Kilo Code vs Zed vs OpenAI Codex CLI

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.

Kilo CodeKilo-Org/kilocode

Zedzed-industries/zed

OpenAI Codex CLIopenai/codex

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

5 of 6 jobs

3 of 6 jobs

5 of 6 jobs

All 6

Popularity and activity (from GitHub)

Stars

27,695

92,013

130,321Top

—

Gain this week

Unknown

—

Signal

Building history

—

Commits / 4 wk

940Top

453

892

—

Latest release

v7.8.15 · 2026-10-19

v1.25.2 · 2026-10-21Top

rust-v0.163.0 · 2026-10-15

—

Commits / 12 wk

5,236

1,417

3,490

—

People committing / 12 mo

442+

312+

377+

—

Issues opened / closed, 30 days

318 / 231

413 / 484

7371 / 1498

—

Facts, with sources on each project page

Runs on my machine?Differs

Yes, the extension and CLI run on your machine; an optional hosted Cloud Agent also exists

Yes, a desktop editor installed on your computer

Yes, a command-line agent that runs on your computer; cloud models run on OpenAI's servers unless you use --oss

Hosted by the vendor

Code licenceDiffers

MIT

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

Apache-2.0

—

Model weights licence

No separate model weights

—

Commercial useDiffers

MIT allows commercial use with attribution

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 via Ollama (no API key needed); Kilo Gateway credits, cloud model keys, Cloud Agent and Code Reviews 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 (--oss with Ollama or LM Studio) or the limited ChatGPT Free plan; paid ChatGPT plans and OpenAI API keys are optional

Subscription

HardwareDiffers

No stated needs with cloud models; local models via Ollama need a GPU with 24GB+ VRAM or a Mac with 32GB+ unified RAM

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

Not documented in the README or CLI docs

—

Operating systemsDiffers

CLI binaries for Windows, macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel) and Linux (x64 and ARM); extensions run wherever VS Code or JetBrains IDEs run

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

macOS, Linux and Windows (native PowerShell with a Windows sandbox, or WSL2)

—

Setup effortDiffers

Easy; install the VS Code or JetBrains extension from the marketplace, or the CLI with one npm or curl command

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

Easy; one-line install script, npm or Homebrew, then sign in with ChatGPT

—

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.

Kilo Code vs Zed vs OpenAI Codex CLI (as alternatives to Claude Code)
Figures from RepoQuarry, 22 Oct 2026. Sources: https://repoquarry.dev/compare?ids=kilo-code,zed,codex-cli&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
Kilo Code: free software; does 5 of 6 Claude Code jobs
Zed: free software; does 3 of 6 Claude Code jobs
OpenAI Codex CLI: free software; does 5 of 6 Claude Code jobs

- Kilo Code: 27,695 GitHub stars, 5,236 commits in 12 weeks, licence MIT
- 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)
- OpenAI Codex CLI: 130,321 GitHub stars, 3,490 commits in 12 weeks, licence Apache-2.0

Where they differ:
- Runs on my machine?: Kilo Code Yes, the extension and CLI run on your machine; an optional hosted Cloud Agent also exists; Zed Yes, a desktop editor installed on your computer; OpenAI Codex CLI Yes, a command-line agent that runs on your computer; cloud models run on OpenAI's servers unless you use --oss
- Code licence: Kilo Code MIT; Zed GPL-3.0-or-later for most code, with some Apache-2.0 components (LICENSE-GPL and LICENSE-APACHE); OpenAI Codex CLI Apache-2.0
- Commercial use: Kilo Code MIT allows commercial use with attribution; Zed Allowed; GPL-3.0 is copyleft, so changes you distribute must stay GPL; OpenAI Codex CLI Allowed under Apache-2.0
- Paid services needed?: Kilo Code Not required with local models via Ollama (no API key needed); Kilo Gateway credits, cloud model keys, Cloud Agent and Code Reviews 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; OpenAI Codex CLI Not required with local models (--oss with Ollama or LM Studio) or the limited ChatGPT Free plan; paid ChatGPT plans and OpenAI API keys are optional
- Hardware: Kilo Code No stated needs with cloud models; local models via Ollama need a GPU with 24GB+ VRAM or a Mac with 32GB+ unified RAM; 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; OpenAI Codex CLI Not documented in the README or CLI docs
- Operating systems: Kilo Code CLI binaries for Windows, macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel) and Linux (x64 and ARM); extensions run wherever VS Code or JetBrains IDEs run; Zed macOS (10.15+, Intel and Apple Silicon), Windows 10 1903+ and 11, Linux x86_64 and Arm64; no web version; OpenAI Codex CLI macOS, Linux and Windows (native PowerShell with a Windows sandbox, or WSL2)
- Setup effort: Kilo Code Easy; install the VS Code or JetBrains extension from the marketplace, or the CLI with one npm or curl command; Zed Easy; download installer, Homebrew, winget or a one-line Linux script, then add an API key or local model; OpenAI Codex CLI Easy; one-line install script, npm or Homebrew, then sign in with ChatGPT

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

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Numbers: GitHub, fetched nightly. Facts: read from each project's own documentation, with the source on its page. How we check. Kilo-Org/kilocode ↗zed-industries/zed ↗openai/codex ↗

Kilo Code vs Zed vs OpenAI Codex CLI

Stars over time

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