Gemini CLI vs OpenHands vs goose

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

Gemini CLIgoogle-gemini/gemini-cli

OpenHandsOpenHands/OpenHands

gooseaaif-goose/goose

Cursorpaid product

Cost and coverage

Price

$0 software; you run it

Free plan with limited AI use; Plus $8/month, Premium $30/month, Super $100/month, Ultra $200/month; third-party models billed separately by usage source ↗

Code in an AI-first editor

Yes

Multi-line tab completion and next-edit prediction

Yes

Let an agent plan and edit across many files

Partly

Yes

Run terminal commands and tests from the agent

Partly

Yes

Ask questions about your whole codebase

Partly

Yes

Connect tools and data through MCP

Partly

Yes

Run agents in the cloud in the background

Partly

Yes

Jobs covered

4 of 7 jobs

3 of 7 jobs

All 7

Popularity and activity (from GitHub)

Stars

107,492Top

91,499

55,514

—

Gain this week

Unknown

—

Signal

Building history

—

Commits / 4 wk

345Top

139

—

Latest release

v0.65.0 · 2026-10-20

v1.30.0 · 2026-10-22Top

v1.55.0 · 2026-10-16

—

Commits / 12 wk

194

740

657

—

People committing / 12 mo

82+

54+

77+

—

Issues opened / closed, 30 days

123 / 206

464 / 367

314 / 237

—

Facts, with sources on each project page

Runs on my machine?Differs

Yes, the CLI runs in your terminal; the Gemini models themselves run on Google's servers

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

Yes, desktop app and CLI run on your computer

Hosted by the vendor

Code licenceDiffers

Apache-2.0

MIT

Apache-2.0

—

Model weights licence

No separate model weights

—

Commercial useDiffers

Allowed under Apache-2.0

Yes, MIT allows commercial use

Yes, Apache-2.0 allows commercial use

—

Paid services needed?Differs

A paid service is required since June 18, 2026; the free Google-account tier moved to Antigravity CLI. No local model support

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

Not required with local models (Ollama, LM Studio, Docker Model Runner, Ramalama) or free tiers such as Groq; paid APIs are optional

Subscription

HardwareDiffers

4GB+ RAM for short sessions, 16GB+ for large codebases; needs Node.js 20+ and an internet connection

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

Native Rust desktop app and CLI; the LLM runs through the provider you configure (cloud API or local); no RAM, CPU or GPU figures documented

—

Operating systemsDiffers

Windows 11 24H2+, macOS 15+ and Ubuntu 20.04+

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

Desktop app and CLI for macOS, Linux and Windows; the Windows CLI runs natively in Git Bash, MSYS2 or PowerShell, or in WSL

—

Setup effortDiffers

Easy; run with npx or install with npm, Homebrew or MacPorts, then sign in or set an API key

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

Easy; download the desktop app, or install the CLI with a one-line script or Homebrew, then pick a provider

—

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.

Gemini CLI vs OpenHands vs goose (as alternatives to Cursor)
Figures from RepoQuarry, 22 Oct 2026. Sources: https://repoquarry.dev/compare?ids=gemini-cli,openhands,goose&product=cursor

Cursor: Free plan with limited AI use; Plus $8/month, Premium $30/month, Super $100/month, Ultra $200/month; third-party models billed separately by usage
Gemini CLI: free software; does 4 of 7 Cursor jobs
OpenHands: free software; does 4 of 7 Cursor jobs
goose: free software; does 3 of 7 Cursor jobs

- Gemini CLI: 107,492 GitHub stars, 194 commits in 12 weeks, licence Apache-2.0
- OpenHands: 91,499 GitHub stars, 740 commits in 12 weeks, licence MIT
- goose: 55,514 GitHub stars, 657 commits in 12 weeks, licence Apache-2.0

Where they differ:
- Runs on my machine?: Gemini CLI Yes, the CLI runs in your terminal; the Gemini models themselves run on Google's servers; OpenHands Yes; Agent Canvas and the agent server run on your machine by default, or on your own Docker host, VM or Kubernetes cluster; goose Yes, desktop app and CLI run on your computer
- Code licence: Gemini CLI Apache-2.0; OpenHands MIT; goose Apache-2.0
- Commercial use: Gemini CLI Allowed under Apache-2.0; OpenHands Yes, MIT allows commercial use; goose Yes, Apache-2.0 allows commercial use
- Paid services needed?: Gemini CLI A paid service is required since June 18, 2026; the free Google-account tier moved to Antigravity CLI. No local model support; OpenHands Not required with local models (LM Studio, Ollama, vLLM, SGLang); cloud model APIs and OpenHands Cloud are optional; goose Not required with local models (Ollama, LM Studio, Docker Model Runner, Ramalama) or free tiers such as Groq; paid APIs are optional
- Hardware: Gemini CLI 4GB+ RAM for short sessions, 16GB+ for large codebases; needs Node.js 20+ and an internet connection; OpenHands No requirements given for Agent Canvas itself; the recommended local model needs a 24GB GPU or an Apple Silicon Mac with 64GB memory; goose Native Rust desktop app and CLI; the LLM runs through the provider you configure (cloud API or local); no RAM, CPU or GPU figures documented
- Operating systems: Gemini CLI Windows 11 24H2+, macOS 15+ and Ubuntu 20.04+; OpenHands macOS, Linux and Windows (PowerShell or WSL2); the CLI and per-conversation Docker sandboxes need WSL on Windows; goose Desktop app and CLI for macOS, Linux and Windows; the Windows CLI runs natively in Git Bash, MSYS2 or PowerShell, or in WSL
- Setup effort: Gemini CLI Easy; run with npx or install with npm, Homebrew or MacPorts, then sign in or set an API key; OpenHands Medium; install Node.js 24 and uv then the npm package, or run the Docker image, then add a model; goose Easy; download the desktop app, or install the CLI with a one-line script or Homebrew, then pick a provider

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. google-gemini/gemini-cli ↗OpenHands/OpenHands ↗aaif-goose/goose ↗

Gemini CLI vs OpenHands vs goose

Stars over time

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