Aider vs OpenCode: Side-by-Side Comparison 2026

Aider vs OpenCode comparison 2026. Side-by-side features, pricing & capabilities.

Feature Aider OpenCode
Category AssistantAssistant
Starting Price Free Free
Model Family Multi-model (any)Multi-model (any)
Code Completion
Chat
Agentic Mode
Multi-File Editing
Terminal Commands
Browser Use
App Generation
Git Integration
Supported IDEs Terminal (editor-agnostic)Terminal (editor-agnostic)
Open Source Yes (Apache 2.0)Yes (MIT)

Pricing verified 2026-02-06. Aider pricing | OpenCode pricing

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Overview

Aider is a CLI tool from Paul Gauthier (Open Source). OpenCode is a CLI tool from SST. Both tools are actively maintained as of 2026.

Aider: What You Get

Open-source CLI tool for AI pair programming. Works with OpenAI, Claude, and other models to edit code in your local git repo.

  • Git-aware editing
  • Multi-file editing
  • Model agnostic
  • Voice coding
  • Image support
  • Linting integration

Pricing: Free. 1 plan available.

OpenCode: What You Get

Open-source terminal AI coding agent from SST. Free with BYOK, or use OpenCode Zen (pay-per-token) and Black (flat-rate subscription at $20/$100/$200/mo) for managed model access.

  • AI chat
  • Agentic mode
  • Multi-file editing
  • Terminal commands
  • Test generation
  • Debugging

Pricing: Free / $20/mo. 4 plans available.

Key Differences

  • Category: Aider is a CLI tool, OpenCode is a CLI tool.
  • Model family: Aider uses Multi-model (any); OpenCode uses Multi-model (any).

Which Should You Choose?

Choose Aider if you want Fully open-source with transparent development. Choose OpenCode if you want OpenCode handles multi-step tasks independently. Both tools are strong options — the right choice depends on your workflow and priorities.

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