--- title: "Kilo Code: open-source coding agent, free tier and alternatives" canonical_url: https://cookiesforai.app/tools/kilo-code last_updated: 2026-10-03T15:11:25+02:00 type: tool summary: "Kilo Code is an open source coding agent by Kilo Code, Inc., acquired by Anaconda in 2026, that runs in VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, a CLI and cloud agents with 500+ models." --- # Kilo Code Kilo Code is an open source coding agent by Kilo Code, Inc., acquired by Anaconda in 2026, that runs in VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, a CLI and cloud agents with 500+ models. | Fact | Value | |---|---| | Made by | Kilo Code, Inc. (Anaconda) | | Type | Editor extension | | License | MIT | | Source | https://github.com/Kilo-Org/kilocode | | GitHub stars | 27,467 on 2026-10-02 | | Runs on | VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, VSCodium, JetBrains, CLI, Cloud agents, Slack, iOS, Android | | Free tier | Free plan | | Website | https://kilo.ai | | Page updated | 2026-10-03 | | Facts checked | 2026-10-02 | ## What it does Kilo Code is an open source coding agent that runs as an extension in VS Code and its forks, a JetBrains plugin and a CLI, with cloud agents, a code reviewer, a Slack integration and iOS and Android apps on top. Sessions sync between the IDE, the CLI and mobile. It offers Ask, Architect, Code and Debug modes plus custom modes, parallel agents in separate worktrees, autocomplete and custom subagents. Kilo Code connects to 500+ models from 60+ providers through its Kilo Gateway at the provider's price with no markup, or you can bring your own keys for Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Mistral, DeepSeek and others, sign in with ChatGPT, or run local models with Ollama or LM Studio. An Auto Free option routes to free models, which may log prompts. Kilo Code was acquired by Anaconda, announced on 2026-07-15; Anaconda's post says the codebase remains open source. Paid options are a per-user Teams plan, Kilo Pass monthly credit bundles, and pay-per-second cloud compute for cloud agents and code review. ## Who it is for - Developers who want one open source agent across VS Code, JetBrains, the terminal and mobile - People who want model choice with no markup on provider prices - Teams that want shared agent modes and central billing on a per-user plan - Trying an agent at no cost with free or local models ## Who should pick something else - Anyone who wants a flat price with no credit math; Kilo Pass, gateway usage and cloud compute are billed separately - People who need private prompts on the free route: Auto Free may route to providers that log prompts - Developers who prefer a full AI editor; Cursor, Windsurf or Zed are standalone editors Strength: Kilo Code is MIT licensed and offers 500+ models through its gateway at provider rates with no markup, in VS Code, JetBrains, a CLI and mobile apps. Limit: Kilo Code has several separate billing layers (Teams seats, gateway usage, Kilo Pass credits, a fee on credit purchases and per-second cloud compute), which makes total cost harder to estimate. ## What it costs Free tier: Free plan. Free and open source under MIT with free, local or your own models; paid options are Teams seats, credit bundles, gateway usage and cloud compute. Current prices: https://kilo.ai/pricing (we do not list prices; vendors change them often). ## Agent skills and MCP Skills: Kilo Code implements Agent Skills (agentskills.io). In VS Code and the CLI it reads project skills from .kilo/skills and .agents/skills and global skills from ~/.kilo/skills and ~/.agents/skills; .claude/skills loads in the CLI, and in VS Code when Claude Code compatibility is turned on. Extra paths and remote URLs go under skills in kilo.jsonc. The open skills CLI installs Kilo Code skills into .agents/skills. The docs give no date skills were added. MCP: Kilo Code reads MCP servers from kilo.jsonc under the mcp key, in the project root or .kilo/ (project) or ~/.config/kilo/ (global): "type": "local" with a command array, or "type": "remote" with a url and headers. In VS Code, use Settings, MCP, Add Server; in the CLI, kilo mcp add and kilo mcp list, and /mcps toggles servers. ## Alternatives - [Cline](https://cookiesforai.app/tools/cline): Cline is an open source coding agent by Cline Bot Inc. that runs as a VS Code or JetBrains extension and a CLI, using your own model keys or local models. - [OpenCode](https://cookiesforai.app/tools/opencode): OpenCode is an open source terminal coding agent by Anomaly that works with 75+ model providers, local models included, and also ships as a desktop app and IDE extension. - [GitHub Copilot](https://cookiesforai.app/tools/github-copilot): GitHub Copilot is an AI coding assistant by GitHub that works in VS Code, JetBrains and other editors, in a CLI, and as a cloud agent that opens pull requests on GitHub. - [Cursor](https://cookiesforai.app/tools/cursor): Cursor is an AI code editor by Anysphere that pairs a desktop editor with an agent, a CLI and cloud agents, using models from several vendors plus its own Composer models.