Amp vs Factory (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Factory grades higher than Amp: 2.6 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Factory grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Amp
Coding agent that runs in cloud machines it calls orbs
Factory
Coding agents called Droids for desktop, terminal and web
Which one is for you
Pick Amp if
- Fits if you want a coding agent on your own machine with your own model key
- Works for a team that wants shared threads and billing
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay on Individual: orb minutes are capped at 45,000 a month
- Not for you if your Mac is older: the app needs Apple silicon and macOS 26 or later
- Watch out: the Gigawatt tier appears on the pricing page without a readable price
- Skip it if you need SCIM, audit logs or IP allowlisting without Enterprise, whose price is not published
Pick Factory if
- Fits if you already pay for ChatGPT or Copilot and want to run a coding agent on it
- Works for a developer who wants desktop, terminal and SDK in one product
Look elsewhere if
- Watch out: the page shows monthly figures without saying whether they are billed monthly or annually
- Pricey if you want more usage: Plus and Max are only 5x and 10x Pro with no token numbers
- Not for you if you need SSO, SAML or audit logs, which are Business and Enterprise with no price
- Tight if you are a group over 10, as Teams covers up to 10 seats
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAAmpFair | 2.6GPAFactoryGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CIndividual is $20 a month, just over the $19 where the cheaper quarter of AI agent tools ends; the free tier needs your own model keys. | CPro is $20 a month, in the middle of the category, with Plus at $100 and Max at $200. |
| Free plan and trial | BHobby has no monthly fee: self-hosted orbs are free, but you bring your own model subscription or key, and Amp-hosted orbs are pay as you go. | BFree works if you sign in with ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot or OpenRouter, or use your own keys, so the model costs are yours. |
| Features | CCloud and self-hosted orbs, your own models, automations and team workspaces, but SCIM, audit logs and IP allowlisting are Enterprise. | BDroids across desktop, terminal, web and SDK, with code review, automations and analytics; the listing shows no gap in the core job. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. It is a coding agent with orbs, models and automations to set up. | CNo store rating on record. It has a terminal quickstart and model and key setup to do. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android apps, with four integrations named; no API is on record. | BWeb, Mac, Windows and Linux with four integrations; no phone app is listed. |
| Best for | a coding agent with cloud and self-hosted orbs | coding agents called Droids |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Amp and Factory. How we grade
Price against what you get
Amp starts at $20 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Factory starts at $20 a month and scores 2.7.
Factory scores higher for the same starting price. Of the other AI agents on the chart, 13 score higher than Amp for less, and 4 score higher than Factory for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
At a glance
| Amp | Factory | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $20 per month (Megawatt tier) | $20 per individual / month (billing basis not stated) |
| Free plan | Hobby: no monthly fee, pay as you go for Amp-hosted orbs, unlimited self-hosted orbs, and your own model subscription or key. | Bring your own inference by signing in with ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot or OpenRouter, or by connecting your own API keys. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Amp Frontier Corporation | The San Francisco AI Factory, Inc. |
| Price read from | ampcode.com | factory.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Amp
- Orb minutes on the Individual tier are capped at 45,000 a month; when they run out you upgrade or buy more credits.
- The Gigawatt tier appears on the pricing page but its price is not shown in the page text, so it is not listed here.
- The Mac app requires Apple silicon and macOS 26 or later, per the download page.
- Enterprise pricing is not published, and SCIM, audit logs and IP allowlisting are Enterprise-only.
Factory
- The pricing page shows monthly figures without saying whether they are billed monthly or annually.
- Plus and Max are described only as roughly 5x and 10x the usage of Pro; no token or task numbers are given.
- Business and Enterprise have no published price, and SSO, SAML/SCIM and audit logging sit behind them.
- The Teams plan covers up to 10 seats; larger groups are routed to sales.
Key features
Amp
- Cloud orbs
- An orb is a cloud computer where an agent works remotely. Minutes are counted only while it runs and stop when it pauses while idle.
- Self-hosted orbs
- Orbs can run on your own infrastructure for free on Hobby, Individual and Teams, and they do not use orb minutes.
- Bring your own models
- You can use ChatGPT, Claude and other subscriptions or your own API keys with no Amp token fees; your provider's own limits and charges apply.
- Automations that wake threads
- In the vendor's demo video, a thread uses automations to wake itself on a schedule and check production logs.
- Team workspaces
- Workspaces share threads, portals, plugins and skills, with multiplayer, permissions and SAML/OIDC SSO.
- Apps on desktop and phone
- The download page lists apps for Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone, iPad and Android for following agents away from your desk.
Factory
- Droid agents
- Droids plan, build and validate changes in a repository. The CLI quickstart shows the agent proposing edits and waiting for review before it changes files.
- Desktop, terminal, web and SDK
- The homepage lists desktop, terminal, web and CLI surfaces, and the docs cover an SDK, a sessions API and a non-interactive exec mode.
- Model routing
- Tasks can be routed across models, and the pricing page says the platform supports frontier and open-weight models from several providers.
- Code review and Automations
- Droids can review pull requests with inline comments, and Automations put repeated engineering work on a schedule.
- Analytics and Agent Readiness
- Per-developer and per-team usage reports, plus a readiness score for each repository, are listed as enterprise-facing features.
- Governance and deployment options
- Business and Enterprise plans add SSO, audit logging, zero data retention and admin controls, and Enterprise lists on-premise deployment.
Plans
Amp
Hobby$0
No monthly fee; Amp-hosted orbs are pay-as-you-go, self-hosted orbs are free, with no Amp token fees on your own keys.
Individual (Megawatt)$20
per month
45,000 minutes of orb time on Amp-hosted orbs, plus Amp credits for inference. A Gigawatt tier also exists; its price was not readable.
Teams$0
no extra charge for a workspace
Shared threads, portals and billing with SSO; each member stays on Hobby or a paid tier, and SSO needs one paid member.
EnterpriseCustom
Pooled credits with no paid seats, SCIM, audit logs, IP allowlisting, spend limits and custom orb pricing.
Factory
Free$0
per individual / month
Bring your own inference: sign in with ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot or OpenRouter, or use your own API keys or endpoint.
Pro$20
per individual / month, billing basis not stated
Desktop, CLI and SDK access with full model availability.
Plus$100
per individual / month, billing basis not stated
Everything in Pro with about 5x the usage.
Max$200
per individual / month, billing basis not stated
Everything in Pro with about 10x the usage.
Teams$60
per team / month, plus $40 per individual / month
Everything in Pro for up to 10 seats, with centralized billing.
Business and EnterpriseCustom
Sold through sales: custom limits, SSO, SAML/SCIM, audit logs; Enterprise adds on-premise options and data residency.
Ways to pay less
Amp
- Education
Megawatt for $10 a month for students and teachers
Students and teachers can get the Megawatt tier at $10 per month through the Education Discount.
Factory
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Amp or Factory?
As of Nov 12, 2026, they start at the same price. Amp starts at $20 per month (Megawatt tier), and Factory starts at $20 per individual / month (billing basis not stated).
Which has a free plan, Amp or Factory?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Amp and Factory have a free plan.
Which platforms do Amp and Factory run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Amp lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app and macOS, Windows and Linux apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.