Aider vs Continue: Side-by-Side Comparison 2026
Aider vs Continue comparison 2026. Side-by-side features, pricing & capabilities.
Aider is a CLI-based coding agent from Paul Gauthier (Open Source) — ai pair programming in your terminal. Continue is an editor extension from Continue — open-source ai coding extension.
Aider
Open-source CLI tool for AI pair programming. Works with OpenAI, Claude, and other models to edit code in your local git repo.
- ✓ Git-aware editing
- ✓ Multi-file editing
- ✓ Model agnostic
- ✓ Voice coding
- ✓ Image support
Free · 1 plan
Continue
Continue — AI Code Assistant from Continue. Open Source IDE Extension.
- ✓ Code completions
- ✓ AI chat
- ✓ Agentic mode
- ✓ Multi-file editing
- ✓ Terminal commands
$20/mo · 3 plans
| Feature | Aider | Continue |
|---|---|---|
| Category | CLI | Extension |
| Starting Price | Free | $20/mo |
| Model Family | Multi-model (any) | Multi-model (any) |
| Documentation | — | ✓ |
| Voice Input | ✓ | — |
| Git Integration | — | ✓ |
| Open Source | Yes (Apache 2.0) | Yes (Apache 2.0) |
Pricing verified Mar 20, 2026. Aider pricing | Continue pricing
Key Differences
- Category: Aider is a CLI-based coding agent; Continue is an editor extension.
- Free tier: Aider has a free tier; Continue does not.
- Starting price: Aider starts at free / BYOK; Continue starts at $20/mo.
- Provider: Aider is built by Paul Gauthier (Open Source); Continue is built by Continue.
- Capabilities: Aider has voice input.
Which Should You Choose?
Choose Aider if you want a fully open-source tool with transparent development. Choose Continue if you want open-source AI coding with full control over model and context. Read our full reviews to see which fits your workflow.