Kilocode
Kilo is an open-source AI coding agent with 500+ models across VS Code, JetBrains, CLI, cloud, and Slack — at exact provider rates.
Kilo's selling point isn't features, it's arithmetic: exact provider rates on inference plus the option to point the agent at your own keys or run local models via Ollama and LM Studio. Teams that have watched a Copilot or Cursor bill climb without a model-level breakdown will find the platform/inference/compute split genuinely useful — platform access is free for individuals, $15/user/month for Teams, and cloud compute is billed per second with no rounding up. Auto Model's Efficient tier, with session-aware routing, is the part that actually prevents bill shock. It asks more setup of you than a turnkey editor agent, and that's the honest tradeoff.
Verified 3d ago · liveness 77/100 · cite: rightaichoice.com/tools/kilocode
- Developers who want to choose the model and see exact inference costs
- Engineering teams running agentic workflows across IDE, CLI, and cloud
- Organizations needing BYOK, shared gateways, SSO, and audit logs
- Teams wanting long-running cloud agents and automated PR review together
- Developers who want a turnkey hosted agent with no model or key decisions
- Beginners looking for guided, no-code AI assistance
- Teams that need strictly offline operation with no cloud dependency
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Skip Kilo if you want one blended monthly bill and no decisions about models or API keys, since Kilo deliberately prices platform, inference, and cloud compute as three separate lines.
Buying Gateway credits adds a 5% processing fee on top of the credits themselves.
For individuals, platform access is free and you pay only for inference (or nothing with free/local models), which undercuts seat-priced agents like Cursor. Teams at $15/user/month plus provider-rate inference tends to land below enterprise Copilot seats once you factor in BYOK and local models. Enterprise is custom and stacks SSO, SCIM, audit logs, and SLA commitments on top.
In short
Kilocode — Kilo is an open-source AI coding agent with 500+ models across VS Code, JetBrains, CLI, cloud, and Slack — at exact provider rates. Best for Developers who want to choose the model and see exact inference costs, Engineering teams running agentic workflows across IDE, CLI, and cloud, Organizations needing BYOK, shared gateways, SSO, and audit logs. Free to start; paid plans from $15/user/mo.
What's new in Kilocode
Checked 4 days agoAcross the latest 3 updates: 3 news mentions.
The Quiet Launch of Gemini 3.8 Flash
Discusses Google's new Gemini 3.8 Flash model, now available via Kilo Gateway.
Kilo is now on AWS Marketplace
Kilo Code Teams and Enterprise are now listed on AWS Marketplace as a SaaS subscription, easing procurement.
Six Months of Reddit Developer Sentiment on AI Coding
Analyzed 6,876 Reddit posts to understand developer sentiment on AI coding tools.
What people actually say about Kilocode — is it worth it?
We ran a structured research pass across product reviews, community discussions, and post-purchase forum threads to surface the patterns vendors won't publish themselves. Below: the recurring strengths, the hidden costs people mention most, and the cohort that consistently regrets adopting this tool.
67 mentions across 5 sources (Hacker News, YouTube, Product Hunt, GitHub, Lemmy) · researched Jul 29, 2026.
Average across the 5 sources that answered — each source counts once, not each post.
- +Unmatched model choice: supports 500+ models across 60+ providers.
- +Open-source (MIT) with full code auditability and transparency.
- +Multi-mode agents (Code, Architect, Debug, Custom) for tailored workflows.
- +Zero markup on AI inference via Kilo Gateway pay-as-you-go.
- +Session handoff across IDE, CLI, and cloud for seamless context.
- −Background npm downloads raise security and trust concerns.
- −Foundational code traced to leaked Anthropic files, ethical concern.
- −JetBrains integration may lack full feature parity with VS Code.
- −Many open GitHub issues (702) may indicate slow bug resolution.
- −CLI user experience less mature than Claude Code for some.
