Cosine vs Factory (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Factory grades higher than Cosine: 2.6 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Cosine grades higher on value for money. Factory grades higher on the free plan, features and platforms. They get the same grade on ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Cosine
Coding agent for terminal, desktop and cloud, with sovereign models
Factory
Coding agents called Droids for desktop, terminal and web
Which one is for you
Pick Cosine if
- Fits if you want a coding agent in the terminal with a choice of models
- Works for a developer who wants cloud agents and an air-gapped option
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to try it free, as the cheapest plan is $19 a month
- Watch out: credits are used at different multipliers by model, so 4M credits is a moving target
- Not for you if you want a Windows or Linux desktop app, as the desktop page offers Mac only
- Watch out: the pricing page lists three tiers, the billing docs six, with different names
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
| 1.8GPACosineWeak | 2.6GPAFactoryGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BStarter is $19 a month for 4M credits, at the top of the cheaper quarter, but how far credits go depends on the model. | CPro is $20 a month, in the middle of the category, with Plus at $100 and Max at $200. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan or trial on the pricing page. | BFree works if you sign in with ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot or OpenRouter, or use your own keys, so the model costs are yours. |
| Features | CCLI, desktop, cloud agents, swarm mode and model choice, but pages disagree on the tiers. | 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. The CLI is the main way in and the docs cover install and sign-in. | CNo store rating on record. It has a terminal quickstart and model and key setup to do. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb, Mac, Windows and Linux with four integrations; the desktop page offers Mac only and there are no phone apps. | BWeb, Mac, Windows and Linux with four integrations; no phone app is listed. |
| Best for | a command-line coding agent with a desktop app | 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: Cosine and Factory. How we grade
Price against what you get
Cosine starts at $19 a month and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Factory starts at $20 a month and scores 2.7.
Factory scores higher, and starts $1 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other AI agents on the chart, 11 score higher than Cosine 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
| Cosine | Factory | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free plan |
| Starts at | $19 per month, including 4M credits | $20 per individual / month (billing basis not stated) |
| Free plan | None | 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 | ||
| Made by | Cosine | The San Francisco AI Factory, Inc. |
| Price read from | cosine.sh | factory.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Cosine
- There is no free plan or free trial on the pricing page; the cheapest plan is $19 a month.
- Usage is billed in credits, and different models use them at different multipliers, so how far 4M credits goes depends on the model chosen.
- The pricing page lists three tiers, while the billing docs list six (Starter, Builder, Team, Scale, Professional and Enterprise) with different names for the $199 and $999 tiers.
- The desktop page offers a Mac download only; the CLI docs cover macOS (Apple Silicon only), Linux and Windows.
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
Cosine
- CLI coding agent
- The cos command runs the agent in a terminal alongside your editor and tests. Every agent turn is saved as a lightweight git commit, so changes can be undone.
- Desktop app
- A native app for working on local project folders, with plan review, diffs, and built-in browser and terminal panels. The product page offers a Mac download.
- Cloud agents
- Tasks can run in remote workspaces, each session in an isolated microVM, so long jobs continue after your laptop is closed. The site says 20 or more agents can run in parallel.
- Swarm mode and memory
- An orchestrator can spawn child agents that work in parallel, and project conventions persist across sessions.
- Model choice
- The model list includes Cosine's own Lumen models along with models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google, each with a credit multiplier.
- Sovereign and air-gapped deployment
- For regulated organizations the company offers fully air-gapped, managed single-tenant and public cloud options.
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
Cosine
Starter$19
per month, for 4M credits a month
For solo developers and side projects. Extra credits cost $6.50 per 1M.
Team$199
per month, for 47M credits a month
For growing teams. Extra credits cost $5.00 per 1M. The billing docs name this $199 tier Scale and list a $99 tier for 23M credits.
Enterprise$999
per month, for 240M credits a month
For highly regulated industries. Extra credits cost $4.50 per 1M. The pricing page also invites teams to ask about a more custom arrangement.
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.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Cosine or Factory?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Cosine is cheaper to start with: $19 a month, against $20 a month for Factory. Cosine starts at $19 per month, including 4M credits, and Factory starts at $20 per individual / month (billing basis not stated).
Which has a free plan, Cosine or Factory?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Factory has a free plan. Cosine does not.
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.