goose vs Zed vs Cline

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.

gooseaaif-goose/goose

Zedzed-industries/zed

Clinecline/cline

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

6 of 6 jobs

3 of 6 jobs

6 of 6 jobs

All 6

Popularity and activity (from GitHub)

Stars

55,514

92,013Top

70,739

—

Gain this week

Unknown

—

Signal

Building history

—

Commits / 4 wk

139

453Top

209

—

Latest release

v1.55.0 · 2026-10-16

v1.25.2 · 2026-10-21Top

desktop-v0.0.48 · 2026-10-17

—

Commits / 12 wk

657

1,417

840

—

People committing / 12 mo

77+

312+

Unknown

—

Issues opened / closed, 30 days

314 / 237

413 / 484

271 / 148

—

Facts, with sources on each project page

Runs on my machine?Differs

Yes, desktop app and CLI run on your computer

Yes, a desktop editor installed on your computer

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

Hosted by the vendor

Code licenceDiffers

Apache-2.0

GPL-3.0-or-later for most code, with some Apache-2.0 components (LICENSE-GPL and LICENSE-APACHE)

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

—

Model weights licence

No separate model weights

—

Commercial useDiffers

Yes, Apache-2.0 allows commercial use

Allowed; GPL-3.0 is copyleft, so changes you distribute must stay GPL

Allowed under Apache-2.0

—

Paid services needed?Differs

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

Editor is free; AI works with your own API keys or local models (Ollama, LM Studio, llama.cpp); Zed Pro is optional for hosted models and Zed edit prediction

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

Subscription

HardwareDiffers

No hardware requirements documented in the README or install docs (checked 2026-10-21)

64-bit OS; Windows needs a DirectX 11 GPU, Linux a Vulkan 1.3 driver, Macs from about 2015 on; local models need more

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

—

Operating systemsDiffers

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

macOS (10.15+, Intel and Apple Silicon), Windows 10 1903+ and 11, Linux x86_64 and Arm64; no web version

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

—

Setup effortDiffers

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

Easy; download installer, Homebrew, winget or a one-line Linux script, then add an API key or local model

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

goose vs Zed vs Cline (as alternatives to Claude Code)
Figures from RepoQuarry, 22 Oct 2026. Sources: https://repoquarry.dev/compare?ids=goose,zed,cline&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
goose: free software; does 6 of 6 Claude Code jobs
Zed: free software; does 3 of 6 Claude Code jobs
Cline: free software; does 6 of 6 Claude Code jobs

- goose: 55,514 GitHub stars, 657 commits in 12 weeks, licence Apache-2.0
- Zed: 92,013 GitHub stars, 1,417 commits in 12 weeks, licence GPL-3.0-or-later for most code, with some Apache-2.0 components (LICENSE-GPL and LICENSE-APACHE)
- Cline: 70,739 GitHub stars, 840 commits in 12 weeks, licence Apache-2.0 for the repo; the JetBrains plugin is not open source

Where they differ:
- Runs on my machine?: goose Yes, desktop app and CLI run on your computer; Zed Yes, a desktop editor installed on your computer; Cline Yes, in your editor, terminal or desktop app; optional Cloud Agents run in Cline's hosted sandbox
- Code licence: goose Apache-2.0; Zed GPL-3.0-or-later for most code, with some Apache-2.0 components (LICENSE-GPL and LICENSE-APACHE); Cline Apache-2.0 for the repo; the JetBrains plugin is not open source
- Commercial use: goose Yes, Apache-2.0 allows commercial use; Zed Allowed; GPL-3.0 is copyleft, so changes you distribute must stay GPL; Cline Allowed under Apache-2.0
- Paid services needed?: goose Not required with local models (Ollama, LM Studio, Docker Model Runner, Ramalama) or free tiers such as Groq; paid APIs are optional; Zed Editor is free; AI works with your own API keys or local models (Ollama, LM Studio, llama.cpp); Zed Pro is optional for hosted models and Zed edit prediction; Cline Not required with local models (Ollama, LM Studio) or your own keys; Cline Provider, ClinePass and Cloud Agents are optional
- Hardware: goose No hardware requirements documented in the README or install docs (checked 2026-10-21); Zed 64-bit OS; Windows needs a DirectX 11 GPU, Linux a Vulkan 1.3 driver, Macs from about 2015 on; local models need more; Cline No requirements documented for Cline itself (checked 2026-10-21); local models need much more
- Operating systems: goose Desktop app and CLI for macOS, Linux and Windows; the Windows CLI runs natively in Git Bash, MSYS2 or PowerShell, or in WSL; Zed macOS (10.15+, Intel and Apple Silicon), Windows 10 1903+ and 11, Linux x86_64 and Arm64; no web version; 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
- Setup effort: goose Easy; download the desktop app, or install the CLI with a one-line script or Homebrew, then pick a provider; Zed Easy; download installer, Homebrew, winget or a one-line Linux script, then add an API key or 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

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. aaif-goose/goose ↗zed-industries/zed ↗cline/cline ↗

goose vs Zed vs Cline

Stars over time

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