G
GAI coding assistant and agents for editors, terminal, desktop and GitHub
Free, from $10/mo
Aider vs Cline
Pricing, features, platforms and who each one suits — side by side.
A
Choose Aider if…
- you're in its core audience: software developers, command-line users
C
Choose Cline if…
- you need an API to build on
- you work on VS Code, JetBrains, macOS
- you're in its core audience: software developers, engineering teams
Side by side
Feature Aider Cline
Pricing modelFreeFree
Starting priceFreeFree
Free plan
Free trial
API
Open source
GitHub stars—70.9K
Agent mode—
CLI / terminal
Bring your own key
Local / self-hosted models
MCP support—
Platforms—VS Code, JetBrains, macOS, Windows, Linux, Slack, Discord, Telegram
CategoryCode AssistantsCode Assistants
Company—Cline Bot Inc.
Based in—United States
Founded——
Part of——
Key features
A Aider
- Terminal-based AI pair programming
- Works with cloud and local LLMs
- Map of the whole codebase for larger projects
- Supports 100+ programming languages
- Auto-commits changes to git with descriptive messages
- Runs linters and tests, then fixes problems they find
- Uses images and web pages as context
- Voice requests and in-IDE code comments
C Cline
- Plan and Act modes with step approval or auto-approve
- Multi-file edits with diffs, checkpoints and one-click undo
- Runs bash commands and reacts to their output
- Supports Claude, GPT, Gemini, Ollama, LM Studio and OpenAI-compatible endpoints
- .clinerules files that teach the agent your project conventions
- MCP server integrations and SDK plugins
- Runs headless in GitHub Actions, GitLab and other CI pipelines
- Multi-agent teams with cron-scheduled automations
Plans and prices
From each vendor's site. Prices change — confirm before buying.
Aider
Free. Plan details aren't published.
Cline
Open SourceFree
EnterpriseCustom
Strengths and limitations
Aider
- Code is public on GitHub
- Works with many LLMs, including local models
- Every edit is committed to git, so changes are easy to review or undo
- Runs linters and tests automatically
- Terminal-only interface with no GUI app listed
- You supply your own model API key
- Installed through Python and pip
Cline
- Free and open source for individual developers
- Works with any major model provider, including local models
- Available as an IDE extension, CLI, desktop app and SDK
- Inference sold at cost, or bring your own API key
- The JetBrains extension is listed only under the Enterprise plan on the pricing page
- Enterprise pricing is available only through sales
- Advanced config management and fine-grained permissions are still marked as coming soon
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Built from each vendor's public website; we haven't tested them hands-on. Editorial policy