related job roles could also change, with humans overseeing as machines do much of the heavy lifting. However, these technologies are expected to increase developer productivity rather than fully replace them.
