# Droid CLI vs Kilo Code CLI

> Kilo Code CLI scores 75.4 (BB) to Droid CLI's 59.1 (C) for agent harnesses. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-kilo-code-cli
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-kilo-code-cli.md (~2,650 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-kilo-code-cli.min.md (~680 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-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 Droid CLI's 59.1 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do agent harnesses.

- Droid CLI: grade C, 59.1/100, rank #560 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/droid-cli.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/droid-cli.json
- Kilo Code CLI: grade BB, 75.4/100, rank #48 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kilo-code-cli.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/kilo-code-cli.json
- Best agent harnesses and coding agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/agent-harnesses/index.md
- All 167 harnesses comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-harnesses/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Droid CLI (C)

Good for: Teams that want a terminal coding agent with tiered autonomy, command rules and an optional sandbox, and that will pay for a Factory plan.

Watch for: No free tier or trial was found. Plans start at $20 a month and included usage is stated only as rolling rate limits without numbers

### 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 49
- Schema & documentation, 90 against 79
- Payments & pricing, 50 against 10
- Maintenance & community, 87 against 79
- Transparency & trust, 76 against 64

Also in its favour:
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better
- Free to start without a card
- Open source

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 | Droid CLI | Kilo Code CLI | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 49 | 85 | Kilo Code CLI +36 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 79 | 90 | Kilo Code CLI +11 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 72 | 72 | even |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 63 | 66 | Kilo Code CLI +3 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 10 | 50 | Kilo Code CLI +40 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 79 | 87 | Kilo Code CLI +8 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 64 | 76 | Kilo Code CLI +12 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **59.1 · C** | **75.4 · BB** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Droid CLI | Kilo Code CLI |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Agent harness | Agent harness |
| Vendor | Factory | Kilo Code Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports |  |  |
| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Paid | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary, under Factory's Terms and Conditions. The `droid` npm package is marked `UNLICENSED` and the public repository holds documentation only. The Python SDK is Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-08 | 2026-10-07 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-07-14 | 2026-09-30 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-08-20 | 2026-05-29 |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | 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 |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | yes |
| Popularity | 49 stars, 7.8k npm/wk | 28k stars, 33k npm/wk |

## Verdicts

**Droid CLI.** `droid exec` is read-only unless `--auto` raises the autonomy level, with command rules, an optional kernel-enforced sandbox, JSON output and documented exit codes. No free tier, status page or security.txt was found, the source is closed, and usage metrics go to Factory by default.

**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

### Droid CLI

1. Set `FACTORY_API_KEY` (starts `fk-`) from the API keys page in Factory settings for headless runs. Interactive use signs in through a browser
2. Start with `droid exec` and no flags for analysis. Add `--auto low` for edits and `--auto medium` for installs, tests and local commits
3. Use `--output-format json` and read `is_error`, `num_turns` and `session_id`. Treat a non-zero exit code as failure
4. Set `sandbox.enabled` to true before running on untrusted code. In `droid exec` a sandbox violation is denied without a prompt
5. Pin the version in CI with `npm install -g droid@<version>`, or set `FACTORY_DROID_AUTO_UPDATE_ENABLED=false` on standalone installs, which update themselves

### 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, Droid CLI or Kilo Code CLI?

Kilo Code CLI scores 75.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Droid CLI's 59.1 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.

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

No open-source release is listed for Droid CLI. Kilo Code CLI is open source (MIT).


## For agents

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

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