Best self-hosted and open-source AI coding tools

Updated 16 Oct 2026 · Prices from vendor pages only · How we rank →

The short answer

Each of these AI coding tools can run on your own machine or servers, or is open source. OpenHands comes first: MIT-licensed, model-agnostic agent with a web GUI, CLI and SDK. It runs free locally with unlimited conversations, there's a free cloud Individual tier, and the GitHub community is large (about 91K stars). The cheapest verified paid plan here is Kilo Code Teams ($15/user/month). 7 of the 7 have a free plan we could confirm. Every price below is from the vendor’s own page, checked 16 Oct 2026.

Ranked shortlist

OpenHands: MIT-licensed, model-agnostic agent with a web GUI, CLI and SDK. It runs free locally with unlimited conversations, there's a free cloud Individual tier, and the GitHub community is large (about 91K stars). Plan: Local (open source): Free
Unlimited conversations
Aider: Free and open source (Apache-2.0). Works with almost any LLM, including local ones, maps your whole codebase and commits each change to git so it's easy to undo. Plan: Free, open source: you pay only your LLM provider
Kilo Code: Open-source coding agent for VS Code and JetBrains. Plan: Free & Open Source: Free
Dyad: Free, local, open-source app builder; bring your own model keys. Plan: Dyad Free: Free
OpenCode: Open-source terminal coding agent supporting many models. Plan: Open source; free models included or bring any provider
Continue: Ranked low because it is discontinued. Continue was acquired by Cursor, its repo is read-only, and 2.0.0 was the last release. The open-source extension still runs with your own keys or local models. Plan: Open-source extension (Apache-2.0), self-run with your own model keys
Roo Code: Ranked last because it's discontinued: the extension shut down on 15 May 2026 and the GitHub repo is archived. The project itself points users to Cline or the community fork ZooCode. Plan: Was free and open source (Apache-2.0); no longer maintained

Order follows ToolRank’s editorial ranking in Coding & App Building, filtered to tools that fit this page. Anything we couldn’t confirm on a vendor page says “Not yet verified”.

Side by side

Rank	Tool	Relevant plan	Starting price	Free plan	Best for	Main limitation	Last checked
#1	OpenHands	Local (open source): Free Unlimited conversations	Not yet verified	Open source: free, unlimited local use. Cloud Individual: free, 10 conversations/day, BYOK or at-cost models	Teams that want an autonomous agent they can self-host and audit	The free cloud tier caps you at 10 conversations a day, and you pay your own LLM costs (BYOK, or OpenHands' provider at cost).	16 Oct 2026
#2	Aider	Free, open source: you pay only your LLM provider	Not yet verified	Free, open source: you pay only your LLM provider	Terminal users who want a free, model-agnostic pair programmer with clean git history	You bring and pay for your own model API, and there's no GUI. The GitHub repo had its last push on 22 May 2026, so check the release cadence before you rely on it.	16 Oct 2026
#3	Kilo Code	Free & Open Source: Free	$15/user/month (Teams)	Free and open source; AI usage billed separately	Open-source coding agent with any model	Model usage costs extra	16 Oct 2026
#4	Dyad	Dyad Free: Free	$20/month (Dyad Pro)	Dyad Free: free, open-source desktop app	Building apps locally with any model	Desktop app only	16 Oct 2026
#5	OpenCode	Open source; free models included or bring any provider	Not yet verified	Open source; free models included or bring any provider	Terminal users wanting an open-source coding agent	You pay your model provider for paid models	16 Oct 2026
#6	Continue	Open-source extension (Apache-2.0), self-run with your own model keys	Not yet verified	Open-source extension (Apache-2.0), self-run with your own model keys	Existing users who want a frozen, self-run open-source assistant with their own models	Discontinued: no further updates or fixes and the hosted services are gone. Treat it as frozen software.	16 Oct 2026
#7	Roo Code	Was free and open source (Apache-2.0); no longer maintained	Not yet verified	Was free and open source (Apache-2.0); no longer maintained	Nobody new. Existing users should migrate	Shut down: no updates, no support, archived repository.	16 Oct 2026

Prices as listed by each vendor on the last-checked date, USD, before tax. Plans and limits change, so follow the sources below.

Who should pick which

Pick OpenHands for teams that want an autonomous agent they can self-host and audit (Local: open source) (Free); think twice if you want an inline autocomplete assistant inside your editor. Pick Aider for terminal users who want a free, model-agnostic pair programmer with clean git history (free plan: Free, open source: you pay only your LLM provider); think twice if you want a polished IDE, a hosted service, or one bundled subscription. Pick Kilo Code for open-source coding agent with any model (Free & Open Source: Free). Watch out: model usage costs extra. Pick Dyad for building apps locally with any model (Dyad Free: Free). Watch out: desktop app only. Pick OpenCode for terminal users wanting an open-source coding agent (free plan: Open source; free models included or bring any provider). Watch out: you pay your model provider for paid models. Pick Continue for existing users who want a frozen, self-run open-source assistant with their own models (free plan: Open-source extension (Apache-2.0), self-run with your own model keys); think twice if you need a maintained tool. Look at Cline, or at Cursor, which acquired Continue. Pick Roo Code for nobody new. Existing users should migrate (free plan: Was free and open source (Apache-2.0); no longer maintained); think twice if you need any ongoing support. Use Cline instead.

FAQ

Which of these is cheapest?

Kilo Code Teams ($15/user/month) is the lowest paid price we verified on this list (https://kilo.ai/pricing, checked 16 Oct 2026). Check the vendor page for tax, billing period and usage limits.

Which of these have a free plan?

OpenHands: Open source: free, unlimited local use. Cloud Individual: free, 10 conversations/day, BYOK or at-cost models; Aider: Free, open source: you pay only your LLM provider; Kilo Code: Free and open source; AI usage billed separately; Dyad: Dyad Free: free, open-source desktop app; OpenCode: Open source; free models included or bring any provider; Continue: Open-source extension (Apache-2.0), self-run with your own model keys; Roo Code: Was free and open source (Apache-2.0); no longer maintained.

How were these tools chosen?

They are the tools in ToolRank's rankings with self-hosting, local use or an open-source licence stated by the vendor, confirmed on the vendor's own website on 16 Oct 2026. Tools we could not verify are left out rather than guessed, and anything unconfirmed is marked Not yet verified.

Sources

OpenHands: OpenHands pricing checked 16 Oct 2026
OpenHands: OpenHands GitHub (MIT) checked 16 Oct 2026
Aider: Aider homepage checked 16 Oct 2026
Aider: Aider GitHub repository checked 16 Oct 2026
Kilo Code: Kilo Code pricing checked 16 Oct 2026
Dyad: Dyad pricing checked 16 Oct 2026
OpenCode: OpenCode pricing checked 16 Oct 2026
Continue: continue.dev: Continue was acquired by Cursor checked 16 Oct 2026
Continue: Continue GitHub README (read-only, final 2.0.0 release) checked 16 Oct 2026
Roo Code: Roo Code GitHub (archived; 'shut down on May 15th') checked 16 Oct 2026
Roo Code: Roo Code docs shutdown notice checked 16 Oct 2026

Related comparisons

All comparisons →

Profiles: OpenHands · Aider · Kilo Code · Dyad · OpenCode · Continue · Roo Code

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