# Aider vs Qwen Code (slim)

> 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.

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-qwen-code.md (~2,250 tokens) · this version ~630 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-qwen-code.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-qwen-code
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.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: D 46.9, rank #552 of 629 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/aider.min.md
- Qwen Code: BB 72.4, rank #88 of 629 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/qwen-code.min.md
- Aider, 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 No key needed to call it.
- Qwen Code, 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 Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better; No incidents deducted, where Aider loses 8 points for them.

| Category | Aider | Qwen Code |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability (16%) | 54 | 69 |
| Performance (10%) | pending | pending |
| Schema & documentation (13%) | 56 | 91 |
| Agent ergonomics (13%) | 65 | 85 |
| Security & auth (14%) | 59 | 53 |
| Payments & pricing (10%) | 60 | 60 |
| Task success (10%) | pending | pending |
| Maintenance & community (7%) | 13 | 88 |
| Transparency & trust (7%) | 63 | 63 |

| Fact (where they differ) | Aider | Qwen Code |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Vendor | Aider AI LLC | Alibaba (Qwen team) |
| Auth | None | API key |
| 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 |