Aider vs Continue: Side-by-Side Comparison 2026
Aider vs Continue comparison for 2026. Features, pricing, AI capabilities, and editor support analyzed side by side to help you choose the right coding tool for your workflow.
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
Open-source AI IDE extension for VS Code and JetBrains. Configurable model, RAG, and rules. Pay-as-you-go ($3/M tokens) or Team at $20/seat/month with included credits.
- ✓ 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 May 4, 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.