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Kiro+10 Mixed

GILD Review

GILD's call and the buying facts behind it.

From GILD research

Should we adopt Kiro?

Do Kiro's specs repay their cost on the work your team actually ships?

  1. 30-Second TakePick Kiro if you want a written plan before agent code, billed and governed through AWS.
  2. Best fitTeams on AWS that want specs, shared steering, and admin-governed models behind agent work.GILD Review
  3. Consider another workflowIf most work is small fixes and fast iteration, a lighter agent or editor costs less time per change.GILD Review

Drawn from 89 sources and 3 operator insights

GILD analysis

Kiro Review

Pilot Kiro if you want AWS billing and console controls, and a written plan before agent code. Kiro writes requirements, a design and a task list first, and admins set seats, approved models and data controls in the AWS console. Specs cost time and credits that one-line fixes do not repay, so the pilot shows which changes earn one.

  • AI Coding Agents
  • Engineering Productivity

The decision

Best fit
Teams on AWS that want specs, shared steering, and admin-governed models behind agent work.
Consider another workflow
If most work is small fixes and fast iteration, a lighter agent or editor costs less time per change.
Adoption condition
Managed sign-ins, a rule for which changes get a spec, an overage cap, and human review before merge.

Basis: Kiro and AWS documentation and 73 public accounts by engineers, including Johann Rehberger's independent security test, plus AIMultiple's June 2026 benchmark of coding agents on one model. To measure speed, time one real spec end to end in a pilot.

Buying & deployment factsWhat engineering leaders should verify before a broader rollout.
How you buy it

US$20

Per user per month for Pro with 1,000 credits. Free includes 50.

Source 1, Amazon Web Services, Kiro pricing: Kiro pricing

Details

Free with 50 credits a month; Pro US$20, Pro+ US$40, Pro Max US$100, or Power US$200 per user per month with 1,000 to 10,000 credits. Teams of 2 to 500 subscribe the same tiers, and Enterprise plans are purchased and billed through AWS.

Cost drivers

US$0.04

Per extra credit. Opus 5.5 draws 2x per prompt, and unused credits expire monthly.

Source 1, Amazon Web Services, Kiro pricing: Kiro pricingSource 2, Amazon Web Services, Kiro docs: Models: Kiro docs: Models

Details

Every prompt, spec task, and hook draws credits, metered to 0.01. The model sets the rate: Auto 1x, Haiku 5.5 0.06x up to 100K tokens and 0.3x above, Sonnet 5.5 1.3x, Opus 5.5 2x, Kimi K3 2.4x, as Kiro's models page lists them. Kiro's pricing page still names Sonnet 5 and Opus 5 as its newest Claude models and links the models page for current multipliers. Extra credits cost US$0.04, and unused plan credits expire monthly.

Where it runs

IDE, CLI, web

The IDE on three systems, the CLI, cloud sessions on web, an iOS app in early access, and ACP editors.

Source 5, kiro.dev, Kiro downloads: Kiro downloadsSource 9, kiro.dev, Kiro docs: CLI setup: Kiro docs: CLI setupSource 3, Amazon Web Services, Kiro docs: Enterprise governance: Kiro docs: Enterprise governanceSource 6, kiro.dev, Kiro docs: Mobile: Kiro docs: MobileSource 7, kiro.dev, Kiro docs: ACP: Kiro docs: ACPSource 8, kiro.dev, Kiro docs: Crew: Kiro docs: Crew

Details

Kiro IDE for macOS, Windows, and Linux, Kiro CLI, Kiro Web on cloud sessions with an iOS app in TestFlight early access, ACP editors such as JetBrains IDEs, and the open-source Kiro Crew workspace.

What to verify

Training opt-out

AWS can train on Free and personal-sign-in content unless users opt out, never on managed sign-ins.

Source 4, Amazon Web Services, Kiro docs: Data protection: Kiro docs: Data protectionSource 3, Amazon Web Services, Kiro docs: Enterprise governance: Kiro docs: Enterprise governance

Details

AWS can use content from Free Tier users and individual subscribers for service improvement, including model training, unless they opt out; never from enterprise users. Cloud Sessions, which every Kiro Web session now runs as, stay off for IAM Identity Center organizations until an administrator enables them.

Sourced from Kiro documentation