head to head · open source
Aider vs qwen-code
Aider has 49,030 GitHub stars, 4,972 forks, 1,860 open issues and last shipped 4 months ago. qwen-code has 27,934 stars, 3,059 forks, 1,422 open issues and last shipped today. Aider leads on adoption by 76% (49,030 vs 27,934 stars). Aider is written in Python under Apache-2.0; qwen-code is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. Aider has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, qwen-code 11%. qwen-code 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 13541 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Aider | qwen-code | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 49K | ★ 28K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-05-22 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.0K | ⑂ 3.1K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Aider if
- You weight community size — 49K 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 qwen-code if
- You want the qwen-code 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 qwen-code fits your workflow better
About Aider
Aider is an open source AI pair programming tool that runs in the terminal. It connects to large language models—cloud based or local—to assist with writing, editing, and debugging code directly within a developer’s existing workflow. Built in Python and licensed under Apache 2.0, it integrates with popular LLMs including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, and open source models like Llama.
read the full Aider overview →
About qwen-code
Qwen Code is an open source AI coding agent that runs in the terminal, with additional interfaces for editors, desktop, browser, and chat. It is written in TypeScript and released under the Apache 2.0 license, and it lives in the AI and machine learning ecosystem as a development platform for agentic coding. The project is maintained by QwenLM and published on npm as @qwen code/qwen code , with a documentation site hosted at qwenlm.github.io. It ships as a command line tool named qwen that opens an interactive session inside a project directory.
read the full qwen-code 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 qwen-code more popular?
Aider has 49,030 GitHub stars and qwen-code has 27,934. Aider has the larger community by that measure.
Are Aider and qwen-code free?
Both are open source. Aider is licensed under Apache-2.0 and qwen-code under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Aider and qwen-code?
Aider is written in Python and qwen-code 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 qwen-code?
Choose Aider if you want the larger community (49,030 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose qwen-code if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.