Aider vs Cline vs OpenHands

Side by side, as alternatives to Claude Code. Rows that differ are highlighted; the strongest value in a row is marked. Unknown means no source yet.

AiderAider-AI/aider

Clinecline/cline

OpenHandsOpenHands/OpenHands

Claude Codepaid product

Cost and coverage

Price

$0 software; you run it

Included with Claude Pro ($20/month, or $17/month billed annually), Max (from $100/month), Team and Enterprise; not on the free plan source ↗

Edit code across a repo from the terminal with an AI agent

Partly

Yes

Run commands and tests

Partly

Yes

Use the agent inside VS Code or JetBrains

Partly

Yes

Connect tools and data through MCP

Partly

Yes

Write commits and pull requests

Partly

Yes

Run the agent headless in scripts or CI (GitHub Actions)

Partly

Yes

Jobs covered

4 of 6 jobs

6 of 6 jobs

All 6

Popularity and activity (from GitHub)

Stars

49,688

70,739

91,499Top

—

Gain this week

Unknown

—

Signal

Building history

—

Commits / 4 wk

209

345Top

—

Latest release

v0.86.0 · 2025-08-09

desktop-v0.0.48 · 2026-10-17

v1.30.0 · 2026-10-22Top

—

Commits / 12 wk

840

740

—

People committing / 12 mo

12+

Unknown

54+

—

Issues opened / closed, 30 days

107 / 75

271 / 148

464 / 367

—

Facts, with sources on each project page

Runs on my machine?Differs

Yes, a command-line tool that runs in your project folder on your computer

Yes, in your editor, terminal or desktop app; optional Cloud Agents run in Cline's hosted sandbox

Yes; Agent Canvas and the agent server run on your machine by default, or on your own Docker host, VM or Kubernetes cluster

Hosted by the vendor

Code licenceDiffers

Apache-2.0

Apache-2.0 for the repo; the JetBrains plugin is not open source

MIT

—

Model weights licence

No separate model weights

—

Commercial useDiffers

Allowed under Apache-2.0

Yes, MIT allows commercial use

—

Paid services needed?Differs

Not required with local models (Ollama, LM Studio); cloud model APIs (Anthropic, OpenAI, DeepSeek and others) are optional

Not required with local models (Ollama, LM Studio) or your own keys; Cline Provider, ClinePass and Cloud Agents are optional

Not required with local models (LM Studio, Ollama, vLLM, SGLang); cloud model APIs and OpenHands Cloud are optional

Subscription

HardwareDiffers

Not documented; the installer only needs Python

No requirements documented for Cline itself (checked 2026-10-21); local models need much more

No requirements given for Agent Canvas itself; the recommended local model needs a 24GB GPU or an Apple Silicon Mac with 64GB memory

—

Operating systemsDiffers

Windows, macOS and Linux, with one-line installers for each

Desktop app for macOS and Windows (Windows in beta); the extension runs in VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, VSCodium and JetBrains IDEs, and the CLI needs Node.js 20+; Linux is not named in the install docs

macOS, Linux and Windows (PowerShell or WSL2); the CLI and per-conversation Docker sandboxes need WSL on Windows

—

Setup effortDiffers

Easy; one-line installer (or pip/uv/pipx), then add an API key or point it at a local model

Easy; install from the VS Code or JetBrains marketplace, or npm install -g cline, then add a provider key or local model

Medium; install Node.js 24 and uv then the npm package, or run the Docker image, then add a model

—

Stars over time

Switch to Growth % to compare projects of different sizes fairly.

The chart appears after a few nightly checks.

Notes for a video or post

A plain summary with today's date and a link to the sources. Check each project page before you publish.

Aider vs Cline vs OpenHands (as alternatives to Claude Code)
Figures from RepoQuarry, 22 Oct 2026. Sources: https://repoquarry.dev/compare?ids=aider,cline,openhands&product=claude-code

Claude Code: Included with Claude Pro ($20/month, or $17/month billed annually), Max (from $100/month), Team and Enterprise; not on the free plan
Aider: free software; does 4 of 6 Claude Code jobs
Cline: free software; does 6 of 6 Claude Code jobs
OpenHands: free software; does 6 of 6 Claude Code jobs

- Aider: 49,688 GitHub stars, 0 commits in 12 weeks, licence Apache-2.0
- Cline: 70,739 GitHub stars, 840 commits in 12 weeks, licence Apache-2.0 for the repo; the JetBrains plugin is not open source
- OpenHands: 91,499 GitHub stars, 740 commits in 12 weeks, licence MIT

Where they differ:
- Runs on my machine?: Aider Yes, a command-line tool that runs in your project folder on your computer; Cline Yes, in your editor, terminal or desktop app; optional Cloud Agents run in Cline's hosted sandbox; OpenHands Yes; Agent Canvas and the agent server run on your machine by default, or on your own Docker host, VM or Kubernetes cluster
- Code licence: Aider Apache-2.0; Cline Apache-2.0 for the repo; the JetBrains plugin is not open source; OpenHands MIT
- Commercial use: Aider Allowed under Apache-2.0; Cline Allowed under Apache-2.0; OpenHands Yes, MIT allows commercial use
- Paid services needed?: Aider Not required with local models (Ollama, LM Studio); cloud model APIs (Anthropic, OpenAI, DeepSeek and others) are optional; Cline Not required with local models (Ollama, LM Studio) or your own keys; Cline Provider, ClinePass and Cloud Agents are optional; OpenHands Not required with local models (LM Studio, Ollama, vLLM, SGLang); cloud model APIs and OpenHands Cloud are optional
- Hardware: Aider Not documented; the installer only needs Python; Cline No requirements documented for Cline itself (checked 2026-10-21); local models need much more; OpenHands No requirements given for Agent Canvas itself; the recommended local model needs a 24GB GPU or an Apple Silicon Mac with 64GB memory
- Operating systems: Aider Windows, macOS and Linux, with one-line installers for each; Cline Desktop app for macOS and Windows (Windows in beta); the extension runs in VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, VSCodium and JetBrains IDEs, and the CLI needs Node.js 20+; Linux is not named in the install docs; OpenHands macOS, Linux and Windows (PowerShell or WSL2); the CLI and per-conversation Docker sandboxes need WSL on Windows
- Setup effort: Aider Easy; one-line installer (or pip/uv/pipx), then add an API key or point it at a local model; Cline Easy; install from the VS Code or JetBrains marketplace, or npm install -g cline, then add a provider key or local model; OpenHands Medium; install Node.js 24 and uv then the npm package, or run the Docker image, then add a model

Stars show popularity, not quality. Check each project page before publishing.

Want share images and a ready video description? Open a project's creator kit.

Numbers: GitHub, fetched nightly. Facts: read from each project's own documentation, with the source on its page. How we check. Aider-AI/aider ↗cline/cline ↗OpenHands/OpenHands ↗

Aider vs Cline vs OpenHands

Stars over time

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