- • AI inference costs separate from subscription; using premium models via API can add up
- • Claude Opus requires separate Anthropic subscription not included in Kilo Pass
Viability Score
How well maintained and how widely used is Kilocode? Built from what the vendor actually publishes (docs, changelog, tutorials, integrations, pricing), whether the site is live, and how much real users discuss it. How we calculate this
Last calculated: October 2026
How we score →Key Features
- Open-source AI coding agent under MIT license
- Runs in VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, CLI, cloud agents, and mobile
- Code, Architect, Debug, and Custom agent modes
- Auto Model routing with Free, Efficient, and Frontier tiers
- Session-aware model routing in the Efficient tier
- Cloud agents running long tasks in isolated parallel worktrees
- Automated code reviewer for pull requests
- Session handoff from IDE to CLI to cloud
- Bring your own keys for Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Azure, AWS Bedrock
- Local model support via Ollama and LM Studio
- Kilo Gateway unified API across 500+ models from 60+ providers
- Pay exact provider rates with zero AI inference markup
- Cloud compute billed per second with no rounding up
- Kilo for Slack for agents in team threads
- Android and iOS mobile apps for reachable sessions
About Kilocode
Kilo is an MIT-licensed AI coding agent that runs across VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, the terminal CLI, cloud agents, a Slack app, and mobile apps, so one agent follows your work instead of locking you into a single surface. It is aimed at developers and engineering teams who care which model runs their code and what that inference costs. The Kilo Gateway lists 500+ models across 60+ providers and charges exact provider rates with zero markup on inference, and you can also bring your own Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Azure, or AWS Bedrock keys or run local models through Ollama and LM Studio. Specialized modes handle different jobs: Code Mode writes and refactors, Architect Mode plans a feature before implementation, Debug Mode traces errors, and Custom Mode lets you define your own. Auto Model removes the model-picking chore — choose Free, Efficient, or Frontier and Kilo routes per task, with session-aware routing in Efficient to stretch spend. Beyond the editor, Cloud Agents run long tasks in isolated worktrees, a Code Reviewer handles pull requests, and session handoff moves you between IDE, CLI, and cloud. Kilo is now owned by Anaconda, which acquired it in July 2026, and Teams and Enterprise are purchasable through AWS Marketplace. Against Cursor or GitHub Copilot, the trade is less polish for MIT-licensed transparency, model freedom, and auditable costs.
Behind the Verdict
Most AI coding tools sell you a single monthly number and hide what happens inside it. Kilo does the opposite: it splits platform access, AI inference, and cloud compute into three lines and shows you the rate on each. Platform access is free for individuals; Teams is $15/user/month; inference is either free/local models, BYOK, pay-as-you-go through Kilo Gateway, or a Kilo Pass subscription; and cloud compute runs from $0.33/hour for Code Review up to $1.20/hour for Gas Town, billed per second with no rounding up and no minimum. If you have ever tried to explain an AI tool's bill to finance, that structure is the feature. The agent surface is genuinely broad for an MIT-licensed project: VS Code, JetBrains (IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, WebStorm), a CLI installed via npm, cloud agents that work in isolated parallel worktrees, a code reviewer for pull requests, a Slack app that pulls agents into team threads, and Android and iOS apps. Session handoff means a task started in the IDE can continue in the CLI or in the cloud rather than being restarted. Modes — Code, Architect, Debug, Custom — plus Auto Model tiers (Free, Efficient, Frontier) and custom rules keep context scoped to the task. Where it doesn't fit: if you want a single blended bill, or if you have no interest in model or key decisions, the three-part pricing is friction rather than freedom. Beginners looking for guided, no-code AI help will find Kilo aimed elsewhere. Teams that need strictly offline operation with no cloud dependency should note that cloud compute is a real part of the product, even though local models are supported for inference. Ownership changed in July 2026: Anaconda acquired Kilo. That matters for procurement-heavy buyers in two ways — Anaconda's backing reduces abandonment risk on an open-source tool, and Teams and Enterprise are now listed on AWS Marketplace as a SaaS subscription, which can skip a vendor-review cycle. The MIT license plus published prompt and context visibility also mean you can audit the agent and self-host rather than trusting a black box.
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Real-world workflow fit
Concrete scenarios for the personas Kilocode actually fits — and what changes day-one when you adopt it.
Installs the VS Code extension, points Auto Model at Free, and works through a refactor with Code Mode before switching to Frontier for a hard debugging session.
Outcome: No paid inference plan needed to start, and model costs stay visible per task.
Uses Architect Mode to scope a feature, hands the build to a Cloud Agent in an isolated worktree, and lets the Code Reviewer flag issues on the pull request.
Outcome: Planning, building, and review happen in one tool instead of three.
Configures BYOK with a shared private gateway, sets model and provider access controls, and wires SSO and audit logs for the org.
Outcome: Inference runs against company keys with a governed, auditable trail.
Use Cases
- Write and refactor production code with an agent that reads your whole codebase.
- Plan a complex feature in Architect Mode before writing a line of code.
- Debug by letting Debug Mode read errors and trace the issue.
- Run long cloud agent tasks in isolated worktrees while you keep working locally.
