aider vs opencode
opencode is much bigger: 204.4k stars against 48.8k. Over the days we have tracked them aider moved +2.8% and opencode +9.6%, so opencode is growing faster right now.
aider leads on privacy and model freedom. opencode does not take any axis by a clear margin.
Stars and commit dates come from our own daily tracking. The six axes are read off each project's documentation by our review pipeline, so they describe what a project says about itself, not what we measured in its code.
Where they stand today
Provides a terminal-first, whole-repo map and git-integrated workflow enabling surgical, repo-wide AI edits while supporting both cloud and local models.
- Stars
- 48.8k
- Tracked growth
- +2.8%
- Maturity
- ●●●●●
- Last commit
- 105d ago
- Language
- Python
- License
- Apache-2.0
- Cost to run
- Your API key for cloud models; local models possible
Open-source, installable coding agent that provides both a read-only 'plan' agent for safe exploration and a full-access 'build' agent for edits.
- Stars
- 204.4k
- Tracked growth
- +9.6%
- Maturity
- ●●●●●
- Last commit
- 1h ago
- Language
- TypeScript
- License
- MIT
- Cost to run
- Your API key, cloud model costs apply
Six axes, head to head
Each axis runs 0 to 5. The label under a score is what that project's own docs claim, not a category average.
| Axis | aider | opencode |
|---|---|---|
Context depth How much of your codebase it sees before it answers: the open diff, the diff plus related files, or the whole repository. | ●●●●● Whole-repo analysis | ●●●●● Whole-repo analysis |
Noise control How it keeps output volume down — severity thresholds, deduplication, incremental runs over new commits only. | ●●●●● Basic filters & git review | ●●●●● Action gating only |
Customization How far it bends to your team: custom rules, prompts, style guides, per-path config. | ●●●●● Config file options | ●●●●● Configurable agents |
Privacy Whether your code stays on your own infrastructure: fully local, self-hostable, or cloud API only. | ●●●●● Local-first | ●●●●● Cloud APIs (your key) |
Model freedom Whether you can point it at any provider, or it is wired to one. | ●●●●● Any provider / local | ●●●●● Bring-your-key |
Setup ease What it takes to get a first useful run out of it. | ●●●●● Easy install script | ●●●●● Install + API key |
Which one to pick
Pick aider if…
Whole-repo mapping — pick Aider when you want a terminal-focused, git-native assistant that understands your entire codebase and can run with local models.
- Privacy: Local-first (5/5 against 3/5)
- Model freedom: Any provider / local (5/5 against 3/5)
Pick opencode if…
Easy install — choose OpenCode when you want an open-source, locally installable coding agent that offers both safe read-only analysis and full-access development workflows.
What people want from each one
Aider-AI/aider
Hacker News: Aider: AI pair programming in your terminal drew 432 points and 156 comments.
anomalyco/opencode
Hacker News: OpenCode – Open source AI coding agent drew 1274 points and 618 comments.
Questions people ask
Is aider better than opencode?
aider leads on privacy and model freedom. opencode does not take any axis by a clear margin. aider is worth picking when whole-repo mapping — pick Aider when you want a terminal-focused, git-native assistant that understands your entire codebase and can run with local models.
Which of aider and opencode keeps my code private?
aider: Local-first (5/5). opencode: Cloud APIs (your key) (3/5).
What does each one cost to run?
aider: Your API key for cloud models; local models possible. opencode: Your API key, cloud model costs apply.
Full profiles: Aider-AI/aider and anomalyco/opencode. Everything else in CLI coding agents.