# Aider vs Cline

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Cline

| Attribute | Aider | Cline |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 51.8 (65% (medium)) | 66.4 (56% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 0 | 100 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 1 | 811 |
| adoption.github_stars | 49,528 | 70,278 |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | 166,611 | - |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"Aider is a command-line assistant that pairs developers with AI models for collaborative coding. It maps your entire codebase for context, automatically commits changes via git, supports 100+ programming languages, and integrates with popular LLMs and IDEs. It is indexed under AI Coding Assistants.","source":"https://aider.chat","question":"What is Aider?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Aider is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the Apache-2.0 licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://aider.chat","question":"Is Aider free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Aider supports the web and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://aider.chat","question":"What platforms does Aider support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Aider can be deployed cloud / SaaS and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://aider.chat","question":"Can Aider be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 25 integrations for Aider, including Claude, DeepSeek, OpenAI, Gemini, GROQ, LM Studio, xAI and Azure, plus 17 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://aider.chat","question":"What does Aider integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Aider is published under the Apache-2.0 licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/Aider-AI/aider","question":"Is Aider open source?","confidence":0.95}]` | `[{"answer":"Cline is a coding agent that integrates into your development environment—editors and CLI—to automate file reading and writing, execute terminal commands, and browse the web while maintaining human approval over every action. It supports both interactive conversation-based development and headless automation for CI/CD workflows. It is indexed under AI Coding Assistants.","source":"https://docs.cline.bot/","question":"What is Cline?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Cline is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the Apache-2.0 licence. A commercial or hosted edition starts at $9.99 per month. Prices are published openly on the vendor's own pricing page. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://docs.cline.bot/","question":"Is Cline free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Cline supports the web and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://docs.cline.bot/","question":"What platforms does Cline support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Not fully, on what we have confirmed. Cline is offered as cloud / SaaS and hybrid, and a hybrid deployment usually means some components can run on your own infrastructure while the rest stays vendor-hosted. We have not confirmed a completely self-hosted option, so check with the vendor if that is a requirement.","source":"https://docs.cline.bot/","question":"Can Cline be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 11 integrations for Cline, including Telegram, Slack, Discord, Google Chat, WhatsApp, Linear, GitHub Actions and OpenTelemetry, plus 3 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://docs.cline.bot/","question":"What does Cline integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Cline is published under the Apache-2.0 licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/cline/cline","question":"Is Cline open source?","confidence":0.95},{"answer":"Cline is available worldwide. Its primary market is the United States.","source":"https://docs.cline.bot/","question":"Where is Cline available?","confidence":0.5}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | A command-line tool enabling developers to pair program with language models to start new projects or modify existing codebases, featuring automatic git integration and support for over 100 programming languages. | A conversational coding agent that integrates into development environments and terminals to automate code generation, file management, and command execution, with all actions requiring explicit user approval |
| features.capabilities | `{"form":"cli_agent","autonomy":"agentic","languages":"100+ languages including Python, JavaScript, Rust, Ruby, Go, C++, PHP, HTML, CSS","oss_client":"oss","model_source":"model_agnostic","pricing_model":"free","runs_commands":true,"self_hostable":true,"editor_support":"IDE integration via comments, web chat interface","codebase_context":"repo_wide","multi_file_edits":true,"architecture_model":"cli_tool_aider","enterprise_controls":false,"zero_data_retention":true,"rag_on_external_documentation_urls":true,"bring_your_own_key_byok_api_support":true,"mit_or_apache_permissive_oss_license":true,"local_llm_support_via_ollama_or_lmstudio":true,"multi_file_diff_generation_and_automated_apply":true,"workspace_indexing_and_semantic_codebase_search":true,"terminal_bash_execution_and_self_correction_loops":true}` | `{"form":"chat_edit","autonomy":"agentic","languages":"All languages supported by underlying LLM models","oss_client":"oss","model_source":"model_agnostic","pricing_model":"usage_credits","runs_commands":true,"self_hostable":true,"editor_support":"VS Code, JetBrains (IntelliJ, PyCharm, WebStorm, GoLand), Cursor, Windsurf, Anti","codebase_context":"repo_wide","multi_file_edits":true,"architecture_model":"vs_code_extension_cline","enterprise_controls":true,"bring_your_own_key_byok_api_support":true,"browser_automation_support_for_visual_qa":true,"local_llm_support_via_ollama_or_lmstudio":true,"multi_file_diff_generation_and_automated_apply":true,"terminal_bash_execution_and_self_correction_loops":true}` |
