Cline is bring-your-own-key and model-agnostic, so the model is entirely your call. Claude Sonnet 4.6 is the most popular default, with Opus 4.8 for the hardest tasks; for value, DeepSeek V4 Pro, GLM 5.2, and Kimi K2.7 Code give Cline's Plan/Act workflow near-frontier output at open-weight prices.
The community default for Cline — excellent in Plan/Act mode with reliable tool use at a sensible price.
The quality ceiling for Cline's hardest plans and multi-file edits.
The value champion — near-frontier quality for a fraction of the cost, and open weights for self-hosting.
A capable open-weight flagship with a 1M context, strong for agentic coding.
Coding-tuned and great with tools — a favourite cheap pick for Cline.
A strong, well-priced option for those who prefer the GPT family in Cline.
The model picks the moves; the agent runs the loop, the tools, and the guardrails. Once you've chosen a model, see which agent gets the most out of it.