Aider's pricing model is free and it starts at Free. Because you bring your own key, your actual spend follows the token pricing of whichever provider you use. Conan's pricing is not recorded, so we do not know what it costs.

Do I need Claude Code to use Conan?

Conan is a graphical cockpit for Anthropic's Claude Code CLI and only supports Claude models. It is built on top of that tool rather than working as a standalone agent.

Does Aider have a graphical interface?

No. Aider is command-line only, with no GUI and no inline-edit overlay like Cursor's. Conan is the graphical option on file, and only for Mac users running Claude Code.

How do I decide this week if I am on a Mac?

If you want automatic git commits and a choice of model providers from the terminal, take Aider. If you already use Claude Code and want a native graphical cockpit over it, take Conan. Since Conan's pricing is not recorded, check that before committing on cost.

Which one is open source?

Aider is fully open source under Apache 2.0, with its public repo at https://github.com/Aider-AI/aider. No public repo is listed for Conan.

Aider vs Conan: How They Actually Differ

Aider suits developers who want a free, open-source terminal agent with their own model key and automatic git commits on Mac, Windows, or Linux. Conan suits Mac users who already work in Claude Code and want a native graphical interface. Conan's price is not recorded, so cost cannot be compared.

Compiled 2026-10-23 from our catalogue entries for Aider and Conan.

The short answer

Pick Aider if: You work in the terminal, want to bring your own key for OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, DeepSeek, or a local Ollama model, and want every accepted change committed to git with a generated message. It runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, and the CLI, and it is fully open source under Apache 2.0.
Pick Conan if: You are on macOS and already use Anthropic's Claude Code CLI, and you want a native Mac application that puts a graphical cockpit over that tool instead of working only in the command line.
Cheapest way in: Aider's pricing model is free and it starts at Free with bring-your-own-key, so the real cost depends entirely on the token pricing of the provider you use. Conan's pricing model and starting price are not recorded, so the two cannot be compared on price.
What we could not compare: Conan's pricing model, starting price, and platform list are not recorded. Neither product has docs listed or verified plans on file, and only Aider has a public repo listed.

These are two different shapes of product. Aider is a standalone open-source command-line coding agent: you pair-program in your terminal and it commits each accepted change to git with a generated message. It is free, runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux, and takes your own key for OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, DeepSeek, or a local Ollama model.

Conan is not a standalone agent. It is a native macOS application that wraps Anthropic's Claude Code CLI in a graphical cockpit interface, purpose-built for that one tool and limited to Claude models. Its pricing details are not publicly documented in the available product information, and its platform list is not recorded beyond the note that availability is limited to macOS users.

Side by side

Every cell is a field on our catalogue entry for that tool, copied as recorded. Rows where the two differ come first; blank fields say so rather than being filled in.

	Aider	Conan
Pricing model	Free	Not recorded
Starts at	Free	Not recorded
Runs on	mac, win, linux, cli	Not recorded
Public source code	Yes — public repo	No public repo listed
Category	AI Coding Agents	AI Coding Agents
Public docs	Not listed	Not listed

Public source code: From the repository link on each catalogue entry, not a licence audit.

Where Aider is the better fit

Fully open source under Apache 2.0, with no vendor lock-in and a public repository at https://github.com/Aider-AI/aider.
Bring-your-own-key support for OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, DeepSeek, and local Ollama models.
Every accepted change is committed to git with a generated message.

Full Aider entry

Where Conan is the better fit

A native macOS application rather than a cross-platform Electron or web wrapper.
Provides a graphical cockpit interface for Anthropic's Claude Code CLI.
Purpose-built around Claude Code, the agentic coding assistant from Anthropic.

Full Conan entry

Which one should you pick?

Solo founder or small team living in the terminal with mixed model needs

Aider

It starts at Free, runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux, supports your own key across OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, DeepSeek, and local Ollama, and keeps a git commit with a generated message for every accepted change.

Mac user who already runs Claude Code and wants a GUI over it

Conan

It is purpose-built around Claude Code and gives that CLI a graphical cockpit as a native Mac app, not a web or Electron wrapper.

Builder who wants a visual interface rather than a command line

Conan

Conan exists to put a graphical interface on Claude Code. Aider is command-line only, with no GUI and no inline-edit overlay like Cursor's.

