# Free is a plan, not a trial

> Shuriken Free has 2 sources, 2 linked devices, every agent, source switching and global MCPs, with no card and no countdown. Pro lifts both limits.

Source: https://shuriken.sh/blog/free-plan-not-a-trial

Shuriken Free has 2 sources, 2 linked devices, every agent, source switching and global MCPs, with no card and no countdown. Pro lifts both limits.

[Update](https://shuriken.sh/blog) By Shuriken Updated 31 October 2026 3 min read

**Contents**

We've signed up for plenty of "free" tools that turned out to be a 14-day countdown with a card form at the end. We didn't want Shuriken to work that way. So Free is a plan: no card and no end date. You can use it for as long as you like.

Pro has a free trial, though: a 14-day free trial of Pro, cancel any time. Every new account starts on Free, the plan this post is about. The trial starts only when you choose Pro. You enter your card then, and when the 14 days end it's charged €49 for the first month, or €490 for a year, unless you cancel before. We email you 3 days before the charge. You can cancel in Settings › Plan or at [shuriken.sh/cancel](https://shuriken.sh/cancel), and then you're back on Free with nothing deleted. One trial per person and per card.

Free is where you start, for as long as you like. The trial is Pro's, when you choose it.

Plans arrive with Shuriken 5.1. Pro lifts Free's two limits, and it's what you need to share a project in the shared projects beta.

## What Free includes #

Free has two limits, and they're both about how many things you connect:

- 2 sources. A source is an account or API key you add: a Claude subscription, a ChatGPT sign-in for Codex, an API key or, from 5.1, a local model.
- 2 linked devices. Your computers and servers. Browsers don't count, so the web app on your phone or a laptop at a friend's place is free of that limit. And one machine counts once, however often you sign in on it.

Everything in this post is in, with no cut-down versions. All 67 coding agents are there: Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI and the rest. With [automatic source switching](https://shuriken.sh/features/source-switching), when one of your accounts reaches its limit, your chats move to the other one and keep going. [5-hour clocks](https://shuriken.sh/features/session-clock) start your idle Claude account's 5-hour window with one tiny background request, so limits come back sooner. With [global MCPs](https://shuriken.sh/features/global-mcps) you sign in to an MCP server once and use it in every project, on every account and device.

Every agent is on Free: add one from Settings › Agents.

[Parallel agents](https://shuriken.sh/features/parallel-agents) are in too, each chat on its own branch if you want, with no cap from us. So are the browser with Design mode, voice (turned into text on your own computer by default) and Open in for 44 editors, terminals and file managers. Your phone gets every chat, the queue and voice from any phone browser today, and native iOS and Android apps are coming in November.

Free is unlimited under fair use. Two sources is enough to feel what switching does: one account runs low, the chat moves to the other, and you keep working.

## What Pro adds #

Pro is for people who've outgrown two of something.

| | Free | Pro |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | €0, no card | €49 a month or €490 a year (2 months free), VAT included for EU consumers |
| Sources | 2 | Unlimited |
| Linked devices | 2 (browsers don't count) | Unlimited |
| Every agent, switching, 5-hour clocks, global MCPs | Yes | Yes |
| Parallel agents, browser, voice, Open in, phone | Yes | Yes |
| Share a project (shared projects beta) | No, but you can join one | Yes |

The yearly price works out to about €41 a month, which saves about 17%.

Pro also opens a few features that are still in beta inside the app.

Shared projects are an opt-in beta in 5.1: you invite a friend into one of your projects, and their chats run on your computer. Sharing a project needs Pro; the friend you invite can be on Free. [Shared projects, step by step](https://shuriken.sh/blog/shared-projects-beta) has the details.

## Ordering Pro #

Payments are open: the prices above are what you pay, with VAT for EU consumers already included. Pro's first 14 days are free, and the card you enter when you start is charged when they end unless you cancel before.

Shuriken shows what every plan you hold has left in one figure, and what each turn costs as it runs.

