AI Guide 4: AI Coding Tools & Alternatives
🎯 September 2025 Updates: Free & Cheap Coding Models
GLM 4.5 - The Best Coding Model Right Now
- Price: Only $3-6/month
- Limits: 120 prompts every 5 hours (users report rarely hitting limits)
- Access: z.ai subscription
🔧 Compatible Tools & Integrations
GLM 4.5 works seamlessly with these coding assistants using a simple API key:
- Claude Code - Special Anthropic compatible endpoint available
- Cline - Direct API integration
- Roo Code - Full compatibility
- Kilo Code - API key setup
- OpenCode - Non-subscription API access (recommended)
✅ Claude Code Works Great with GLM 4.5!
Recommended Setup: Claude Code works excellently with GLM 4.5 from z.ai using their Anthropic-compatible API endpoint. You can use either:
- $3-6/month subscription - Great value with generous limits
- Pay-as-you-go API - Only pay for what you use
Note: I tried using Claude Code Router to allow any OpenAI-compatible API endpoint, but it barely works and I don't recommend it. Just use the official z.ai GLM 4.5 API directly - it's much more reliable!
🔥 Recommended: OpenCode.ai
Why OpenCode.ai is Excellent
- Multiple Models: Works great with GLM-4.5 and many other top models
- Agent Setup: Like Claude Code, you can set up agents that get full fresh context for subtasks
- Superior Performance: Much better output/code than Cline, Roo Code, or Kilo Code
- Fast Iteration: Can quickly iterate and test code changes
- Reliable: Stable and consistent performance
Note: Claude Code is very good with GLM 4.5, but OpenCode offers better stability. OpenCode may have more options than other alternatives.
💰 Chutes.ai - Affordable API Provider
Pricing & Features
- $3/month: 300 requests per day of any model + some free models
- $10/month: 1000-2000 requests per day (resets daily!)
- Top Models Available: GLM 4.5, Qwen3 Coder 480B, Kimi K2 (Sept updated), and more
Note: I typically avoid subscriptions, but this one offers exceptional value for the model access.
WSL Setup Tip: Running Claude Code in WSL (Ubuntu inside Windows) tends to be more stable than native Windows versions, while still allowing interaction with Windows files.
🚀 Current Top Models Available
Most of the best models right now are accessible through Chutes.ai: GLM 4.5, the new Qwen3 Coder 480B, Kimi K2 September update, and many more cutting-edge models at fraction of the cost of direct API access.
💡 Free vs. Really Cheap: The Smart Choice
Yes, You CAN Code 100% for Free, BUT...
It's much better to code for REALLY CHEAP! $10 or less a month is good enough. Just a little bit of money spent in the right places from this guide buys extremely good reliability.
The Reality of "Free" Resources
With the few totally free resources out there, you will often be stuck waiting for API calls. Well... that's not totally right because at the moment you can use Qwen Code with their best coding model pretty much unlimited and it works great (not as good as GLM 4.5 though). I believe Gemini CLI will also let you have generous API calls.
My Current Setup (Total: ~$13/month)
- GitHub Copilot: Unlimited GPT-4.1 + limited GPT-5 & Claude 4
- Chutes.ai: $3/month for access to cutting-edge models
Bottom Line: It's really basically a free-for-all right now - no need to be complaining about Claude's $200/month crap! Smart spending on the right tools gives you professional-grade AI coding assistance for pocket change.