head to head · open source
Aider vs SWE-agent
Aider has 49,910 GitHub stars, 5,128 forks, 1,860 open issues and last shipped 6 months ago. SWE-agent has 20,712 stars, 2,264 forks, 102 open issues and last shipped 8 days ago. Aider leads on adoption by 141% (49,910 vs 20,712 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 | ★ 50K | ★ 21K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-05-22 | 2026-10-26 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.1K | ⑂ 2.3K |
| 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 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
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 SWE-agent
[!warning] Most of our current development effort is on mini swe agent, which has superseded SWE agent. It matches the performance performance of SWE agent, while being much simpler. See the FAQ for more details about the differences. Our general recommendation is to use mini SWE agent instead of SWE agent going forward. SWE agent enables your language model of choice (e.g. GPT 4o or Claude Sonnet 4) to autonomously use tools to fix issues in real GitHub repositories, find cybersecurity vulnerabilities, or perform any custom task. ✅ State of the art on SWE bench among open source projects ✅ Free flowing &…
read the full SWE-agent overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Aider or SWE-agent more popular?
Aider has 49,910 GitHub stars and SWE-agent has 20,712. 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 (49,910 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.