Coding agent (CLI) · Factory
Factory Droid
Factory's coding agent, Droid, sold as part of a paid platform. The CLI runs interactively or headless via droid exec, with Missions for multi-agent work, custom subagents, MCP, worktrees and an OS-level sandbox.
Factory Droid review
Factory Droid is a terminal coding agent, sold as part of Factory's paid platform. There is no free plan on the pricing page, and the code is closed. We read the vendor's pages in October 2026. We did not run an independent test.
Who it is for
Teams and individuals ready to pay for a managed agent platform that spans the CLI, CI and chat tools.
What stands out
Install with a shell script from app.factory.ai, Homebrew, PowerShell on Windows, or `npm install -g droid`. Sign-in happens in the browser. The vendor's domain moved: factory.ai now redirects to factory.com.
The CLI runs interactively or headless through `droid exec`, which has CI recipes, SDKs and a public API. Missions coordinate several agents. Custom subagents, MCP, hooks, skills and `droid --worktree` are documented. A kernel-level sandbox uses Seatbelt on macOS and bubblewrap on Linux and WSL2, with file and network limits.
The catalog covers Anthropic, OpenAI, Google and xAI models plus open-weight "Droid Core" models. Custom endpoints, including local ones, go in through BYOK settings.
Price and licence
Droid is proprietary. The npm package says UNLICENSED, and the Factory-AI/factory repository holds docs and issues, not CLI source.
Plans seen 28 October 2026: Pro $20 a month, Plus $100 (about 5x Pro usage), Max $200 (about 10x), Teams $60 per team plus $40 per seat, and custom Business and Enterprise. Hosted models use credits under rolling limits. BYOK is free up to an allowance whose size is not stated.
Where it falls short
- Closed source, account-based and paid; we saw no free trial.
- Rolling limits in credits and multipliers are harder to predict than flat pricing.
- The CLI is one surface in a larger enterprise platform.
- Custom models live in local CLI or desktop settings, so the web and mobile surfaces do not show them.
Alternatives
See terminal coding agents. Claude Code is also paid and closed. OpenCode is open source.
Facts: platforms, price and licence
- platforms
- macOSLinuxWindowsWebDroid CLI installs on macOS/Linux, Windows (PowerShell), Homebrew or npm; also a desktop Factory App, web and mobile surfaces, and Slack/Teams/Jira/Linear delegation. Linux needs xdg-utils. factory.ai now redirects (308) to factory.com.
- price
- SubscriptionPricing page (seen 2026-10-28): Pro $20/mo, Plus $100/mo (~5x Pro usage), Max $200/mo (~10x), Teams $60/mo per team plus $40/mo per seat (up to 10 seats), Business and Enterprise custom. No free plan listed. Usage is metered by rolling rate limits using Factory credits for hosted models; an open-weight 'Droid Core' pool continues after limits; extra usage is prepaid credit ($10 minimum). BYOK (your own keys) is free up to an allowance on individual plans, then billed per plan.
- source
- ProprietaryLicence: Proprietary
- github
- Factory-AI/factory 69 stars, seen 2026-10-28
Factory Droid features
- ✓ yes MCP
- ✓ yes Multi-agent
- ✓ yes Headless / CI
- ✓ yes Sandbox
- ✓ yes Local models
- ✓ yes Your own API key
- ✓ yes Git worktrees
- ? not verified SSH
✓ documented · – absent or not in its feature list · ? not verified
Factory Droid strengths
- Documented headless 'droid exec' with CI recipes, plus Python and TypeScript SDKs and a public API
- Broad harness: custom subagents, multi-agent Missions, MCP, hooks, skills, plugins and native git worktrees (droid --worktree)
- Kernel-level sandbox (Seatbelt on macOS, bubblewrap on Linux/WSL2) with filesystem and network limits
- BYOK custom models including local endpoints; keys stay in local settings.json
Factory Droid weak points
- Closed source and account-based: sign-in through Factory is required and plans are paid, with no free plan on the pricing page
- Usage limits are rolling windows in credits and multipliers, which are harder to predict than flat pricing
- Part of a larger enterprise platform (automations, delegations, wikis), so the CLI is one surface among many
- Hosted web/mobile surfaces do not show personal custom models (they live in local CLI/desktop settings)
Who Factory Droid is for
- best for
- Teams and individuals ready to pay for a managed agent platform that spans CLI, CI and chat tools.
- look elsewhere if
- Users who want a free, open-source terminal agent or fully offline operation without a Factory account.
Lists that include Factory Droid
Sources and what we could not verify
Checked 2026-10-28. Prices and features change; the vendor's page is the authority.
- factory.com — product positioning; domain redirect from factory.ai
- factory.com/pricing — plan prices Pro/Plus/Max/Teams/Business/Enterprise
- docs.factory.com/pricing/individuals.md — rate limits, Droid Core, extra usage, BYOK allowance
- docs.factory.com/droid-cli/quickstart.md — install commands, platforms, browser sign-in
- docs.factory.com/droid-cli/overview.md — Missions, custom droids, MCP, hooks, plugins, droid exec
- docs.factory.com/droid-exec/overview.md — headless mode
- docs.factory.com/model-independence/byok.md — BYOK and local models
- docs.factory.com/autonomy-and-safety/sandbox.md — OS-level sandbox
- docs.factory.com/droid-cli/cli-reference.md — --worktree flag
- docs.factory.com/remote-control.md — remote control of your own computer via Factory relay from web/other devices
- docs.factory.com/models.md — available models
- www.npmjs.com/package/droid — version 0.250.0, UNLICENSED
Not verified
- Whether a free trial exists: none shown on the pricing page
- Official iOS/Android app store listings not verified; docs only mention 'web and mobile' surfaces
- SSH: remote work goes through Factory's relay (Remote Control) rather than documented SSH, so ssh left null; the CLI also has 'droid computer ssh' for registered computers
- Exact BYOK allowance amount not stated