- Automate pull-request review to catch issues before merge.
- Switch between the latest frontier models and free models per task via Auto Model.
- Pull an agent into a Slack thread so the team can work in one place.
- Control inference cost with BYOK, local models, or Kilo Pass bonus credits.
Models Under the Hood
as of 2026-09-27
Limitations
- Kilo splits cost into three lines — platform access, AI inference, and cloud compute — and bills each separately, so your total spend is the sum of a Teams seat ($15/user/month) plus inference (free/local, BYOK, Gateway pay-as-you-go, or Kilo Pass from $19/mo) plus per-second compute from $0.33 to $1.20/hour.
- Credit purchases carry a 5% processing fee, and cloud compute is metered on top of inference rather than included.
- Model availability depends on the provider, the Gateway routing, or which free and local options you run.
- The agent expects you to make decisions about models and keys that a fully turnkey editor would make for you.
as of 2026-10-05
Verification history
We have re-verified Kilocode 9 times since . Each pass re-reads the vendor's own pages and re-checks every listed field against that evidence; passes where nothing had changed are marked as such.
- — re-verified summary, description, our verdict, our analysis, pricing model, pricing tiers, features, integrations, who it suits, who should skip it
- — re-verified summary, description, our verdict, our analysis, pricing model, pricing tiers, features, integrations, who it suits, who should skip it
- — re-verified summary, description, our verdict, our analysis, pricing model, pricing tiers, features, integrations, who it suits, who should skip it
- — re-verified summary, description, our verdict, our analysis, pricing model, pricing tiers, features, integrations, who it suits, who should skip it
- — re-verified summary, description, our verdict, our analysis, pricing model, pricing tiers, features, integrations, who it suits, who should skip it
- — re-verified summary, description, our verdict, our analysis, pricing model, pricing tiers, features, integrations, who it suits, who should skip it
Showing the 6 most recent of 9 verification passes.
Free to cite with attribution — this page re-verifies continuously.
12-month cost
Project the real annual outlay, including the implied monthly cost when only an annual tier is published.
Vendor list price only. Add-on usage, seat overages, and contract minimums are surfaced under Hidden costs & gotchas.
Plans compared
For each published Kilocode tier: who it actually fits, and what it adds vs. the previous tier. Cross-reference the cost calculator above for projected annual outlay.
Free & Open Source
$0/mo
Ideal for
Individual developers who already have inference via free or local models, or their own API keys.
What this tier adds
Starting tier: MIT-licensed VS Code, JetBrains, and CLI extensions with usage billed separately.
Teams
$15/user/month
Ideal for
Engineering teams that need shared modes, centralized billing, and adoption reporting across seats.
What this tier adds
Adds team management, usage analytics, AI adoption score, shared agent modes, shared BYOK, and priority support at $15/user/month.
Kilo Gateway
$0/mo + usage
Ideal for
Developers who want hosted pay-as-you-go inference without a subscription.
What this tier adds
Adds pay-as-you-go access to 500+ models across 60+ providers at exact provider rates with no markup.
Kilo Pass Starter
$19/mo
Ideal for
Individual developers with steady monthly usage who want bonus credits on top of what they pay.
What this tier adds
Adds a $19/mo credit subscription worth up to $26.60/mo in credits with up to 50% bonus credits.
Kilo Pass Pro
$49/mo
Ideal for
Heavier individual or small-team users whose monthly inference outpaces the Starter allowance.
What this tier adds
Raises the credit subscription to $49/mo worth up to $68.60/mo in credits, still with up to 50% bonus.
Kilo Pass Expert
$199/mo
Ideal for
High-volume users running agentic workloads most of the day.
What this tier adds
Top credit subscription at $199/mo worth up to $278.60/mo in credits, with an annual option listed at $588/year.
Enterprise
Custom
Ideal for
Organizations with security review, compliance, and procurement requirements for AI coding.
What this tier adds
Adds SSO, OIDC, SCIM, audit logs, SLA commitments, model and provider access controls, sub-organizations, agent sandboxing, and Bitbucket and Jira integrations.
Where the pricing makes sense
The company stage and team size where Kilocode's pricing actually pencils out — and where peers do it cheaper.
For individuals, platform access is free and you pay only for inference (or nothing with free/local models), which undercuts seat-priced agents like Cursor. Teams at $15/user/month plus provider-rate inference tends to land below enterprise Copilot seats once you factor in BYOK and local models. Enterprise is custom and stacks SSO, SCIM, audit logs, and SLA commitments on top.
