OpenHands vs Aider vs OpenCode

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.

OpenHandsOpenHands/OpenHands

AiderAider-AI/aider

OpenCodeanomalyco/opencode

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

2 of 7 jobs

All 7

Popularity and activity (from GitHub)

Stars

91,499

49,688

219,699Top

—

Gain this week

Unknown

—

Signal

Building history

—

Commits / 4 wk

345

986Top

—

Latest release

v1.30.0 · 2026-10-22Top

v0.86.0 · 2025-08-09

v1.19.3 · 2026-10-16

—

Commits / 12 wk

740

2,164

—

People committing / 12 mo

54+

12+

420+

—

Issues opened / closed, 30 days

464 / 367

107 / 75

3742 / 4694

—

Facts, with sources on each project page

Runs on my machine?Differs

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

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

Yes, CLI and desktop app

Hosted by the vendor

Code licenceDiffers

MIT

Apache-2.0

MIT

—

Model weights licenceDiffers

No separate model weights

No single bundled model licence. OpenCode connects to models/providers; their individual terms apply.

—

Commercial useDiffers

Yes, MIT allows commercial use

Allowed under Apache-2.0

Yes, MIT code

—

Paid services needed?Differs

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); cloud model APIs (Anthropic, OpenAI, DeepSeek and others) are optional

Needs a model provider: local models via Ollama, LM Studio or llama.cpp, or a paid API

Subscription

HardwareDiffers

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

No GPU or RAM figures documented; aider connects to cloud LLM APIs or local models, so hardware needs depend on the model you use

No GPU needed when models run via the provider API; needs a modern terminal emulator and provider API keys; local models are optional and bring their own needs; no RAM figures documented

—

Operating systemsDiffers

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

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

Windows, macOS and Linux; on Windows the docs recommend WSL for the CLI, and there is a Windows desktop app

—

Setup effortDiffers

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

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

Easy; one-line install script, npm, Homebrew, Chocolatey or Scoop, then add a model provider

—

Stars over time

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

OpenHands
Aider
OpenCode

Focus a point, use arrow keys, or tap for its value.

Tracked daily since 19 Oct 2026. Dashed history: estimated from public records of when people starred the repo. Lines connect observations only; gaps contain no measured points.

Growth % starts at each project's first observed point in the shown range. Zero-star starts are unavailable.

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.

OpenHands vs Aider vs OpenCode (as alternatives to Cursor)
Figures from RepoQuarry, 22 Oct 2026. Sources: https://repoquarry.dev/compare?ids=openhands,aider,opencode&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
OpenHands: free software; does 4 of 7 Cursor jobs
Aider: free software; does 3 of 7 Cursor jobs
OpenCode: free software; does 2 of 7 Cursor jobs

- OpenHands: 91,499 GitHub stars, 740 commits in 12 weeks, licence MIT
- Aider: 49,688 GitHub stars, 0 commits in 12 weeks, licence Apache-2.0
- OpenCode: 219,699 GitHub stars, 2,164 commits in 12 weeks, licence MIT

Where they differ:
- Runs on my machine?: OpenHands Yes; Agent Canvas and the agent server run on your machine by default, or on your own Docker host, VM or Kubernetes cluster; Aider Yes, a command-line tool that runs in your project folder on your computer; OpenCode Yes, CLI and desktop app
- Code licence: OpenHands MIT; Aider Apache-2.0; OpenCode MIT
- Model weights licence: OpenHands No separate model weights; Aider No separate model weights; OpenCode No single bundled model licence. OpenCode connects to models/providers; their individual terms apply.
- Commercial use: OpenHands Yes, MIT allows commercial use; Aider Allowed under Apache-2.0; OpenCode Yes, MIT code
- Paid services needed?: OpenHands Not required with local models (LM Studio, Ollama, vLLM, SGLang); cloud model APIs and OpenHands Cloud are optional; Aider Not required with local models (Ollama, LM Studio); cloud model APIs (Anthropic, OpenAI, DeepSeek and others) are optional; OpenCode Needs a model provider: local models via Ollama, LM Studio or llama.cpp, or a paid API
- Hardware: OpenHands No requirements given for Agent Canvas itself; the recommended local model needs a 24GB GPU or an Apple Silicon Mac with 64GB memory; Aider No GPU or RAM figures documented; aider connects to cloud LLM APIs or local models, so hardware needs depend on the model you use; OpenCode No GPU needed when models run via the provider API; needs a modern terminal emulator and provider API keys; local models are optional and bring their own needs; no RAM figures documented
- Operating systems: OpenHands macOS, Linux and Windows (PowerShell or WSL2); the CLI and per-conversation Docker sandboxes need WSL on Windows; Aider Windows, macOS and Linux, with one-line installers for each; OpenCode Windows, macOS and Linux; on Windows the docs recommend WSL for the CLI, and there is a Windows desktop app
- Setup effort: OpenHands Medium; install Node.js 24 and uv then the npm package, or run the Docker image, then add a model; Aider Easy; one-line installer (or pip/uv/pipx), then add an API key or point it at a local model; OpenCode Easy; one-line install script, npm, Homebrew, Chocolatey or Scoop, then add a model 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. OpenHands/OpenHands ↗Aider-AI/aider ↗anomalyco/opencode ↗

OpenHands vs Aider vs OpenCode

Stars over time

Notes for a video or post

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