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Amazon Q Developer

AWS AI developer assistant — code completion, security scanning, and AWS-native coding help

Code / DevToolsFreemium

Amazon Q Developer is AWS's AI coding assistant (formerly Amazon CodeWhisperer), providing AI code completion, security vulnerability scanning, and deep AWS service knowledge across VS Code, JetBrains, and the AWS Console. The Individual tier is free with unlimited completions; the Pro tier ($19/user/mo) adds enterprise controls, admin dashboards, and Amazon Q's agentic features.

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Key specs
700,000 Active developers source
as of 2026-03-27

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What we know

PricingFreemiumfrom our original listing, not yet re-checked

Why it matters

  • Free unlimited completions (Individual tier) make it the best-value AI coding assistant for developers building on AWS.
  • Security scanning specifically targeting AWS misconfigurations — IAM over-privilege, public S3 buckets, unencrypted resources — not just generic code vulnerabilities.
  • Reference tracker is unique to AWS: when completions come from open-source training data, Q flags the license type — important for legal compliance.
  • Deep AWS service training means CDK/CloudFormation/Boto3 code generation is accurate in ways general coding AIs often aren't.

Key capabilities

  • Free code completion: Unlimited inline completions in VS Code, JetBrains, Visual Studio, Cloud9.
  • Security scanning: 50 scans/month free; detects vulnerabilities in code and IaC (CloudFormation, CDK, Terraform).
  • AWS-aware generation: CDK constructs, CloudFormation templates, Boto3 calls, SAM, Lambda handlers.
  • Reference tracker: Identifies when suggestions derive from open-source code; shows license.
  • Q in AWS Console: Natural language queries and code help within the AWS Management Console.
  • Q CLI: Terminal assistance — q chat for AWS CLI help and troubleshooting.
  • Code transformation: Java 8→17 upgrade, .NET Framework→.NET Core migration (Pro).
  • Agentic tasks: Multi-step task completion for dev/ops workflows (Pro).

Technical notes

  • IDE support: VS Code, IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, GoLand, WebStorm, Rider, CLion, Visual Studio, AWS Cloud9
  • Individual tier: Free; AWS Builder ID required; unlimited completions; 50 scans/month
  • Pro tier: $19/user/mo; org admin; unlimited scans; agentic features
  • Languages: Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Java, C#, Go, Rust, PHP, Ruby, Kotlin, C/C++, SQL, Terraform HCL, CloudFormation
  • Previously: Amazon CodeWhisperer (renamed Amazon Q Developer 2024)

Ideal for

  • AWS developers who want free AI code completion with deep AWS service knowledge — no cost for the Individual tier.
  • Teams building AWS infrastructure who want AI help with CDK, CloudFormation, and Terraform for AWS.
  • Security-focused AWS teams who want automated scanning of both application code and infrastructure.

Not ideal for

  • Non-AWS development — AWS-specific knowledge doesn't help GCP or Azure development.
  • Maximum general coding quality — GitHub Copilot and Cursor edge ahead for non-AWS code.
  • Agentic multi-file coding tasks — Cursor and Windsurf provide better agentic coding experiences.

See also

  • Amazon Q — The broader Q platform including Q Business for enterprise knowledge bases.
  • GitHub Copilot — Best general-purpose AI coding assistant; paid, broader language quality.
  • Codeium — Free alternative with broader IDE support including Vim/Neovim.

FAQ

What is Amazon Q Developer?

Amazon Q Developer is AWS's AI coding assistant. It provides: inline code completion across 15+ languages, security scanning that detects vulnerabilities in code and AWS infrastructure (CloudFormation, CDK, Terraform), deep knowledge of AWS services (Boto3, CDK constructs, CloudFormation), and agentic capabilities for multi-step tasks. Previously called Amazon CodeWhisperer, rebranded to Q Developer in 2024.

Is Amazon Q Developer free?

Amazon Q Developer Individual tier is free: unlimited code completions, 50 security scans/month, and basic Q features. No credit card required — sign up with a free AWS Builder ID. The Pro tier ($19/user/mo) adds unlimited security scans, organizational admin controls, and advanced Amazon Q agentic capabilities.

What AWS-specific capabilities does Q Developer have?

Q Developer's AWS-specific strengths: generating CDK constructs (TypeScript and Python), CloudFormation templates, SAM templates, Boto3 code, Lambda handlers, and AWS SDK code. It suggests appropriate IAM policies, flags overly permissive access, and can explain AWS error messages. For teams building on AWS, this eliminates constant documentation lookups for service-specific code.

What languages does Amazon Q Developer support?

Amazon Q Developer supports 15+ languages: Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Java, C#, Go, Rust, PHP, Ruby, Kotlin, C/C++, SQL, Scala, Shell, and infrastructure languages (Terraform HCL, CloudFormation YAML/JSON, CDK). AWS service code generation is strongest for Python (Boto3), TypeScript (CDK), and Java (AWS SDK for Java).

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Listed 2026-02-28 · updated 2026-08-15