| integrations.count | 26 | 10 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Claude"},{"name":"DeepSeek"},{"name":"OpenAI"},{"name":"Gemini"},{"name":"GROQ"},{"name":"LM Studio"},{"name":"xAI"},{"name":"Azure"},{"name":"Cohere"},{"name":"Ollama"},{"name":"OpenRouter"},{"name":"GitHub Copilot"},{"name":"Vertex AI"},{"name":"Amazon Bedrock"},{"name":"Claude 3.7 Sonnet"},{"name":"Claude Opus"},{"name":"Claude Sonnet"},{"name":"DeepSeek R1"},{"name":"DeepSeek Chat V3"},{"name":"DeepSeek V3"},{"name":"GPT-4o"},{"name":"GPT-4.1"},{"name":"o1"},{"name":"o3-mini"},{"name":"o3-pro"},{"name":"GPT-5"},{"name":"Grok-4"},{"name":"Command R"},{"name":"Fireworks AI"},{"name":"VS Code"},{"name":"vim"},{"name":"neovim"},{"name":"Emacs"},{"name":"Anthropic","native":true,"category":"model_provider","direction":"outbound"},{"name":"Google","native":true,"category":"model_provider","direction":"outbound"},{"name":"GitHub","native":true,"category":"version_control","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"AWS Bedrock","native":true,"category":"model_provider","direction":"outbound"},{"name":"PostHog","native":true,"category":"analytics","direction":"outbound"}]` | `[{"name":"Telegram"},{"name":"Slack"},{"name":"Discord"},{"name":"Google Chat"},{"name":"WhatsApp"},{"name":"Linear"},{"name":"GitHub Actions"},{"name":"OpenTelemetry"},{"name":"Datadog"},{"name":"Grafana"},{"name":"Splunk"}]` |
| language.primary | Python | TypeScript |
| license.spdx | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` | `{"cli":true,"mac":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","summary":"Completely free and open source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://aider.chat","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T13:41:57.320Z"}` | `{"type":"hybrid","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"Cline (usage-billing)","summary":"$9.99/month","features":["2-5x usage on popular open models vs. standard API rate","built-in billing","one sign-in","free model options"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":9.99,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Flat monthly subscription with usage credits for open-weight models","contactSales":false}],"summary":"$9.99/month with free model options. Bring Your Own Key alternative available.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://docs.cline.bot/","retrievedAt":"2026-10-13T22:35:30.368Z","startingPrice":{"amount":9.99,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | open_source | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | free | low |
| pricing.starting_price | - | `{"amount":9.99,"currency":"USD"}` |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| release.cadence_days | 9 | - |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/Aider-AI/aider/releases/tag/v0.86.0","date":"2025-08-09T17:42:19Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.86.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/Aider-AI/aider/releases/tag/v0.85.0","date":"2025-06-27T23:47:09Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.85.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/Aider-AI/aider/releases/tag/v0.84.0","date":"2025-05-30T23:28:11Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.84.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/Aider-AI/aider/releases/tag/v0.83.0","date":"2025-05-09T22:46:05Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.83.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/Aider-AI/aider/releases/tag/v0.82.0","date":"2025-04-14T23:29:05Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.82.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/Aider-AI/aider/releases/tag/v0.81.0","date":"2025-04-04T09:06:20Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.81.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/Aider-AI/aider/releases/tag/v0.80.0","date":"2025-03-31T01:21:50Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.80.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/Aider-AI/aider/releases/tag/v0.79.0","date":"2025-03-25T21:16:38Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.79.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/Aider-AI/aider/releases/tag/v0.78.0","date":"2025-03-21T18:59:35Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.78.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/Aider-AI/aider/releases/tag/v0.77.0","date":"2025-03-13T21:46:58Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.77.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/Aider-AI/aider/releases/tag/v0.76.0","date":"2025-03-10T16:00:08Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.76.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/Aider-AI/aider/releases/tag/v0.75.0","date":"2025-03-04T20:41:19Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.75.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/Aider-AI/aider/releases/tag/v0.74.0","date":"2025-02-06T22:43:06Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.74.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/Aider-AI/aider/releases/tag/v0.73.0","date":"2025-01-31T22:02:06Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.73.