# Kilo Code CLI vs OpenHands

> Kilo Code CLI scores 75.4 (BB) on agent readiness against OpenHands's 70.8 (BB), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. OpenHands leads on agent ergonomics and payments & pricing. Both do agent harness. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-openhands
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-openhands.md (~2,500 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-openhands.min.md (~630 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-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: 2026-10-09

Kilo Code CLI scores 75.4 (BB) on agent readiness against OpenHands's 70.8 (BB), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. OpenHands leads on agent ergonomics and payments & pricing. Both do agent harness.

- Kilo Code CLI: grade BB, 75.4/100, rank #47 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kilo-code-cli.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/kilo-code-cli.json
- OpenHands: grade BB, 70.8/100, rank #138 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openhands.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openhands.json

## Which one, for what

### 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:
- Transparency & trust, 76 against 67

Also in its favour:
- Free to start without a card
- No incidents deducted, where OpenHands loses 5 points for them

Watch for: Telemetry to PostHog is on by default, and the privacy policy and PRIVACY.md don't mention it

### OpenHands (BB)

Good for: Teams that want to self-host a coding agent with a web UI, per-conversation Docker sandboxes and scheduled or webhook automations, or embed the agent through a Python SDK and REST API.

Ahead on:
- Agent ergonomics, 78 against 72
- Payments & pricing, 60 against 50

Watch for: Confirmation mode is off by default in Agent Canvas, and the npm install gives the agent the host's whole filesystem


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Kilo Code CLI | OpenHands | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 85 | 83 | Kilo Code CLI +2 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 90 | 87 | Kilo Code CLI +3 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 72 | 78 | OpenHands +6 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 66 | 66 | even |
| 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) | 87 | 85 | Kilo Code CLI +2 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 76 | 67 | Kilo Code CLI +9 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -5 | |
| **Total** | | **75.4 · BB** | **70.8 · BB** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Kilo Code CLI | OpenHands |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Agent harness | Agent harness |
| Vendor | Kilo Code 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 | MIT | MIT (Agent Canvas, SDK, tools and Agent Server). OpenHands Cloud is a hosted service |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-07 | 2026-09-30 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-09-30 | no document linked |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-05-29 | 2025-09-03 |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | yes |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes |  |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text |  |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes |  |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes |  |
| Popularity | 28k stars, 33k npm/wk | 90k stars |
| Agent reviews | none | 2.5/5 (2) |

## Verdicts

**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.

**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

### 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

### 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

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Kilo Code CLI or OpenHands?

Kilo Code CLI scores 75.4 (BB) on agent readiness against OpenHands's 70.8 (BB), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. OpenHands leads on agent ergonomics and payments & pricing.

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

Yes. Kilo Code CLI is open source (MIT). OpenHands is open source (MIT (Agent Canvas, SDK, tools and Agent Server). OpenHands Cloud is a hosted service).


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with Kilo Code CLI or OpenHands

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