Claude Code vs Kilo Code: How They Actually Differ

## Claude Code (/tools/claude-code)
Tagline: Anthropic's official CLI agent for Claude — runs in the terminal, edits files, executes commands, and ships PRs.
Category: AI Coding Agents
Pricing model: paid
Starts at: Free — $0
Platforms: web, mac, win, linux, cli, vscode-ext, jetbrains-plugin
Public repo: none listed
Docs: none listed
Verified plans (read 2026-08-24): Free $0 | Pro $17 / month with annual subscription discount, or $20 if billed monthly | Max (5x or 20x) From $100 / month
Strengths on file: First-class support for Anthropic Claude Opus, Sonnet, and Haiku.; MCP server protocol is natively supported as both client and server.; Skills, hooks, and slash commands let teams encode workflow primitives.
Limits on file: Locked to Anthropic models — no GPT or Gemini support out of the box.; Terminal-first UX has a learning curve for developers expecting an IDE.
Claude Code is Anthropic's official command-line agent for Claude — it runs in the terminal, edits files, executes commands, and ships pull requests.
Its strength is depth on Claude and extensibility: first-class support for Opus, Sonnet, and Haiku, native MCP as both client and server, and skills, hooks, and slash commands that let teams encode their own workflow primitives.
It's for developers comfortable in the terminal who want an agent that acts, not just autocompletes. Two trade-offs: it's locked to Anthropic models — no GPT or Gemini out of the box — and the terminal-first UX has a learning curve if you're expecting an IDE.
In the stack it's the terminal-first agent next to IDE-native Cursor and the open, model-agnostic Aider.

## Kilo Code (/tools/kilocode)
Tagline: Open-source VS Code coding agent merging the best of Cline and Roo Code with extra power-user modes.
Category: AI Coding Agents
Pricing model: free
Starts at: Free
Platforms: vscode-ext
Public repo: https://github.com/Kilo-Org/kilocode
Docs: none listed
Verified plans: none on file
Strengths on file: Open-source codebase that allows community inspection and contributions.; Merges features from both Cline and Roo Code, combining two established AI coding agents into a single extension.; Includes power-user modes aimed at advanced coding workflows beyond basic completions.; Available as a free VS Code extension with no paid tier required.
Limits on file: Only available as a VS Code extension, with no support for JetBrains, CLI, or web-based interfaces.; As a fork that merges Cline and Roo Code, it depends on multiple upstream projects that can introduce maintenance and compatibility issues.; Lack of an enterprise tier or dedicated support channels compared to commercial alternatives.
Kilo Code is an open-source VS Code coding agent that merges features from Cline and Roo Code into one extension, with extra power-user modes.
Its pitch is both, plus more: it combines two established open agents in a single free VS Code extension, adds power-user modes for workflows beyond basic completion, and keeps an open codebase anyone can inspect.
It's for VS Code users who want the union of Cline and Roo Code without picking one. Two caveats: it's VS Code only — no JetBrains, CLI, or web — and because it merges two upstream projects, it inherits their maintenance and compatibility churn.
It's the merge-of-both option next to its parents, Cline and Roo Code, in the open, in-VS-Code lane.