Claude Code
Anthropic's agentic coding tool for the terminal, included with Claude Pro and Max subscriptions.
Pricing FreemiumPaid from $20 a month (Claude Pro, monthly) or $17 a month billed annuallyOpen source noStars 153knpm a week 15M
Aider alternatives
15 tools you can use instead of Aider, ranked by live GitHub stars and npm downloads. Claude Code, OpenCode and Cline are the most used. Stats updated 5 hours ago.
Open Interpreter is the closest open source alternative that also runs in the terminal. Claude Code is Anthropic's terminal coding agent, included with Claude Pro and Max subscriptions. If you would rather work in an editor, compare Cursor and GitHub Copilot.
When Aider is not a good fit
Aider is an open source, terminal-based AI pair programming tool that edits files in an existing codebase, automatically committing changes to git as it goes. It connects to your own choice of LLM provider using your own API key, supporting models such as Claude, GPT and DeepSeek, as well as local models. Aider itself is free; you only pay your chosen LLM provider for API usage.
It is a weaker choice for:
- Developers who want a graphical IDE experience rather than a terminal tool
- Teams that want one flat subscription price instead of paying an LLM provider directly for usage
- Users who don't want to manage their own API keys and provider accounts
The alternatives
Most used first.
View Claude Code
OpenCode
Open source AI coding agent for the terminal, IDE and desktop that works with 75+ model providers.
Pricing Open sourceOpen source yesStars 222knpm a week 3.4M
Cline
Open source autonomous coding agent for VS Code, JetBrains and the terminal that works with your own model provider.
Pricing Open sourcePaid from Enterprise: custom pricingOpen source yesStars 70.9knpm a week 85.6k
Open Interpreter
Open source coding agent for running code locally with low-cost and open-weight AI models.
Pricing Open sourceOpen source yesStars 68.7k
GPT Engineer
Early open source tool for generating an entire codebase from a natural-language prompt.
Pricing Open sourceOpen source yesStars 55k
smol-developer
Early open source, single-file AI agent for scaffolding a small application from a prompt.
Pricing Open sourceOpen source yesStars 12.2k
Amazon Q Developer
AWS's AI coding and cloud assistant, successor to Amazon CodeWhisperer, with a free and $19 a month Pro tier.
Pricing FreemiumPaid from $19 per user a month (Pro tier)Open source no
Cody
Sourcegraph's AI coding assistant, built on large-scale code search across an entire codebase.
Pricing PaidPaid from $16,000 minimum annual contract (Enterprise)Open source no
Cursor
AI-powered code editor built on VS Code, made by Anysphere.
Pricing FreemiumPaid from $20 a month for IndividualOpen source no
Cursor 3
AI-first code editor with agentic coding features, plans from free Hobby to $40 a user a month for Teams.
Pricing FreemiumPaid from $20 a month (Individual plan)Open source no
GitHub Copilot
GitHub's AI pair programmer, with code completions, chat and coding agents in the editor.
Pricing FreemiumPaid from $10 a month for Copilot ProOpen source no
Google Antigravity
Google's agentic development platform for building with AI agents, free for individual developers.
Pricing FreePaid from Contact Google for Enterprise pricingOpen source no
JetBrains AI
AI coding assistant built into JetBrains IDEs, priced through a monthly AI Credit system.
Pricing FreemiumPaid from $10 a month (AI Pro, 10 AI Credits per 30 days)Open source no
Supermaven
Fast AI code completion tool with a large context window, owned by Cursor's maker Anysphere.
Pricing FreemiumPaid from $10 a month for the Pro planOpen source no
Tabnine
AI code completion tool, acquired by Tricentis in 2026 to power enterprise AI testing agents.
Pricing FreemiumPaid from Contact Tabnine or Tricentis for current pricingOpen source no
Aider and its alternatives, side by side
| Tool | Pricing | Free plan | Paid from | Open source | GitHub stars |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aider | Open source | Yes, Aider itself is free; you pay your chosen LLM provider directly for API usage | Not listed | Yes, Apache-2.0 | 49.8k |
| Claude Code | Freemium | No standalone free tier; included with paid Claude Pro and Max subscriptions | $20 a month (Claude Pro, monthly) or $17 a month billed annually | No | 153k |
| OpenCode | Open source | Yes: the agent is free and open source. Model usage is billed by your provider, or through Zen credits. | Not listed | Yes, MIT | 222k |
| Cline | Open source | Yes: the open source version has no subscription or seat fee. You pay for model usage. | Enterprise: custom pricing | Yes, Apache-2.0 | 70.9k |
| Open Interpreter | Open source | Yes, fully free and open source | Not listed | Yes, AGPL-3.0 | 68.7k |
| GPT Engineer | Open source | Yes, fully free and open source | Not listed | Yes, MIT | 55k |
| smol-developer | Open source | Yes, fully free and open source | Not listed | Yes, MIT | 12.2k |
| Amazon Q Developer | Freemium | Yes: 50 agentic requests a month and 1,000 lines of code transformation a month | $19 per user a month (Pro tier) | No | None |
| Cody | Paid | A free trial is available; contact Sourcegraph for current details | $16,000 minimum annual contract (Enterprise) | No | None |
| Cursor | Freemium | Yes (Hobby): limited agent requests and access to Composer, no credit card required | $20 a month for Individual | No | None |
| Cursor 3 | Freemium | Yes: Hobby plan with limited agent requests and access to Composer, no credit card required | $20 a month (Individual plan) | No | None |
| GitHub Copilot | Freemium | Yes: 2,000 code completions and 50 chat requests a month, no AI credits included | $10 a month for Copilot Pro | No | None |
| Google Antigravity | Free | Yes, available at no charge for individual developers | Contact Google for Enterprise pricing | No | None |
| JetBrains AI | Freemium | Yes: AI Free tier includes 3 AI Credits per 30 days, no top-ups | $10 a month (AI Pro, 10 AI Credits per 30 days) | No | None |
| Supermaven | Freemium | Yes: fast code suggestions, large codebase support, 7-day data retention | $10 a month for the Pro plan | No | None |
| Tabnine | Freemium | Historically yes, with a free tier for individual developers; confirm current availability on Tabnine's site | Contact Tabnine or Tricentis for current pricing | No | None |
Pricing facts come from each tool's official pricing page, with the checked date on the tool's own page.
Questions
What is the most popular alternative to Aider?
By GitHub stars, Claude Code is the most used alternative to Aider listed on ScratchDB, with 153k stars.
Which Aider alternatives are open source?
OpenCode, Cline, Open Interpreter, GPT Engineer and smol-developer are open source.
Which Aider alternatives have a free plan?
OpenCode, Cline, Open Interpreter, GPT Engineer, smol-developer, Amazon Q Developer, Cursor, Cursor 3, GitHub Copilot, Google Antigravity, JetBrains AI and Supermaven have a free plan. The table on this page shows what each one includes.