AI Code Tools: Ultimate Guide in 2023,

What are the best AI code tools in 2023?

Update: November 24th, 2023 - Added 2 new AI Tools!

AI coding tools are becoming standard practice for many developers. And today, you’ll learn which code generators are the best ones out there for creating high-quality code with the help of artificial intelligence.

Want to learn more? Read on!

Is it possible to code with AI tools?

Yes, it is possible to code with AI tools.  In fact, leveraging AI tools for coding is not only possible, but it can also significantly enhance productivity and accuracy.

AI code is code written by artificial intelligence (AI). These AI programs can write their own programs or even translate from one programming language to another. They also perform tasks like offering assistance in auto-generating documentation and finding code snippets faster.

One of the most popular tools is Open AI’s Codex, an AI system that translates natural language to code. Codex powers GitHub Copilot, another popular AI code tool.

OpenAI Codex is capable of interpreting simple commands in natural language and carrying them out for the programmer. This makes it possible to build on top of the existing application with a natural language interface.

As a general-purpose programming model, OpenAI Codex can be applied to almost any programming task. That said, the tool is in beta and so results will vary.

AlphaCode by DeepMind is another tool that is shaking up the industry. Interestingly, this tool outperforms human coders in certain situations. You see, AlphaCode outperformed 45% of programmers in coding competitions with at least 5,000 participants.

However, there are problems with code generators, too. That's why AI coding tools are used to help developers become more productive and efficient, rather than to replace them entirely.

For example, a Stanford-affiliated research team found that engineers who use AI tools are more likely to cause security vulnerabilities in their apps. Plus, questions around copyright are not entirely resolved.

In other words, AI code tools are not yet completely safe to use. That said, the popularity of these tools means that they can’t be overlooked.

What is AI code written in?

AI code is written in languages supported by the AI code generator. For example, OpenAI Codex is most fluent in Python but is also quite capable in several languages, including JavaScript, Ruby, and TypeScript.

Now, let’s take a look at the best code generators out there.

The best AI code generators

What are some effective AI code generators? The most popular ones include OpenAI Codex, Copilot by Github, and ChatGPT by OpenAI.

But there are plenty of other tools out there. I’ve listed them here below, including their features, capabilities, and which companies are behind them. Let’s dive in!

Here are the best AI code generators of 2023.

1. OpenAI Codex

OpenAI Codex is the most prominent AI code tool available today. It’s based on OpenAI's LLMs (GPT-3 and GPT-4) and is trained on billions of lines of code. The tool is proficient in more than a dozen programming languages.

As of March 2023, the Codex models are now deprecated. Check out the new Chat models, which are capable of handling many coding tasks with similar capabilities.

Price: No information available

2. Copilot

Copilot uses publicly available code from GitHub repositories so that users can access large datasets and quickly develop accurate code. The tool detects errors in code and recommends changes to it. You can start using GitHub Copilot by installing one of the extensions in your preferred environment.

Price: $10-$19 - GitHub Copilot is free to use for verified students, teachers, and maintainers of popular open source projects.

3. ChatGPT (GPT-3/4)

Created by OpenAI, the AI chatbot ChatGPT has become hugely popular, and finding different ways to use it has become a major trend. By taking advantage of transformers, ChatGPT can broaden its contextual awareness and sound very human-like. It has a wider scope of responses and can even generate code. But just like with any other AI tool, ChatGPT code might include bugs, be difficult to maintain, include security vulnerabilities, and so on. As already mentioned, AI code tools are still no replacement for human developers, even if they can be incredibly helpful in speeding up the process.

GPT-4, OpenAI's latest AI model, is a multimodal tool that excels in programming tasks. It understands and explains code, writes new code, and outperforms existing models on Python coding tasks. Despite its ability to handle complex tasks, it has limitations like reasoning errors and potential security vulnerabilities in the code it produces.

Price: Free or $20 for GPT Plus

4. AlphaCode

Another AI-based code generator is Google-backed DeepMind’s AlphaCode, which gives developers access to source code from various language libraries. With AlphaCode, developers can leverage thousands of pre-made libraries, helping them connect and use third-party APIs quickly and easily. AlphaCode is not yet available to the public.

Price: No information available

5. Tabnine

Tabnine is an AI code completion tool that utilizes deep learning algorithms to provide the user with intelligent code completion capabilities. Tabnine supports several programming languages such as Java, Python, C++, and more. This tool is open-source and is used by leading tech companies like Facebook and Google.

Price: Paid plans start from $12/month per seat

6. CodeT5

CodeT5 is an open AI code generator that helps developers to create reliable and bug-free code quickly and easily. It is also open-source and provides support for various programming languages such as Java, Python, and JavaScript. CodeT5 also has an online version as well as an offline version for data security.

Price: Free

7. Polycoder

Polycoder is an open-source alternative to OpenAI Codex. It is trained on a 249 GB codebase written in 12 programming languages. With Polycoder, users can generate code for web applications, machine learning, natural language processing and more. It is well-regarded amongst programmers because of its capability of generating code quickly.

