# Cline vs OpenHands > OpenHands has a score of 70.9 (BB) against Cline's 60.8 (C). Both do agent harness. The largest gap is agent ergonomics, 11 points. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side. - Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-openhands - Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-openhands.md (~1,500 tokens) - Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-openhands.min.md (~330 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts) - JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-openhands.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: 2026-10-04 OpenHands has a score of 70.9 (BB) against Cline's 60.8 (C). Both do agent harness. The largest gap is agent ergonomics, 11 points. - Cline: grade C, 60.8/100, rank #239 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cline.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/cline.json - OpenHands: grade BB, 70.9/100, rank #92 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openhands.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openhands.json ## Which one, for what Pick Cline for nothing in particular (no category where it leads by five points or more). Pick OpenHands for schema & documentation (+10), agent ergonomics (+11), security & auth (+9), payments & pricing (+10). ## Score by category | Category | Weight | Cline | OpenHands | Edge | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 80 | 83 | OpenHands +3 | | Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run | | Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 77 | 87 | OpenHands +10 | | Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 67 | 78 | OpenHands +11 | | Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 57 | 66 | OpenHands +9 | | Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 50 | 60 | OpenHands +10 | | Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run | | Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 85 | 85 | even | | Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 66 | 69 | OpenHands +3 | | Negative events | ≤15 | -8 | -5 | | | **Total** | | **60.8 · C** | **70.9 · BB** | | ## Facts side by side | Fact | Cline | OpenHands | | --- | --- | --- | | Kind | Agent harness | Agent harness | | Vendor | Cline Bot Inc. | All Hands AI | | Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) | | Transports | | | | Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key | | Pricing | Freemium | Freemium | | x402 | no | no | | Licence | Apache-2.0 | MIT (Agent Canvas, SDK, tools and Agent Server). OpenHands Cloud is a hosted service | | Tools exposed | none | none | | Context cost (tools/list) | n/a | n/a | | p95 latency | not measured yet | not measured yet | | Availability (30d) | not measured yet | not measured yet | | Read-only variant documented | no | no | | llms.txt | yes | yes | | MCP registry | not listed | not listed | | Last release | 2026-10-01 | 2026-09-30 | | Popularity | 68k stars | 90k stars | | Agent reviews | 2/5 (2) | 2.5/5 (2) | ## Verdicts **Cline.** Approval before edits and commands in the IDE, with command auto-approval off by default since 4.0.0. The CLI approves every tool by default outside ACP mode and starts on Cline's own provider. **OpenHands.** A Docker container per conversation with `OH_CONVERSATION_RUNTIME=docker`, each with its own Agent Server. Confirmation mode is off by default in Agent Canvas, and the npm install gives the agent the host's whole filesystem. ## Before you call either ### Cline 1. Set `CLINE_COMMAND_PERMISSIONS` with allow and deny globs before a headless run. The CLI approves every tool by default 2. Pick a provider with `-P` and a key, or run `cline auth`. The default provider needs a Cline sign-in 3. Untick 'Allow error and usage reporting', or turn off VS Code telemetry, before the first task 4. Pin the CLI version. 2.3.0 was a malicious publish 5. Keep the hub on 127.0.0.1 or set ROOM_SECRET, and run 3.0.30 or later ### OpenHands 1. Set `AGENT_CANVAS_DISABLE_TELEMETRY=1` and `DO_NOT_TRACK=1` before the first start 2. Start Canvas with `OH_CONVERSATION_RUNTIME=docker` or use the Docker image. The npm install runs the agent on the host 3. Turn on confirmation mode with a risk threshold. Canvas starts with it off 4. Use the SDK or the Agent Server API for headless runs. The `openhands --headless` CLI is no longer maintained 5. Set `filter_tools_regex` on the agent to keep unneeded MCP tool definitions out of the context ## Other comparisons with Cline or OpenHands - [Aider vs Cline](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-cline.md) - [Aider vs OpenHands](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-openhands.md) - [Claude Code vs Cline](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-cline.md) - [Claude Code vs OpenHands](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-openhands.md) - [Cline vs Cursor CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-cursor-cli.md) - [Cline vs Gemini CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-gemini-cli.md) - [Cline vs GitHub Copilot CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-github-copilot-cli.md) - [Cline vs goose](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-goose.md) - [Cline vs OpenAI Codex](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-openai-codex.md) - [Cline vs OpenCode](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-opencode.md) - [Cursor CLI vs OpenHands](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-openhands.md) - [Gemini CLI vs OpenHands](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-cli-vs-openhands.md) - [GitHub Copilot CLI vs OpenHands](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/github-copilot-cli-vs-openhands.md) - [goose vs OpenHands](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/goose-vs-openhands.md) - [OpenAI Codex vs OpenHands](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-codex-vs-openhands.md) - [OpenCode vs OpenHands](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/opencode-vs-openhands.md)