Team that wants to avoid depending on one model vendor

Aider

It is fully open source under Apache 2.0 with no vendor lock-in, and you choose the provider, including a local Ollama model.

Frequently asked questions

Is either one free?: Aider's pricing model is free and it starts at Free. Because you bring your own key, your actual spend follows the token pricing of whichever provider you use. Conan's pricing is not recorded, so we do not know what it costs.
Do I need Claude Code to use Conan?: Conan is a graphical cockpit for Anthropic's Claude Code CLI and only supports Claude models. It is built on top of that tool rather than working as a standalone agent.
Does Aider have a graphical interface?: No. Aider is command-line only, with no GUI and no inline-edit overlay like Cursor's. Conan is the graphical option on file, and only for Mac users running Claude Code.
Can Aider run a model on my own machine?: Yes. Aider supports bring-your-own-key for OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, DeepSeek, and local Ollama models.
How do I decide this week if I am on a Mac?: If you want automatic git commits and a choice of model providers from the terminal, take Aider. If you already use Claude Code and want a native graphical cockpit over it, take Conan. Since Conan's pricing is not recorded, check that before committing on cost.
Which one is open source?: Aider is fully open source under Apache 2.0, with its public repo at https://github.com/Aider-AI/aider. No public repo is listed for Conan.

What we compared

This page states nothing that is not in the two catalogue entries below. The exact text used to write it is reproduced here so you can check our reading, and both tools link through to their own pages and to the vendor.

/tools/aider — checked 2026-05-25 · official site
/tools/conan — checked 2026-06-16 · official site

Show the source text

## Aider (/tools/aider)
Tagline: Open-source CLI coding agent that pair-programs in your terminal and commits to git automatically.
Category: AI Coding Agents
Pricing model: free
Starts at: Free
Platforms: mac, win, linux, cli
Public repo: https://github.com/Aider-AI/aider
Docs: none listed
Verified plans: none on file
Strengths on file: Fully open source under Apache 2.0; no vendor lock-in.; Bring-your-own-key for OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, DeepSeek, and local Ollama models.; Every accepted change is committed to git with a generated message.
Limits on file: No GUI — command-line only; no inline-edit overlay like Cursor.; Cost depends entirely on the underlying provider's token pricing.
Aider is an open-source CLI coding agent that pair-programs in your terminal and commits each change to git automatically.
Its edge is openness and git discipline: Apache-2.0 with no lock-in, bring-your-own-key across OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, DeepSeek, and local Ollama models, and every accepted change landing as a git commit with a generated message.
It fits developers who live in the terminal and want a model-agnostic agent tied to version control. The trade-offs: there's no GUI or inline-edit overlay like Cursor's — it's command-line only — and cost tracks whatever provider's token pricing you bring.
It's the open, BYOK terminal agent next to Anthropic's Claude Code and IDE-native Cursor.

## Conan (/tools/conan)
Tagline: A native Mac cockpit for Claude Code
Category: AI Coding Agents
Pricing model: not recorded
Starts at: Not recorded
Platforms: not recorded
Public repo: none listed
Docs: none listed
Verified plans: none on file
Strengths on file: It is a native macOS application rather than a cross-platform Electron or web wrapper.; It functions as a graphical cockpit interface for Anthropic's Claude Code CLI.; It is purpose-built around Claude Code, the agentic coding assistant from Anthropic.
Limits on file: Availability is limited to macOS users because it is a native Mac application.; It only supports Claude models since it is built specifically on top of Claude Code.
Conan is a native macOS application that acts as a graphical cockpit for Anthropic's Claude Code CLI.
It's a native Mac app rather than a cross-platform Electron or web wrapper, and it's purpose-built around Claude Code, the agentic coding assistant from Anthropic — giving that CLI a graphical interface.
It fits Mac users who work with Claude Code and want a native GUI over the command line. It's not for you if you're outside that setup: availability is limited to macOS, and it only supports Claude models since it's built specifically on top of Claude Code. Pricing details are not publicly documented in the available product information.
Among AI coding agents, Conan isn't a standalone agent but a Mac-native front end wrapped around one specific tool, Claude Code.

Change log

2026-10-23 — First published, compiled from the catalogue entries for Aider and Conan.