# Looked Into Kiro’s New Pricing Plan and Found My Welcome Bonus Quietly Used Up

# Overview

Just as I was about to start using **kiro** in earnest, I came across a post on X by [SimSta2](http://x.com/shimagaji2) hinting at a possible change to the pricing plan.  
Since I’m cautious about unexpected charges, I decided to investigate right away.

* Relevant post: [https://x.com/shimagaji2/status/1956495182020722854](https://x.com/shimagaji2/status/1956495182020722854)
    
* Official announcement: [Pricing plans are live](https://kiro.dev/blog/pricing-plans-are-live/)
    

# TL;DR

* **Who’s affected by the new pricing plan**  
    Users without a Q Developer subscription (logging in via Google / GitHub / AWS BuilderID) are subject to the new plan.  
    Monthly allowance: **Vibe 50 requests / Spec 0 requests**.  
    For the first 14 days after the new pricing starts, all users receive a **Welcome Bonus** of Spec 100 and Vibe 100 requests.
    
* **How to check your usage**  
    Requires Kiro v0.2.13 or higher. Check from the profile menu in the top-right corner of the editor.  
    Shows your allowance and consumption.  
    You can upgrade to a paid plan from *Upgrade Plan*, but all plans have **pay-per-use** charges if you exceed your limit.
    
* **Effect of logging in with a Q Developer Pro ID**  
    When logging in with an IAM Identity Center ID that has Q Developer Pro, the Kiro Plan allowance display disappears, meaning you’re (probably) excluded from the new plan’s restrictions.
    
* **Session retention**  
    Switching accounts doesn’t end your IDE-side Kiro sessions — they remain intact.
    
* **Caution**  
    Once you use up your free allowance, you’ll automatically switch to pay-per-use billing. Heavy users should be especially careful.
    

# Details

## Who is affected

If you don’t have a Q Developer subscription, you’re moved to the new pricing model.  
Logging in via Google / GitHub / AWS BuilderID makes you eligible.  
(In my case, I logged in with a GitHub account and a WaitList code, so I’m in this group.)

* Monthly allowance: **Vibe 50 / Spec 0**
    
* Welcome Bonus (first 14 days after pricing change): **Spec 100 / Vibe 100**
    

## How to check your usage

* **Required version**: Kiro v0.2.13 or later (check via *Help → About*)
    
    ![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1755304950263/0058941b-b383-447f-a0cd-0401713f5fba.png align="center")
    
* **Steps**
    
    1. Click the profile icon at the right side of the editor.
        
        ![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1755304996033/c62f23d4-1d67-4fcb-be61-37927ea582d8.png align="center")
        
          
        
    2. You can monitor your usage.  
        (In my case, I’m on the free plan, and my Vibe usage was already over halfway…)
        
        ![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1755305024793/9fca8f81-a246-4cbf-abf2-0d0ae7849113.png align="center")
        
* **Changing plans**  
    You can choose a paid plan from *Upgrade Plan*.  
    However, **all plans have pay-per-use charges** for exceeding the request limit.
    
    ![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1755305034182/8e222bb1-8a5b-410d-88e4-cea4689efc54.png align="center")
    

## Logging in with a Q Developer Pro ID

Since all Kiro plans include pay-per-use charges, I tried logging in with an IAM Identity Center ID that has Q Developer Pro.

![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1755305047070/8d556aa4-ec73-477e-90f1-1fb147d0c08d.png align="center")

When checking the profile in this state, the allowance and usage numbers were gone — likely meaning the account is excluded from Kiro Plan’s limits.

![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1755305069992/c4be606b-ca39-4867-b944-baf9c6baca01.png align="center")

## Session retention when switching accounts

When switching accounts, IDE-side sessions with Kiro remain intact — no work was lost.  

![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1755305092723/f579ed06-66ce-47ce-8032-e8fd5d3dc79e.png align="center")

# Thoughts and what’s next

It seems that the Kiro plan is a bit less favorable compared to Q Developer — perhaps intentionally to promote Amazon Q Developer usage.  
It’s still unclear whether using Kiro under these conditions will have any restrictions.  
Personally, I hope that having a subscription to Q Developer would also grant Kiro access (or vice versa). Let’s see how this develops.