Setup time & first value
How long it actually takes to get something useful out of Kilocode — broken out by persona, not the marketing-page minute.
Individuals: minutes — install the VS Code extension with one command or the JetBrains plugin, and Auto Free runs without a paid inference plan. Teams: an afternoon for seats, shared BYOK, and centralized billing. Enterprise: longer, since SSO/OIDC/SCIM, audit logs, sub-organizations, and the shared private gateway need IT involvement.
Switching to or from Kilocode
How to bring data in from common predecessors and how to get it back out — written for the switcher, not the buyer.
- →From Cursor: install the Kilo VS Code extension, carry over your custom rules, and point Auto Model or BYOK at the same models you used before.
- →From GitHub Copilot: add Kilo alongside Copilot, then move agent work into Code and Architect modes as you gain confidence.
- →From a chat-only assistant: use Cloud Agents and the Code Reviewer to replace copy-paste coding with agent runs on your repo.
- ↗To Cursor: export your custom rules and re-create agent modes as Cursor rules.
- ↗To GitHub Copilot: keep Kilo for local zero-markup inference and use Copilot for inline completion if your team standardizes on GitHub.
- ↗To a self-hosted setup: fork the MIT-licensed source and run against local models via Ollama or LM Studio.
Integrations
Resources & Guides
- Documentationkilo.ai
Docs · Kilocode
Full product docs from kilo.ai
- Quickstartkilo.ai
Getting Started · Kilocode
Get up and running fast from kilo.ai
- Documentationkilo.ai
Code With Ai · Kilocode
Full product docs from kilo.ai
- Documentationkilo.ai
Collaborate · Kilocode
Full product docs from kilo.ai
- Documentationkilo.ai
Automate · Kilocode
Full product docs from kilo.ai
- Documentationkilo.ai
Contributing · Kilocode
Full product docs from kilo.ai
Tutorials & Learning
YouTube returned 6 videos for “Kilocode”, and we withheld 6: 6 could not be judged, because “Kilocode” is a single word that other videos use for other things. We are showing none, because we could not prove any of them are about Kilocode.
Official links
Tools that pair well with Kilocode
Common stack mates teams adopt alongside Kilocode, with the specific reason each pairing earns its keep.
Continue
Open-source AI coding agent for VS Code and JetBrains, acquired by Cursor in January 2026 and now an unmaintained codebase you fork, not subscribe to.
Refact.ai
Open-source autonomous AI coding agent that plans, executes, and deploys tasks inside VS Code and JetBrains IDEs.
Poolside AI
Open-weight agentic coding models — Laguna XS 2.1 (33B) and Laguna S 2.1 (118B) — built for code that cannot leave your security boundary.
Featured Head-to-Head Comparisons
Kilocode vs Spider Cloud
Choose Spider Cloud if your primary need is reliable, fast web data extraction for AI pipelines and RAG — its Rust engine, AI Studio, and Browser AI commands give it an edge for scraping at scale. Pick Kilocode if you're a developer who wants an open-source coding agent across VS Code, JetBrains, and CLI, with model flexibility and team workflow features. They solve different problems: one fetches external data, the other generates code.
Kilocode vs Voyage Ai
Voyage AI and Kilocode serve fundamentally different needs. Voyage AI is the clear choice for enterprise RAG pipelines requiring high-accuracy, domain-specific embeddings and rerankers with compliance (SOC 2, HIPAA). Kilocode is ideal for developers and engineering teams seeking an open-source AI coding agent that works across VS Code, JetBrains, CLI, and cloud, with flexible model access. Choose based on your primary task: retrieval versus coding.
Kilocode vs Temporal Ai
Temporal AI is for teams that need bulletproof reliability in AI agent orchestration and microservices workflows. Kilocode is for developers who want a flexible, open-source AI coding assistant across many IDEs with access to hundreds of models. Choose Temporal if your priority is resilience and state recovery; choose Kilocode if your focus is accelerating daily coding with model flexibility.
Alternatives to Kilocode
View allContinue
Open-source AI coding agent for VS Code and JetBrains, acquired by Cursor in January 2026 and now an unmaintained codebase you fork, not subscribe to.
Refact.ai
Open-source autonomous AI coding agent that plans, executes, and deploys tasks inside VS Code and JetBrains IDEs.
Poolside AI
Open-weight agentic coding models — Laguna XS 2.1 (33B) and Laguna S 2.1 (118B) — built for code that cannot leave your security boundary.
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