ByteDance · Tools

Trae

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At a glance

Price
Pricing on request
Vendor
ByteDance

Specifications & properties

Key decision factors

Pricing model
Paid 1
Tool form
  • Standalone IDE
1
Model choice
Multiple models 1
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AI coding IDE and work assistant developed by ByteDance.

Profile

Trae is an AI-native, VS Code-based IDE built by ByteDance, offering free access to a generous tier of AI coding features alongside paid plans for heavier use. It officially launched on January 19, 2025, with an international English/Chinese version following on January 20, and a China-specific version — running on ByteDance's own Doubao models plus DeepSeek — launched separately on March 3, 2025.

Who builds it

  • Built by ByteDance, the Chinese technology company also known for TikTok and Doubao.
  • Positioned under the tagline "Collaborate with Intelligence," Trae ships two related products: TRAE IDE for coding and TRAE Work, a broader AI work assistant.
  • ByteDance's VP of Technology, Hong Dingkun, stated Trae's monthly active users had exceeded 1 million as of June 12, 2025.

Core features

  • Built on the VS Code foundation, so existing extensions and workflows carry over.
  • Builder mode for AI-assisted project scaffolding from natural-language instructions.
  • SOLO mode, a standalone app experience included on every plan, from Free through Ultra.
  • Inline autocompletion, with monthly request allowances that scale by plan.
  • Concurrent cloud agent tasks, also scaling with plan tier, plus queue-priority differences between plans.

Pricing

  • Free: 5,000 autocompletion requests per month, 2 concurrent cloud tasks, standard queue priority, SOLO mode included.
  • Lite: $3/month, unlimited autocompletion, 2 concurrent cloud tasks, fast queue priority.
  • Pro: $10/month (7-day free trial), unlimited autocompletion, 10 concurrent cloud tasks, fast queue priority, limited early access to new models.
  • Pro+: $30/month, roughly 3.5x the usage allowance of Pro, 15 concurrent cloud tasks, fast queue priority.
  • Ultra: $100/month, roughly 20x the usage allowance of Pro, 20 concurrent cloud tasks, model early access.

Who it's for

Trae's generous free tier and low-cost entry plans make it attractive to individual developers, students, and anyone prototyping quickly who wants a familiar VS Code-style editor with AI built in at no or low cost. Because it is built and operated by ByteDance, teams with strict requirements around data residency or vendor jurisdiction should factor that ownership into their evaluation alongside the feature set, in the same way they would for any AI IDE run by a large platform company.

Frequently asked questions

Is Trae free to use?

Yes — Trae's Free plan includes 5,000 autocompletion requests per month, 2 concurrent cloud agent tasks, standard queue priority, and access to SOLO mode, with no payment required.

What do Trae's paid plans cost?

Beyond the free tier, Trae offers Lite at $3/month, Pro at $10/month (with a 7-day free trial), Pro+ at $30/month, and Ultra at $100/month, with unlimited autocompletion and increasing numbers of concurrent cloud tasks (from 2 up to 20) at each higher tier.

Who builds Trae, and is it based on an existing editor?

Trae is built by ByteDance, the Chinese technology company behind TikTok and Doubao, and it is built on the VS Code foundation, so it inherits VS Code's extension ecosystem and general editing experience.

What are Trae's main products and features?

Trae's core product is TRAE IDE, a VS Code-based coding environment with Builder mode for AI-assisted project scaffolding and a standalone SOLO mode included on every plan; ByteDance also offers TRAE Work, a separate, broader AI work assistant alongside the IDE.

How many cloud agent tasks can I run at once in Trae?

It depends on the plan: Free and Lite allow 2 concurrent cloud tasks, Pro allows 10, Pro+ allows 15, and Ultra allows 20, with fast queue priority on every paid tier versus standard priority on Free.

Is Trae available internationally, or only in China?

Trae launched internationally on January 20, 2025, one day after its initial release, with an English/Chinese interface running on models including GPT-4o and Claude 3.5 Sonnet at the time; ByteDance separately launched a China-specific version on March 3, 2025 powered by its own Doubao-1.5-Pro model alongside DeepSeek.