head to head · open source
Aider vs Continue
Aider has 49,888 GitHub stars, 5,125 forks, 1,860 open issues and last shipped 6 months ago. Continue has 36,397 stars, 5,541 forks, 951 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Aider leads on adoption by 37% (49,888 vs 36,397 stars). Aider is written in Python under Apache-2.0; Continue is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. Aider has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, Continue 15%. Continue was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (cli), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Aider | Continue | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 50K | ★ 36K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-05-22 | 2026-11-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.1K | ⑂ 5.5K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Aider if
- You weight community size — 50K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Continue if
- You want the Continue feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Continue fits your workflow better
About Aider
AI Pair Programming in Your Terminal Aider lets you pair program with LLMs to start a new project or build on your existing codebase. Features Cloud and local LLMs Aider works best with Claude 3.7 Sonnet, DeepSeek R1 & Chat V3, OpenAI o1, o3 mini & GPT 4o, but can connect to almost any LLM, including local models. Maps your codebase Aider makes a map of your entire codebase, which helps it work well in larger projects. 100+ code languages Aider works with most popular programming languages: python, javascript, rust, ruby, go, cpp, php, html, css, and dozens more. Git integration Aider automatically commits…
read the full Aider overview →
About Continue
Continue Pioneering open source coding agent What is Continue? Note: The continuedev/continue repository is no longer actively maintained and is read only for all users. Continue is a coding agent available as a CLI, VS Code extension, and JetBrains plugin. Documentation To learn how to configure Continue, how it works, and how to customize it, check out the Continue Docs. Final 2.0.0 Release We polished Continue and did a final 2.0.0 release of the VS Code extension, CLI, and JetBrains plugin. This included removing anonymous telemetry, pulling out authentication, squashing bugs, and more. VS Code CLI JetBrains…
read the full Continue overview →
More in Developer Tools
Related comparisons
More AI Assisted Coding projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the AI Assisted Coding field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Aider or Continue more popular?
Aider has 49,888 GitHub stars and Continue has 36,397. Aider has the larger community by that measure.
Are Aider and Continue free?
Both are open source. Aider is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Continue under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Aider and Continue?
Aider is written in Python and Continue in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Aider or Continue?
Choose Aider if you want the larger community (49,888 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Continue if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.