Open Interpreter
Open source coding agent for running code locally with low-cost and open-weight AI models.
Pricing Open sourceOpen source yesStars 68.5k
Claude Code alternatives
13 tools you can use instead of Claude Code, ranked by live GitHub stars and npm downloads. Open Interpreter, GPT Engineer and Aider are the most used. Stats updated 5 hours ago.
Aider is the closest open source alternative: it also runs in the terminal, and you pay your chosen model provider directly. GitHub Copilot and Cursor are the alternatives if you want an agent inside an editor, and both have free tiers.
When Claude Code is not a good fit
Claude Code is Anthropic's agentic coding tool that works from the terminal, reading and editing files, running commands and carrying out multi-step coding tasks. It's included with Claude Pro ($20 a month) and Max ($100 or $200 a month) subscriptions, or billed at standard API token rates when used with a Claude Console (API) account.
It is a weaker choice for:
- Developers wanting a standalone Claude Code subscription with no ties to a broader Claude plan
- Very lightweight, single-line code completion, where a simpler inline autocomplete tool may be enough
- Teams wanting a graphical, non-terminal-first interface as the primary experience
The alternatives
Most used first.
View Open Interpreter
GPT Engineer
Early open source tool for generating an entire codebase from a natural-language prompt.
Pricing Open sourceOpen source yesStars 55.1k
Aider
Open source AI pair programming tool that runs in the terminal and edits your codebase with git commits.
Pricing Open sourceOpen source yesStars 49.4k
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
Claude Code and its alternatives, side by side
| Tool | Pricing | Free plan | Paid from | Open source | GitHub stars |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 150k |
| Open Interpreter | Open source | Yes, fully free and open source | Not listed | Yes, AGPL-3.0 | 68.5k |
| GPT Engineer | Open source | Yes, fully free and open source | Not listed | Yes, MIT | 55.1k |
| Aider | Open source | Yes, Aider itself is free; you pay your chosen LLM provider directly for API usage | Not listed | Yes, Apache-2.0 | 49.4k |
| 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 Claude Code?
By GitHub stars, Open Interpreter is the most used alternative to Claude Code listed on ScratchDB, with 68.5k stars.
Which Claude Code alternatives are open source?
Open Interpreter, GPT Engineer, Aider and smol-developer are open source.
Which Claude Code alternatives have a free plan?
Open Interpreter, GPT Engineer, Aider, 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.