Price: Free

8. Deepcode

DeepCode is a cloud-based AI code analysis tool that automatically scans the codebase of a project and identifies potential bugs and vulnerabilities. It offers support for multiple languages such as Java, Python, and JavaScript. DeepCode is well-regarded for its accurate bug detection.

Price: No information available

9. WPCode

WPCode is an AI-driven WordPress code generator created by Isotropic. It supports both developers and non-technical WordPress creators, allowing them to quickly generate high-quality code snippets. CodeWP supports not only HTML and CSS but languages such as Java and Python. It even includes AI assistants to suggest improvements to code snippets.

Price: Starting at $49

10. AskCodi

AskCodi is a code generator that offers a full suite of development tools to help developers build and ship projects faster. With its AI-based code generation, it helps developers write better code and shorter code blocks, with fewer mistakes. AskCodi can be used to develop both web and mobile applications.

Price: Paid plans start from $7.99/month per seat

11. Codiga

Codiga is a static analysis tool that ensures code is secure and efficient. It supports popular languages like JavaScript, Python, Ruby, Kotlin, and more. With Codiga, you can test your code for vulnerabilities and security issues in real time. It also includes an auto-fixer to quickly address any issues in the code.

Price: Paid plans start from $14/month per seat

12. Visual Studio IntelliCode

Visual Studio IntelliCode is an extension of the Visual Studio Code editor created by Microsoft that provides AI-assisted development experiences to improve developer productivity. It offers smarter IntelliSense completions and helps reduce the amount of time developers spend navigating and debugging code.

Price: Starting from $45/month

13. PyCharm

PyCharm is an AI code completion tool from JetBrains which provides developers with intelligent code completion capabilities. This tool supports various programming languages such as Java, Python, and JavaScript. PyCharm is well regarded for its accuracy and can help developers reduce the amount of time spent on coding tasks.

Price: Starting from $24.90/month per seat

14. AIXcoder

AIXcoder is an AI-powered programming pair designed to aid development teams in writing code. It supports languages such as Java, Python, and JavaScript. This tool also offers a range of features such as automated routine tasks, AI-powered code completion, real-time code analysis and error checks while typing.

Price: No information available

15. Ponicode

Ponicode is an AI-powered code assistant designed to help developers optimize their coding workflow. It uses natural language processing and machine learning to generate code from user-defined descriptions. The tool is maintained by CircleCI.

Price: No information available

16. Jedi

Jedi is an open-source option for code completion in AI. It mostly functions as a plugin for editors and IDEs that use Python static analysis tools.

Price: Free

17. Wing Python IDE Pro

Created by Wingware, Wing IDE is a Python-specific software setup that combines the code editing, code navigation, and debugging mechanisms required to Code and Test Software applications. It offers various features such as an intelligent auto-completing Editor, Refactoring, Multi-Selection, and Code Snippets, which make coding much easier and more efficient.

Price: Annual licenses starting at $179/month

18. Smol Developer

Smol is an open-source artificial intelligence agent designed to function as a personal junior developer, capable of generating an entire codebase from your specific product specifications. Unlike traditional, rigid starter templates, Smol can create any kind of application based on your unique requirements. Boasting a codebase that is simple, safe, and small, it offers the perfect blend of ease-of-understanding, customization, and a helpful, harmless, and honest approach to AI development.

Price: Smol is open-source with a MIT License.

19. Cody (Sourcegraph)

Cody (not to be confused with AskCodi), Sourcegraph's AI tool, is a comprehensive coding assistant. It understands your entire codebase, answers queries, and writes code. Beyond guidance, Cody provides detailed code explanations, locates specific components, and identifies potential issues with suggested fixes. Cody works directly in VS code with an extension.

Price: Cody is free for personal use, Sourcegraph starts at $5k/year

20. CodeWhisperer (Amazon)

CodeWhisperer is a tool developed by Amazon. It offers real-time, AI-driven code suggestions and identifies potential open-source code matches for easier review. It even scans for security vulnerabilities, suggesting immediate patches. An added bonus is its commitment to code safety, always aligning with best security practices such as OWASP guidelines.

Price: Free for personal use, $19/month professional use

21. Bard (Google)

Bard can help with programming and software development tasks, including code generation, debugging and code explanation. These capabilities are supported in more than 20 programming languages including C++, Go, Java, Javascript, Python and Typescript. And you can easily export Python code to Google Colab — no copy and paste required. Bard can also assist with writing functions for Google Sheets.

Price: Google Bard is Free

22. Code Llama (Meta)

Code Llama is a set of large language models specialized for coding, built on the Llama 2 platform. It includes different models for various needs: the general-purpose Code Llama, Code Llama - Python for Python-specific tasks, and Code Llama - Instruct for instruction-based coding. These models vary in size (7B, 13B, and 34B parameters) and can handle up to 16k token inputs, with some improvements on up to 100k tokens. The 7B and 13B models also offer content-based infilling.

Code Llama’s training recipes are available on their Github repository - Model weights are also available.

Over to you!

There you have it! Now you know what AI code tools can help you work more efficiently by simplifying your development process.

However, while AI coding tools can help developers work smarter, you first have to find the right developers for your team. That’s what we do at CodeSubmit – we offer industry-leading skills assessment tests.

Want to try them out?