# Aider vs Qwen Code

> Qwen Code scores 72.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Aider's 46.9 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Aider leads on security & auth. Both do agent harness. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-qwen-code
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-qwen-code.md (~2,250 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-qwen-code.min.md (~630 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-qwen-code.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: 2026-10-08

Qwen Code scores 72.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Aider's 46.9 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Aider leads on security & auth. Both do agent harness.

- Aider: grade D, 46.9/100, rank #552 of 629. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/aider.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/aider.json
- Qwen Code: grade BB, 72.4/100, rank #88 of 629. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/qwen-code.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/qwen-code.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:
- Security & auth, 59 against 53

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

### Qwen Code (BB)

Good for: Developers and CI jobs that want an open-source harness tied to no single model vendor, with run budgets and SDKs.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 69 against 54
- Schema & documentation, 91 against 56
- Agent ergonomics, 85 against 65
- Maintenance & community, 88 against 13

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

Watch for: The default approval mode is Auto, where an LLM classifier approves tool calls, and sandboxing and folder trust are both off by default


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Aider | Qwen Code | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 54 | 69 | Qwen Code +15 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 56 | 91 | Qwen Code +35 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 65 | 85 | Qwen Code +20 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 59 | 53 | Aider +6 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 60 | even |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 13 | 88 | Qwen Code +75 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 63 | 63 | even |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -8 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **46.9 · D** | **72.4 · BB** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Aider | Qwen Code |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Agent harness | Agent harness |
| Vendor | Aider AI LLC | Alibaba (Qwen team) |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports |  |  |
| Auth | None | API key |
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| Last release | 2026-02-12 | 2026-10-05 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | 2026-10-01 |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | 2026-10-01 |
| Customer content may train models |  | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access |  | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking |  | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice |  | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  | not found in the text |
| Popularity | 49k stars | 28k stars, 105k 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.

**Qwen Code.** Apache-2.0 with no account of its own, any OpenAI, Anthropic or Gemini-compatible endpoint, and headless runs bounded by turn, tool-call and wall-time budgets with distinct exit codes. Out of the box, Auto mode lets an LLM classifier approve tool calls, with the sandbox and folder trust both off. Usage statistics are on by default.

## 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

### Qwen Code

1. Pass `--approval-mode` on every run. The settings default is `auto`, and one docs page says headless runs default to asking, so don't rely on either
2. Add `--max-session-turns`, `--max-wall-time` and `--max-tool-calls`. All three are unlimited by default. Exit 53 is the turn limit and 55 a budget
3. `--yolo` doesn't turn on a sandbox. Add `--sandbox`, or on Linux set `tools.executionSandbox` with `network` set to `closed`
4. Set `QWEN_USAGE_STATISTICS_ENABLED=false` to stop usage statistics
5. Authenticate with `OPENAI_API_KEY`, `OPENAI_BASE_URL` and `OPENAI_MODEL` in CI. The browser sign-in is discontinued

## Questions

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

Qwen Code scores 72.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Aider's 46.9 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Aider leads on security & auth.

### Are Aider and Qwen Code open source?

Yes. Aider is open source (Apache-2.0). Qwen Code is open source (Apache-2.0).


## For agents

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

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