GILD verdict
Choose Claude Code if you are picking an agent now, and keep Q Developer only where engineers already hold Pro seats.
The live comparison is Claude Code against Kiro, since Q's CLI is already Kiro CLI. If AWS billing decides, Claude Code through Amazon Bedrock keeps spend on the AWS account. Pilot it next to Kiro on the same repositories.
Claude Code is the agent to buy, because what remains of Q Developer is a set of retiring IDE plugins and Amazon Q in the AWS console. Practitioners spent most of 2025 comparing the Q CLI with Claude Code, often on the same Claude models. AWS has since made that CLI into Kiro CLI, and the IDE plugins end April 30, 2027. Claude Code runs in the terminal, VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, desktop, and web.
Choosing between Amazon Q Developer and Claude Code
Choose Amazon Q Developer if
- You already hold Pro seats and want engineers to keep the IDE plugins they know until you move.
- Engineers rely on Amazon Q in the AWS console for questions about resources, costs, and errors.
- You want a flat seat price with indemnity on the AWS bill for the remaining months.
Choose Claude Code if
- You are choosing an agent today and want one that is on sale and gaining features.
- Engineers work in the terminal or want one agent across the CLI, IDEs, desktop, and web.
- You want AWS billing anyway: Claude Code can run through Amazon Bedrock.
Side by side
| Dimension | Amazon Q Developer | Claude Code |
|---|---|---|
| Status | No new IDE Free accounts or Pro subscriptions since May 15, 2026; IDE plugins and paid subscriptions end support April 30, 2027 | On sale with Claude plans, the Claude API, and cloud providers |
| Where it runs | VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, Visual Studio, and Eclipse plugins; Amazon Q in the AWS console and chat apps. The CLI is now Kiro CLI | Terminal CLI, VS Code and JetBrains extensions, desktop app, web, and mobile |
| Individual priceList prices in US dollars. Included usage differs by plan and is not directly comparable. | Free: US$0 with 50 agentic requests a month; closed to new sign-ups by AWS's end-of-support notice, still offered on its pricing page | Included in Claude Pro: US$20 per month, or US$17 per month billed annually; Max from US$100 per month |
| Team price | Pro: US$19 per user per month, for existing subscriptions only | Claude Team standard seat: US$25 per month, or US$20 billed annually; Enterprise US$20 per seat billed annually plus usage at API rates |
| Billing through AWS | Pro seats billed to the AWS account | Available through Amazon Bedrock, billed by AWS per token |
| Models | IDE chat lists Claude Sonnet 3.7 and Claude Sonnet 4, the default, with no option to bring your own model; AWS's end-of-support notice says Opus 4.5 stays on Pro and newer models, including Opus 4.7, are Kiro only | Anthropic's current Claude models |
| IP indemnity | Pro only, under Section 50.10 of the AWS Service Terms | Paid use under Anthropic's Commercial Terms |
| Training on your data | Pro content is not used; Free tier content may be used unless opted out | Not by default on Team, Enterprise, and the API; Free, Pro, and Max users can opt out |
| AWS knowledge | Amazon Q in the console reads the account's resources and costs and diagnoses console errors | Works with AWS through the CLI tools and MCP servers you connect |
What practitioners report, side by side
Each product's figures come from its own practitioners, for the group you pick.
Overall signal
Each product's own practitioners rate Claude Code +72, 51 points above Amazon Q Developer at +21. Most of the gap is in praise, with 42 of Claude Code's 55 sources positive against 28 of Amazon Q Developer's 68. Claude Code has 3 negative and Amazon Q Developer 18.
The score counts the sources from each product's own practitioners that take a side and is how far positive votes lead negative ones, per 100 votes. A confirmed leader casts three votes, another confirmed practitioner two and any other source one, so Amazon Q Developer's +21 rests on votes split 34 positive, 26 mixed and 18 negative and Claude Code's +72 on 66, 18 and 3. A lead of a fifth of the votes reads positive and a lead of half strong positive, with the same lines below zero. The dots show each source once, positive, mixed, negative. Use a task pilot to measure accepted work and review time.
