A free coding AI called Goose is taking on Anthropic’s expensive Claude Code, offering the same features without monthly fees or usage limits.
Claude Code costs between $20 and $200 per month and restricts how much developers can use it every five hours. For serious programmers, those limits get hit within minutes of work. Goose, built by Block (formerly Square), runs on your own computer and has no restrictions at all.
Developers are fed up with AI subscriptions
The timing couldn’t be better for a free alternative. Anthropic recently added weekly rate limits that further restrict Claude Code usage, sparking complaints across developer forums. Even paying $200 monthly doesn’t guarantee unlimited access.
Goose has exploded in popularity, earning over 26,100 stars on GitHub with 362 contributors. The latest version shipped in January 2026, showing development speed that matches commercial products.
The key difference is control. While Claude Code runs in Anthropic’s cloud servers, Goose works entirely offline on your machine. “Your data stays with you, period,” explained software engineer Parth Sareen during a recent demo. That means you can code with AI assistance even on an airplane.
Both tools can write code, fix bugs, and deploy applications automatically. But Goose removes the monthly bills, usage caps, and internet requirements that frustrate Claude Code users.
What happens next
Goose represents a growing trend of free, open-source alternatives to expensive AI services. As more developers discover they can get similar results without subscriptions, companies like Anthropic may need to reconsider their pricing strategies.
