Alternatives to Kilo Code
An open-source AI coding agent for VS Code, JetBrains, the terminal and the cloud. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Kilo Code
An open-source AI coding agent for VS Code, JetBrains, the terminal and the cloud.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as Kilo Code.
Cline
An open-source AI coding agent for VS Code, the terminal and a standalone desktop app.
Cline is an Apache-2.0 coding agent for VS Code, the terminal and a desktop app, with Plan and Act modes but no JetBrains or cloud version.
GitHub Copilot
An AI coding assistant from GitHub that suggests code and carries out coding tasks in editors and terminals.
GitHub Copilot is a closed hosted service tied to GitHub accounts and repositories, sending code to GitHub for processing instead of allowing local models.
Cursor
An AI code editor built on VS Code, with coding agents that plan and carry out tasks.
Cursor is a closed-source editor built on VS Code with multi-file agents and codebase indexing, relying on hosted models and a paid plan for heavier use.
Kiro
An AI coding IDE and CLI that turns prompts into specs, designs and tasks for agents.
Kiro is a closed-source IDE and CLI with a spec-driven workflow and property-based tests, relying on cloud models and an account.
Trae
An AI-powered code editor with built-in chat and agent modes for writing and changing code.
Trae is a proprietary code editor for Windows and macOS with built-in AI chat and agent modes that depend on a remote service.
Open Interpreter
A command-line coding agent built to work with open language models such as Kimi and GLM.
Open Interpreter is a free command-line coding agent built around open-weight models such as Kimi and GLM, with no editor integration.
Also worth comparing
These listings name Kilo Code as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
Aider
AI pair programming in a terminal, working directly on your git repository and committing as it goes.
Kilo Code moves the agent into VS Code, JetBrains, a CLI and the cloud under MIT, offering model usage at cost, though it was recently acquired by Anaconda.
Claude Code
Agentic coding tool that reads a codebase, edits files and runs commands.
Kilo Code is an MIT-licensed agent for VS Code, JetBrains, CLI and cloud with bring-your-own keys or local models and usage at cost.
Codex CLI
OpenAI's open source coding agent that runs in your terminal.
Kilo Code is MIT-licensed, runs in VS Code, JetBrains, a CLI and the cloud, and lets you bring your own keys or use local models.
Cody Enterprise
Enterprise AI coding assistant grounded in Sourcegraph's codebase context.
Kilo Code is MIT-licensed, runs in VS Code and JetBrains, and supports your own keys or local models without an enterprise contract.
Crush
Terminal coding agent that works with whichever large language model you point it at.
Kilo Code is an MIT-licensed agent for VS Code, JetBrains, CLI and cloud with bring-your-own keys, local models and model usage at cost.
Gemini CLI
Google's open source AI agent for the terminal, powered by Gemini.
Kilo Code is an MIT-licensed coding agent for VS Code, JetBrains, the terminal and cloud, letting you bring your own keys or run local models.
OpenCode
Work with an AI coding assistant from your terminal.
Kilo Code is an MIT licensed coding agent for VS Code, JetBrains, CLI and cloud, with at-cost model usage, though it was recently acquired by Anaconda.
OpenHands
Self-hosted control centre for running coding agents against your projects.
Kilo Code is an MIT-licensed agent for VS Code, JetBrains, the terminal and the cloud, with bring-your-own keys or local models, though it was recently acquired by Anaconda.
Windsurf Plugins
AI autocomplete and chat plugins for JetBrains, VS Code and other editors.
Kilo Code is an MIT-licensed coding agent for VS Code, JetBrains, the terminal and cloud, with your own keys or local models and at-cost model usage.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
Qodo
An AI code review service that checks pull requests and IDE changes against full codebase context.
Replit
A browser-based AI app builder and coding workspace for creating and publishing apps and websites.
LLM
A command-line tool and Python library for prompting remote and locally installed language models.
bolt.new
A browser-based AI builder that creates websites, apps and prototypes from written prompts.
v0
An AI assistant from Vercel that generates full-stack web apps from text prompts and publishes them.
