Pick Aider if
developers who already live in git and a TTY and will paste an API key.
Read the Aider pageAider vs Cline
Our take
Pick Aider if developers who already live in git and a TTY and will paste an API key. Pick Cline if developers who want an OSS agent in the editor and will pay tokens or bring a key. Skip Aider if people who want an IDE Agent sidebar (Cursor, Cline, Continue) and will not run aider in a repo. Skip Cline if people who want a hosted IDE subscription with published seat cards (Cursor, GitHub Copilot).
Aider
git-native AI pair programmer in the
Best for
Aider An agent that lives in git
Cline An agent that edits files and runs commands with your approval
Free plan
Aider $0 · apache-2.0. pip / aider-install
Cline No free plan
Lowest paid
Aider Not published by the vendor
Cline Not published by the vendor
Coding agent
Aider
Cline CLI + desktop
Runs where
Aider
Cline Hosted
Watch out
Aider $0 is the CLI, not Sonnet
Cline The extension is free
Last checked
Aider 2026-10-20 · aider.chat
Cline 2026-10-19 · cline.bot/pricing
Which one, then?
Pick Cline if
developers who want an OSS agent in the editor and will pay tokens or bring a key.
Read the Cline page