What each product actually is
Amp (vendor_documented) positions a single agent across web, CLI/TUI, and macOS/iOS apps, with the same threads everywhere. Remote Orbs give each thread an isolated machine so work can continue after you close the laptop; local Runners keep compute on your own hardware. The Dial locks task intensity (low → ultra) at the first message of a thread. Multi-model routing and BYOK / linked ChatGPT subscriptions are part of the current commercial story. The published aicoolies Score v1 artifact remains the terminal-native large-repo precision thesis — enrichment here adds surface detail without inventing new scores.
Cline (vendor_documented) emphasizes an open coding agent you can run in the editor, terminal, or embed via SDK: plan-and-act style workflows, multi-file edits with diffs/checkpoints, bash execution, and model choice without vendor lock-in. Catalog and review framing still center VS Code human-in-the-loop control: tool calls stay visible, and steps need approval unless auto-approve is on. Apache-2.0 licensing and BYOK economics are the structural contrast with Amp's commercial freemium stack.
Scoreboard with dates (no re-test)
Amp (tested 2026-03-25): overall 85, speed 87, privacy 83, developer experience 84.
Cline (tested 2026-03-25): overall 84, speed 78, privacy 88, developer experience 86.
Amp leads overall and speed by a narrow margin. Cline leads privacy and developer experience on the same Score v1 date. The shared calendar day (2026-03-25) is fine to state; it is not evidence of a single dual session or a fresh re-run for this comparison.
Workflow fit — Amp surfaces vs Cline approval loop
Choose Amp when the daily loop is agentic coding with terminal depth plus optional remote parallelism: kick work from the CLI or web, park long jobs on Orbs, follow up from an app, and dial mode to match task difficulty. Speed 87 (tested 2026-03-25) supports that fast terminal-agent story on Score v1. IDE-connected use is a continuation surface for the same threads, not a claim that Amp is "only an IDE extension."
Choose Cline when the daily loop is editor-native agency with graduated trust: see the tool calls, approve (or auto-approve deliberately), keep the runtime open-source, and bring your own model keys. Privacy 88 and DX 86 (tested 2026-03-25) support the control story. Desktop/CLI/SDK options in current vendor marketing widen where Cline can run, but the Score v1 fit signal remains transparent HITL agenting rather than Amp's Orb/Dial commercial loop.
Licensing and billing posture
Amp is a commercial product with a free Hobby tier (BYOK / linked subscriptions, own Runners or pay-as-you-go orbs), optional Individual Megawatt (~$20/mo) and Gigawatt (~$200/mo) plans, Teams workspaces at no extra workspace fee, and Enterprise custom controls. Cite ampcode.com/pricing; do not invent plan math beyond vendor cards.
Cline is Apache-2.0 open source at $0 for the tool itself, with BYOK token costs paid to the model provider. That is the clearest commercial contrast with Amp: software/compute fee vs keys-only, independent of which Score v1 dimension you prioritize.
Who should pick which — and the winner guide
Pick Amp if you want the narrow Score v1 overall lead (85 vs 84), terminal-first speed (87), and commercial multi-surface agent infrastructure (Orbs, Dial, shared threads). Pick Cline if open-source runtime, human-in-the-loop approvals, and BYOK privacy/control matter more — Score v1 already favors Cline on privacy (88) and DX (86).