I used Kiro.dev for 5 days to complete my hackathon project (analyzing GitHub repositories).
My quick eval: Kiro feels like a below mid-level dev.
- Coding skills: mid-level
- Engineering skills: below mid
- Discipline: below mid
How Kiro stacks up vs a senior dev
Here’s how Kiro stacks up vs. a senior dev (based on my 25 years in software):
|
What Kiro does |
What a senior does |
Ideas to fix Kiro |
|---|---|---|
|
Chooses a random repo with 100+ forks |
Chooses a few smaller repos |
Ask Kiro to research repos suitable for testing |
|
Implements one big, long-running command (multiple requests per fork) |
Plans smaller steps: show-info, list-forks. Tests step by step → sees most forks are empty and skips them |
Ask to force task decomposition (Kiro resists) and break all processes into smaller steps |
|
Plans redundant, unnecessary, undisclosed features |
Plans only what’s needed |
Ask to stay minimal when planning features |
|
Rewrites raw data into vague, emotional, emoji-heavy text |
Reports raw data as is |
Ask to transmit entity names/data directly, without rephrasing |
|
Loses insights during planning/implementation |
Keeps track of all key details |
Summaries + separate notes sessions |
|
Starts coding immediately during “specs” discussion |
Plans first |
Use separate sessions, ask for summaries, and store notes in a separate file |
|
Ignores instructions (agent steering rules) |
Gets fired |
Must follow rules or refund |
|
Creates new specs for tiny features instead of extending existing ones |
Creates a new package only if reusable |
Must respect current session scope |
|
Crashes but still marks task as “completed” |
Gets fired |
Must either finish properly or refund |
|
Outputs “successful all done complete” placeholders as results |
Raises NotImplementedError |
Should always raise for unimplemented features |
|
Does a sloppy job |
Hunts for a new job |
Hopefully more careful with smaller tasks |
|
Never runs proper tests |
Runs thorough tests |
Ask for full test coverage - but beware, your budget may vanish fast |
|
Not ready to ship autonomously |
Can work autonomously |
Add more rules - will it help? |
|
Burns through your budget for only uncertain results |
Delivers within budget |
Pricing should reflect useful results, not wasted usage |
Final
My opinion: Kiro isn’t ready to work fully autonomously. It burns through budget fast, delivers only so-so results, and needs tighter rules plus better pricing to be truly useful.
Will I hire Kiro? Definitely yes. We need agents with different angles - just like people - to handle different tasks.