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/Aider-AI/aider/releases/tag/v0.72.0","date":"2025-01-20T22:26:59Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.72.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/Aider-AI/aider/releases/tag/v0.71.0","date":"2025-01-10T23:02:26Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.71.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/Aider-AI/aider/releases/tag/v0.70.0","date":"2024-12-26T23:22:53Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.70.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/Aider-AI/aider/releases/tag/v0.69.0","date":"2024-12-13T19:45:41Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.69.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/Aider-AI/aider/releases/tag/v0.68.0","date":"2024-12-10T16:28:05Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.68.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/Aider-AI/aider/releases/tag/v0.67.0","date":"2024-12-06T14:44:33Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.67.0"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/cline/cline/releases/tag/v4.1.24","date":"2026-10-13T15:02:27Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.1.24"},{"url":"https://github.com/cline/cline/releases/tag/sdk/sdk/v0.0.93","date":"2026-10-13T08:26:52Z","type":"stable","version":"sdk/sdk/v0.0.93"},{"url":"https://github.com/cline/cline/releases/tag/desktop-v0.0.46","date":"2026-10-13T15:03:59Z","type":"stable","version":"desktop-v0.0.46"},{"url":"https://github.com/cline/cline/releases/tag/cli-v3.0.71","date":"2026-10-13T08:56:25Z","type":"stable","version":"cli-v3.0.71"},{"url":"https://github.com/cline/cline/releases/tag/sdk/sdk/v0.0.92","date":"2026-10-08T05:09:49Z","type":"stable","version":"sdk/sdk/v0.0.92"},{"url":"https://github.com/cline/cline/releases/tag/desktop-v0.0.45","date":"2026-10-08T06:50:30Z","type":"stable","version":"desktop-v0.0.45"},{"url":"https://github.com/cline/cline/releases/tag/cli-v3.0.70","date":"2026-10-08T05:55:09Z","type":"stable","version":"cli-v3.0.70"},{"url":"https://github.com/cline/cline/releases/tag/v4.1.23","date":"2026-10-07T07:28:08Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.1.23"},{"url":"https://github.com/cline/cline/releases/tag/sdk/sdk/v0.0.91","date":"2026-10-07T06:00:09Z","type":"stable","version":"sdk/sdk/v0.0.91"},{"url":"https://github.com/cline/cline/releases/tag/desktop-v0.0.44","date":"2026-10-07T07:17:16Z","type":"stable","version":"desktop-v0.0.44"},{"url":"https://github.com/cline/cline/releases/tag/cli-v3.0.69","date":"2026-10-07T06:12:01Z","type":"stable","version":"cli-v3.0.69"},{"url":"https://github.com/cline/cline/releases/tag/sdk/sdk/v0.0.90","date":"2026-10-02T04:35:33Z","type":"stable","version":"sdk/sdk/v0.0.90"},{"url":"https://github.com/cline/cline/releases/tag/desktop-v0.0.43","date":"2026-10-02T20:39:04Z","type":"stable","version":"desktop-v0.0.43"},{"url":"https://github.com/cline/cline/releases/tag/desktop-v0.0.42","date":"2026-10-02T10:04:03Z","type":"stable","version":"desktop-v0.0.42"},{"url":"https://github.com/cline/cline/releases/tag/desktop-v0.0.41","date":"2026-10-02T05:29:23Z","type":"stable","version":"desktop-v0.0.41"},{"url":"https://github.com/cline/cline/releases/tag/cli-v3.0.68","date":"2026-10-02T04:42:19Z","type":"stable","version":"cli-v3.0.68"},{"url":"https://github.com/cline/cline/releases/tag/v4.1.22","date":"2026-09-30T04:10:12Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.1.22"},{"url":"https://github.com/cline/cline/releases/tag/sdk/sdk/v0.0.89","date":"2026-09-30T23:34:22Z","type":"stable","version":"sdk/sdk/v0.0.89"},{"url":"https://github.com/cline/cline/releases/tag/sdk/sdk/v0.0.88","date":"2026-09-30T02:32:48Z","type":"stable","version":"sdk/sdk/v0.0.88"},{"url":"https://github.com/cline/cline/releases/tag/desktop-v0.0.40","date":"2026-09-30T23:56:13Z","type":"stable","version":"desktop-v0.0.40"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | yes | - |
| security.disclosure_policy | - | yes |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":2,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=pypi&package_name=aider-chat&per_page=100","last_12m":2,"max_severity":"LOW"}` | `{"count":3,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=cline&per_page=100","last_12m":3,"max_severity":"CRITICAL"}` |

## Capabilities (AI Coding Assistants)

| Capability | Aider | Cline |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Form | CLI agent | Chat / edit |
| Autonomy level | Agentic | Agentic |
| **Surface** |  |  |
| Editor / surface support | IDE integration via comments, web chat interface | VS Code, JetBrains (IntelliJ, PyCharm, WebStorm, GoLand), Cursor, Windsurf, Anti |
| **AI** |  |  |
| Model source | Model-agnostic (BYO key) | Model-agnostic (BYO key) |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Self-hostable / air-gapped | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Context** |  |  |
| Codebase context | Repo-wide indexing | Repo-wide indexing |
| **Editing** |  |  |
| Multi-file edits | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Agentic** |  |  |
| Runs commands / tools | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Data** |  |  |
| Zero-data-retention option | ✓ | - |
| **Security** |  |  |
| Enterprise controls | ✗ | ✓ |
| **Ecosystem** |  |  |
| Language coverage | 100+ languages including Python, JavaScript, Rust, Ruby, Go, C++, PHP, HTML, CSS | All languages supported by underlying LLM models |
| **Commercial** |  |  |
| Pricing model | Free | Usage credits |
| **Licensing** |  |  |
| Open-source client | OSS | OSS |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T20:58:46.203Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*