head to head · open source
Aider vs SWE-agent
Aider has 49,021 GitHub stars, 4,967 forks, 1,860 open issues and last shipped 4 months ago. SWE-agent has 20,344 stars, 2,224 forks, 102 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. Aider leads on adoption by 141% (49,021 vs 20,344 stars). Aider is written in Python under Apache-2.0; SWE-agent is written in Python under MIT. Aider has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, SWE-agent 11%. SWE-agent was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Aider | SWE-agent | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 49K | ★ 20K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-05-22 | 2026-09-14 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.0K | ⑂ 2.2K |
| 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 SWE-agent if
- You want the SWE-agent feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and SWE-agent 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 SWE-agent
SWE agent is a Python, MIT licensed open source project in the AI assisted coding and agent ecosystem. It is an agent based model for developer tools that takes a GitHub issue and tries to automatically fix it using a chosen language model. The project is associated with NeurIPS 2024 and is maintained by researchers from Princeton University and Stanford University.
read the full SWE-agent overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Aider or SWE-agent more popular?
Aider has 49,021 GitHub stars and SWE-agent has 20,344. Aider has the larger community by that measure.
Are Aider and SWE-agent free?
Both are open source. Aider is licensed under Apache-2.0 and SWE-agent under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Aider and SWE-agent?
Aider is written in Python and SWE-agent in Python. 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 SWE-agent?
Choose Aider if you want the larger community (49,021 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose SWE-agent if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.