# Claude Code vs Kilo Code CLI (slim)

> Kilo Code CLI scores 75.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Claude Code's 61.9 (C), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Claude Code leads on agent ergonomics, security & auth and transparency & trust. Both do agent harness. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side…

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-kilo-code-cli.md (~2,650 tokens) · this version ~730 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-kilo-code-cli.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-kilo-code-cli
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.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 Claude Code's 61.9 (C), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Claude Code leads on agent ergonomics, security & auth and transparency & trust. Both do agent harness.

- Claude Code: C 61.9, rank #409 of 842 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/claude-code.min.md
- Kilo Code CLI: BB 75.4, rank #47 of 842 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kilo-code-cli.min.md
- Claude Code, good for A developer or a pipeline that wants Claude doing repository work with fine-grained, centrally managed permissions and an SDK for the same loop. Ahead on Agent ergonomics, 87 against 72; Security & auth, 80 against 66; Transparency & trust, 81 against 76.
- Kilo Code CLI, 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 50; Schema & documentation, 90 against 80; Payments & pricing, 50 against 20; Maintenance & community, 87 against 82. Also Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better; Free to start without a card; Open source; No incidents deducted, where Claude Code loses 6 points for them.

| Category | Claude Code | Kilo Code CLI |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability (16%) | 50 | 85 |
| Performance (10%) | pending | pending |
| Schema & documentation (13%) | 80 | 90 |
| Agent ergonomics (13%) | 87 | 72 |
| Security & auth (14%) | 80 | 66 |
| Payments & pricing (10%) | 20 | 50 |
| Task success (10%) | pending | pending |
| Maintenance & community (7%) | 82 | 87 |
| Transparency & trust (7%) | 81 | 76 |

| Fact (where they differ) | Claude Code | Kilo Code CLI |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Vendor | Anthropic | Kilo Code Inc. |
| Pricing | Paid | Freemium |
| Licence | Proprietary. `LICENSE.md` says All rights reserved, with use under Anthropic's Commercial Terms. The GitHub repository holds the changelog, plugins and examples, not the source | MIT |
| Last release | 2026-10-01 | 2026-10-07 |
| Terms last updated | no date given | 2026-09-30 |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | 2026-05-29 |
| Customer content may train models | yes, with an opt-out | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | yes |
| Popularity | 141k stars | 28k stars, 33k npm/wk |