Footprint on the Agentic Software Development stack
They differ on five of 12 layers. Claude Code owns two that Amazon Q Developer does not. Coverage is each product's placement on this stack, as its product page shows it. Core is a job the product owns; Supports and Touches are jobs it helps with. Coverage says nothing about how well a product does them.
| Layer | Amazon Q Developer | Claude Code |
|---|---|---|
| Plan | ||
| Work planning | Touches | Supports |
| Build | ||
| Codebase context | Supports | Core |
| Tool execution | Supports | Core |
| Validate | ||
| Application security | Supports | Touches |
| Operate | ||
| Observability | Supports | Touches |
The 7 layers where they match
| Layer | Amazon Q Developer | Claude Code |
|---|---|---|
| Build | ||
| Coding | Core | Core |
| Agent runtime | Core | Core |
| Validate | ||
| Debugging | Supports | Supports |
| Testing | Supports | Supports |
| Code review | Supports | Supports |
| Ship | ||
| Source control | Touches | Touches |
| CI/CD | Touches | Touches |
What practitioners praise
Among all practitioners, Claude Code alone has seven praise themes that reach 5 sources from 3 authors. Codebase Understanding and Multi-Step Execution lead, at 15 of 15 and 14 of 16. Amazon Q Developer alone has four praise themes that reach 5 sources from 3 authors. Agentic Coding and Terminal Workflow lead, at 20 of 21 and 13 of 14.
| Praised for | Amazon Q Developer | Claude Code |
|---|---|---|
| Agentic Coding | 20 of 21 | Not a theme in its sources |
| Terminal Workflow | 13 of 14 | Not a theme in its sources |
| AWS Knowledge | 8 of 11 | Not a theme in its sources |
| Codebase Context | 2 of 7 | Not a theme in its sources |
| Codebase Understanding | Not a theme in its sources | 15 of 15 |
| Multi-Step Execution | Not a theme in its sources | 14 of 16 |
| Developer Experience | Not a theme in its sources | 11 of 16 |
| Large Refactors | Not a theme in its sources | 9 of 10 |
| Value for Money | Not a theme in its sources | 8 of 13 |
| Enterprise Administration | Not a theme in its sources | 5 of 8 |
| Stability | Not a theme in its sources | 1 of 6 |
Each count is the sources that praise a theme, or raise it as a concern, out of those that discuss it. A row pairs the two products when both carry a theme under the same or an equivalent name. A count ending in "so far" has under 5 sources from 3 authors among all practitioners. "Not a theme in its sources" means GILD found no theme of that name in that product's sources.
What practitioners raise as concerns
Claude Code's sources raise Limits & Cost more often than Amazon Q Developer's. It is raised in 0 of the 8 Amazon Q Developer sources that discuss it, against 16 of 28 for Claude Code. Amazon Q Developer alone has four concern themes that reach 5 sources from 3 authors. Answer Quality and Stability lead, at 11 of 11 and 10 of 10. Claude Code alone has five concern themes that reach 5 sources from 3 authors. Context Management and Inconsistent Results on Large Tasks lead, at 17 of 29 and 15 of 17.
| Raised as a concern | Amazon Q Developer | Claude Code |
|---|---|---|
| Requires Strong Review | 6 of 7 | 25 of 39 |
| Needs Close Steering | 2 of 5 | 6 of 8 |
| Limits & Cost | 0 of 8 | 16 of 28 |
| Answer Quality | 11 of 11 | Not a theme in its sources |
| Stability | 10 of 10 | Not a theme in its sources |
| Product Direction | 7 of 7 | Not a theme in its sources |
| Sign-in & Setup | 5 of 5 | Not a theme in its sources |
| Context Management | Not a theme in its sources | 17 of 29 |
| Inconsistent Results on Large Tasks | Not a theme in its sources | 15 of 17 |
| Permissions & Safety | Not a theme in its sources | 10 of 20 |
| Reliability | Not a theme in its sources | 8 of 9 |
| Day-to-Day Friction | Not a theme in its sources | 5 of 6 |
13 sources
- AWS DevOps Blog: Amazon Q Developer end-of-support announcement (Apr 30, 2026)
- Amazon Q Developer pricing
- Amazon Q Developer docs: Using Amazon Q Developer in the IDE
- Amazon Q Developer docs: Using Amazon Q Developer on the command line
- Amazon Q Developer docs: Using Amazon Q Developer on AWS apps and websites
- Amazon Q Developer docs: Service improvement
- AWS Service Terms (Section 50, Amazon Q and Kiro)
- Kiro docs: Upgrading from Q CLI
- Claude Code docs: Platforms
- Claude pricing
- Claude Code docs: Costs
- Claude Code docs: Model configuration
- Anthropic Commercial Terms of Service