Our Amazon Q Developer review
If you need AWS infrastructure code, Amazon Q Developer is one of the safest picks in AI coding — with the caveat that weaker general coding than dedicated rivals.
We score Amazon Q Developer 4.0 out of 5 — solid ease of use, solid performance and solid value for money.
What Amazon Q Developer is
Amazon Q Developer is Amazon Web Services' AI coding product, launched in 2024. AWS coding assistant that completes code, explains services, upgrades Java projects and fixes issues inside your IDE.
It is aimed at intermediate users — the learning curve is moderate. Day one you would use it for AWS infrastructure code and legacy Java modernisation. It runs on VS Code, JetBrains, Web and CLI, with no mobile app, and there is an API if you want it inside your own systems.
Where it shines
What you are really paying for here: excellent on AWS-specific questions and java upgrade agent saves real days. The feature set behind that is inline code completion, AWS service Q&A, java version upgrades and issue-to-fix agent.
We rate performance 4.1/5 and answer accuracy around 85% for the tasks in this category, which is why it holds up for AWS infrastructure code and legacy Java modernisation.
Where it falls short
It is not without cost or compromise: weaker general coding than dedicated rivals and most useful only on AWS projects.
Expect a real ramp-up — we rate the learning curve moderate. Budget time for it before judging the tool.
Pricing and value for money
Pricing is $19/user/mo Pro. At $19 a month that is $228 a year per person, in line with the rest of the category (the category median is about $20). A free tier exists, so you can test it properly before paying.
If budget is the constraint, look at the free tiers of the alternatives below. Our cost calculator will show what adding Amazon Q Developer does to your monthly stack before you commit.
Who should use Amazon Q Developer
Amazon Q Developer is the right call for AWS infrastructure code and legacy Java modernisation. We would not recommend it if weaker general coding than dedicated rivals is a bigger problem for you than excellent on AWS-specific questions is a benefit.
We do not track a direct replacement for it yet, which is part of the argument for it.
Worth a trial: Amazon Q Developer at $19/mo is best used for AWS infrastructure code and legacy Java modernisation, and it earns 4.0/5 from us.