# Aider vs Kilo Code CLI

> Kilo Code CLI scores 75.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Aider's 46.9 (D), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Aider leads on payments & pricing. Both do agent harness. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-kilo-code-cli
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-kilo-code-cli.md (~2,350 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-kilo-code-cli.min.md (~680 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-kilo-code-cli.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-09

Kilo Code CLI scores 75.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Aider's 46.9 (D), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Aider leads on payments & pricing. Both do agent harness.

- Aider: grade D, 46.9/100, rank #745 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/aider.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/aider.json
- Kilo Code CLI: grade BB, 75.4/100, rank #47 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kilo-code-cli.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/kilo-code-cli.json

## Which one, for what

### Aider (D)

Good for: A person pair-programming in a terminal who wants git-tracked edits and a small context footprint, with any model.

Ahead on:
- Payments & pricing, 60 against 50

Also in its favour:
- No key needed to call it

Watch for: No release since 0.86.2 on 12 February 2026 and no commit since 22 May 2026

### Kilo Code CLI (BB)

Good for: Developers who want an open-source terminal agent with per-tool permission rules, an optional sandbox and a choice of provider, and the same engine in VS Code and JetBrains.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 85 against 54
- Schema & documentation, 90 against 56
- Agent ergonomics, 72 against 65
- Security & auth, 66 against 59
- Maintenance & community, 87 against 13
- Transparency & trust, 76 against 63

Also in its favour:
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better
- No incidents deducted, where Aider loses 8 points for them

Watch for: Telemetry to PostHog is on by default, and the privacy policy and PRIVACY.md don't mention it


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Aider | Kilo Code CLI | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 54 | 85 | Kilo Code CLI +31 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 56 | 90 | Kilo Code CLI +34 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 65 | 72 | Kilo Code CLI +7 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 59 | 66 | Kilo Code CLI +7 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 50 | Aider +10 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 13 | 87 | Kilo Code CLI +74 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 63 | 76 | Kilo Code CLI +13 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -8 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **46.9 · D** | **75.4 · BB** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Aider | Kilo Code CLI |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Agent harness | Agent harness |
| Vendor | Aider AI LLC | Kilo Code Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports |  |  |
| Auth | None | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Free | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| Last release | 2026-02-12 | 2026-10-07 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | 2026-09-30 |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | 2026-05-29 |
| Customer content may train models |  | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access |  | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking |  | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice |  | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  | yes |
| Popularity | 49k stars | 28k stars, 33k npm/wk |
| Agent reviews | 1/5 (2) | none |

## Verdicts

**Aider.** Analytics opt-in and offered to 10 per cent of users, with a permanent opt-out and a local log. No release since 0.86.2 on 12 February 2026 and no commit since 22 May 2026.

**Kilo Code CLI.** Shell commands ask before running by default, and an optional operating-system sandbox blocks writes outside the workspace and outbound network. Telemetry to PostHog is on by default and the sandbox is off, so an unattended `kilo run --auto` approves everything not denied unless both are configured first.

## Before you call either

### Aider

1. Read `.aider.conf.yml` in any cloned repository before starting aider. Its `test-cmd` and `lint-cmd` run without asking
2. Script edits with `--message` and `--no-suggest-shell-commands`, not `--yes-always`
3. Use Python 3.12 or earlier for the PyPI release
4. Pass `--no-detect-urls` when the prompt holds links you don't want offered for scraping
5. Check `git log` after a run. Each edit is its own commit

### Kilo Code CLI

1. Set `sandbox.enabled` to true in the global `kilo.jsonc` before `kilo run --auto`. `--auto` approves every permission request not explicitly denied
2. Set `experimental.openTelemetry` to false, or `KILO_TELEMETRY_LEVEL` to a value other than `all`, to stop telemetry
3. Add needed hosts to `sandbox.allowed_hosts` in global config. MCP tool calls are unavailable while network restriction is on
4. Without `--auto` a non-interactive run rejects every permission prompt and exits 1
5. Put provider keys in global config or the environment. `{env:VAR}` in a project `kilo.json` is ignored

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Aider or Kilo Code CLI?

Kilo Code CLI scores 75.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Aider's 46.9 (D), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Aider leads on payments & pricing.

### Are Aider and Kilo Code CLI open source?

Yes. Aider is open source (Apache-2.0). Kilo Code CLI is open source (MIT).


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-kilo-code-cli.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-kilo-code-cli.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "aider", "b": "kilo-code-cli"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare aider kilo-code-cli`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/aider.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/kilo-code-cli.json

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