[Try Shuriken](https://shuriken.sh/)

## Founding members get Pro for free #

If you signed up before launch, with an account or just your email address, you're a Founding member. Founding members get Pro's features at no charge, for as long as Shuriken runs, as our thank-you for being here first. How the waitlist turned into this plan is in [no more waitlist: you're a Founding member](https://shuriken.sh/blog/founding-members).

## Why not make everything free? #

Because we'd like to keep building this for a long time, and that needs some people to pay. We never bill model usage: your agents always run on your own plans and keys. So Pro is the only thing we charge for, and we tried to put the line where Free stays genuinely useful for one person with a couple of accounts.

The full comparison lives on the [pricing page](https://shuriken.sh/pricing), and the common questions are in the [FAQ](https://shuriken.sh/faq). Or just [try Shuriken](https://shuriken.sh/).

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## Frequently asked questions

**Is Shuriken free?**

Yes. Free is a plan, not a trial: two sources, two linked devices, every coding agent and automatic source switching, with no card and no end date.

**Do browsers or my phone count as linked devices?**

Browsers never count, and that includes the web app on your phone. A computer counts once, however many times you sign in on it. A server counts as one device.

**Is there a free trial of Pro?**

Yes, a 14-day free trial of Pro, cancel any time. Every account starts on Free. The trial starts only when you choose Pro, and you enter your card then. When the 14 days end, the card is charged €49 for the first month, or €490 for a year, unless you cancel before. We email you 3 days before the charge. One trial per person and per card.

**Can I buy Pro today?**

Yes. Pro is €49 a month or €490 a year (2 months free), VAT included for EU consumers, and its first 14 days are free. You enter your card when you start; it's charged when the 14 days end unless you cancel before.

**What is a Founding member?**

Everyone who signed up before launch, with an account or just an email address. Founding members get Pro at no charge, for as long as Shuriken runs.

Fuel

All your plans, in one fuel gauge.

Shuriken adds up what your subscriptions have left, one figure per provider and per limit, in the top bar.

[Try Shuriken](https://shuriken.sh/)

[How it works](https://shuriken.sh/features/fuel)

## Keep reading

- [API keys as a last resort, with a spend cap: Update 27 Oct 2026 4 min read Let Claude Code fall back to an API key only when every subscription is out, with a spend cap on each fallback run. How it works in Shuriken.](https://shuriken.sh/blog/api-keys-last-resort)
- [Claude Pro vs Max for Claude Code: Guide 27 Oct 2026 5 min read Pro suits a few Claude Code sessions a week; Max suits daily heavy use and parallel agents. Prices, limits, the signs you've outgrown Pro, and upgrading.](https://shuriken.sh/guides/claude-pro-vs-max-for-claude-code)
- [Amp vs Claude Code: pricing, models and fit: Comparison 27 Oct 2026 10 min read Amp is free to start and bills models at API prices with no markup; Claude Code runs Claude models on a flat Pro, Max or Ultra plan. Prices compared.](https://shuriken.sh/compare/amp-vs-claude-code)
- [Best AI coding subscription in 2026, by how you work: Comparison 27 Oct 2026 5 min read The best AI coding subscription in 2026 depends on how you work. Claude, ChatGPT, Google, Cursor and Copilot plans compared: price, limits, who each suits.](https://shuriken.sh/compare/best-ai-coding-subscription)
- [ChatGPT Plus vs Claude Pro for coding: the $20 plans: Comparison 27 Oct 2026 7 min read ChatGPT Plus and Claude Pro both cost $20 and include a coding agent, Codex or Claude Code. Their limits, models and extras, from each vendor's own pages.](https://shuriken.sh/compare/chatgpt-plus-vs-claude-pro-for-coding)
- [Claude Code 1M context window: when it helps, what it costs: Guide 27 Oct 2026 4 min read Opus 4.7+, Sonnet 5+, Haiku 5.5 and Fable run with a 1M context in Claude Code by default. Why a huge session costs more every turn, and when /clear wins.](https://shuriken.sh/guides/claude-code-1m-context-window)

## Free tools

- [Claude limit reset tracker](https://shuriken.sh/tools/limit-resets/claude)
- [Codex limit reset tracker](https://shuriken.sh/tools/limit-resets/codex)