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It's a split decision.
Choose Amp if you want agents to keep working in persistent orbs after you close your laptop, with options for Amp-hosted or self-hosted orbs and team sharing. Choose Claude Code if your workflow centers on terminal, IDE, GitHub, or Slack, or you need to move between desktop, web, and mobile. Pricing differs: Amp Individual costs $20/month and includes 45,000 minutes of hosted orb time; Claude Code starts with Pro at $17/month billed annually, with usage limits tied to the plan.
01Side by side
| Amp | Claude Code | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free Hobby; $20 Individual; hosted orb time can cost extra | Pro from $17 annually; higher-usage subscriptions available |
| Free tier | Hobby includes features; hosted orb time is pay-as-you-go | Free access excludes Claude Code; usage is limited |
| CLI and docs | Docs and web product; terminal appears in production workflow | Terminal workflow with linked documentation |
| Integrations | ChatGPT, Claude, other subscriptions, BYOK, and Slack via MCP | GitHub, GitLab, editors, command line, and Slack |
| Deployment model | Amp-hosted orbs or unlimited self-hosted orbs on paid tiers | Terminal, web, desktop, and mobile entry points |
| Platforms | Web | macOS, Linux, Windows, web, iOS, Android, and IDEs |
| Limits and scaling | Individual includes 45,000 hosted orb minutes; Enterprise offers higher quotas | Usage tiers include 5x and 10x Pro options |
| Background work | Agents can continue after laptop closes and check production | Handles multi-hour refactors and migrations |
Amp Choose Amp if
- Choose Amp if agents need to keep running after your laptop closes.
- Choose Amp if you want self-hosted orbs or pooled team credits.
- Choose Amp if agents should monitor rollouts or work in shared threads.
Claude Code Choose Claude Code if
- Choose Claude Code if terminal and IDE access are central to your workflow.
- Choose Claude Code if you need GitHub, GitLab, or Slack entry points.
- Choose Claude Code if you want web and mobile access alongside desktop.
02Pricing at real usage
Amp’s Hobby plan is $0/month and includes all product features, unlimited self-hosted orbs, and pay-as-you-go Amp-hosted orb time. The hosted-orb rate is not published. Individual costs $20/month and includes 45,000 minutes of hosted orb time, unlimited self-hosted orbs, and unlimited public and private repositories. Teams are listed at no extra charge, with shared billing and pooled credits; Enterprise pricing is custom.
Claude’s Free plan does not include Claude Code and has limited usage every five hours and weekly. Pro includes Claude Code at $20/month, or $17/month with annual billing. Max is $100/month and Ultra is $200/month, with higher usage allowances. Team seats start at $25/month, or $20/month billed annually. Enterprise adds API-rate usage to annual seat billing. Compare expected orb time for Amp and plan usage limits for Claude before scaling.
03API, SDKs and integration
Amp is presented as a development environment rather than a documented API-first service. Its pricing page lists ChatGPT, Claude, other subscriptions, and bring-your-own keys; the homepage shows Slack connected through MCP. Its product navigation links to Docs, and its workflow includes agents operating through orbs, with terminal access shown for production work. The product pages do not publish a supported SDK or language matrix.
Claude Code can be steered from a terminal, IDE, Slack, web, and mobile apps. The product page names GitHub, GitLab, command-line tools, VS Code, Cursor, Devin Desktop, JetBrains, and Slack integrations. It links to documentation and supports macOS, Linux, and Windows, as well as web and mobile access. The product pages do not publish a supported SDK or language matrix for a public API. For either tool, verify the required API surface and authentication details with the vendor before building a custom integration.
04Open source, self-hosting and lock-in
Amp offers unlimited self-hosted orbs on its Hobby and Individual plans, alongside Amp-hosted orbs. That gives teams a choice of runner, but it does not establish that Amp’s application or agent code is open source or independently deployable. Claude Code is available through terminal and other client interfaces; its product page does not describe a self-hosted server.
Neither vendor publishes an open-source licence or data-export format on these product pages. The practical migration question is therefore what your workflow depends on: agent threads, permissions, shared portals, plugins, skills, and runner setup for Amp; or Claude Code’s usage plans and named integrations. Before committing, ask each vendor how to export conversation and project data, and how to move credentials, agent configuration, and team workflows to another tool.
Questions people ask
Is anything better than Claude Code?
It depends on the workflow. Amp is a better fit when persistent agents in orbs, shared threads, or production monitoring matter most. Claude Code has more named entry points across terminal, IDEs, GitHub, Slack, web, and mobile. Compare those integration needs and each plan’s usage limits rather than treating one coding agent as best for every codebase.
Is Claude Code still the best coding agent?
There is no single best choice for every team. Claude Code covers terminal, editor, GitHub, Slack, web, and mobile workflows, and its plans include different usage allowances. Amp focuses on agents that keep running in orbs and can be shared with teammates. Pick based on where work runs and how much usage your team needs.
How good is Amp?
Amp is built around persistent agents in orbs, including agents that can continue after you close your laptop and check production rollouts. Its plans include self-hosted orbs, while Individual adds 45,000 minutes of hosted orb time for $20/month. Check the hosted-orb pay-as-you-go rate before relying on that compute at scale.
Is Claude Code better at coding than regular Claude?
Claude Code is the coding-focused workflow: it can inspect codebases, edit files, run tests, and work through bugs or longer migrations. Claude’s Free plan does not include Claude Code, while Pro and higher plans do. The product pages do not provide a direct coding-quality comparison, so choose based on workflow and usage needs.