 The AI coding market is overheated: Copilot raised prices, Cursor went to the moon, and Roo Code remains the last sane option In 2026, writing code without an AI assistant is like digging a trench with a spoon. But here's what's happening with prices for popular services. GitHub Copilot is the market veteran. Not long ago, Pro cost $10 per month, but now Pro+ costs $39/month or $390 per year. Yes, Copilot offers autocomplete, chat, and terminal integration. But for $39 a month, you're essentially getting the same functionality that cost three times less a year ago. Price hikes amid the hype are classic. The platform feels like a monopoly and acts accordingly. For a team of 5 developers, that's already $195 per month—the cost of a full-fledged SaaS tool. Cursor is a different story. This VS Code-based editor with an AI engine inside set a bar in 2026 that makes many developers' eyes pop. Pro — $20/month, Pro Plus — $60/month, Ultra — $200/month. Yes, you get Composer, contextual project understanding, and next-gen autocomplete. But $200 per month for a code editor is Adobe Creative Cloud territory. For a freelancer or small studio, these numbers look like a joke. Meanwhile, Cursor is genuinely good—the only question is whether you're willing to pay the price of a decent car loan for an IDE. And then Roo Code steps onto the stage. A free extension for VS Code that gives you an AI agent right in the editor. No monthly payments, no $200 for an Ultra plan. Installed in a minute from the marketplace, works with your own API keys from Claude, GPT, or local models. You only pay for tokens as you use them—for an average developer, this is many times cheaper than any subscription. Roo Code doesn't try to squeeze the maximum money out of you on the hype—it just does its job. The situation in the AI coding market resembles the SaaS boom of the 2010s: first, democratic prices and a race for users, then monopolization and tariff hikes. Copilot and Cursor have already entered the "skimming the cream" stage, while Roo Code remains the tool chosen by those who count their money. Try Roo Code in VS Code—it's free. And if you want to automate not just code but your entire business—jump over to asibiont.com. 1500 tokens to start, no promo codes, just register and use.