# Cline vs SWE-agent

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Cline

| Attribute | Cline | SWE-agent |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 66.4 (56% (medium)) | 35.2 (57% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 100 | 0 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 811 | 0 |
| adoption.github_stars | 70,278 | 20,555 |
| content.faq | `[{"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}]` | `[{"answer":"A research tool that enables language models like GPT-4o or Claude to autonomously identify and fix issues in GitHub repositories or execute custom coding tasks. Built for flexibility and research extensibility by teams at Princeton and Stanford universities. It is indexed under AI Coding Agents.","source":"https://swe-agent.com","question":"What is SWE-agent?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"SWE-agent is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the MIT licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://swe-agent.com","question":"Is SWE-agent free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. SWE-agent is published under the MIT 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/swe-agent/SWE-agent","question":"Is SWE-agent open source?","confidence":0.95},{"answer":"SWE-agent is available worldwide. The vendor is headquartered in the United States.","source":"https://swe-agent.com","question":"Where is SWE-agent available?","confidence":0.75}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"self_hosted":true}` | - |
| description.long | 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 | A research tool that enables language models like GPT-4o or Claude to autonomously identify and fix issues in GitHub repositories or execute custom coding tasks. Built for flexibility and research extensibility by teams at Princeton and Stanford universities. |
| features.capabilities | `{"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}` | `{"soc2_type_ii":false,"pricing_model":"bring_your_own_key_free","architecture_model":"cli_tool_aider","rag_on_external_documentation_urls":false,"bring_your_own_key_byok_api_support":true,"mcp_model_context_protocol_integration":false,"browser_automation_support_for_visual_qa":false,"local_llm_support_via_ollama_or_lmstudio":false,"multi_file_diff_generation_and_automated_apply":true,"privacy_mode_zero_data_retention_for_enterprise":false,"workspace_indexing_and_semantic_codebase_search":false,"terminal_bash_execution_and_self_correction_loops":true}` |
| integrations.count | 10 | 1 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Telegram"},{"name":"Slack"},{"name":"Discord"},{"name":"Google Chat"},{"name":"WhatsApp"},{"name":"Linear"},{"name":"GitHub Actions"},{"name":"OpenTelemetry"},{"name":"Datadog"},{"name":"Grafana"},{"name":"Splunk"}]` | `[{"name":"GitHub"}]` |
| language.primary | TypeScript | Python |
| license.spdx | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"hqCountry":"US","primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"mac":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` | - |
| pricing | `{"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"]}` | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://swe-agent.com","retrievedAt":"2026-08-21T11:03:07.526Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | freemium | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | low | free |
| pricing.starting_price | `{"amount":9.99,"currency":"USD"}` | - |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| release.cadence_days | - | 16 |
| release.history | `[{"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"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/SWE-agent/SWE-agent/releases/tag/v1.1.0","date":"2025-05-22T16:11:39Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/SWE-agent/SWE-agent/releases/tag/v1.0.1","date":"2025-02-28T16:46:14Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.0.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/SWE-agent/SWE-agent/releases/tag/v1.0.0","date":"2025-02-13T16:21:23Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/SWE-agent/SWE-agent/releases/tag/v0.7.0","date":"2024-09-25T14:45:14Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.7.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/SWE-agent/SWE-agent/releases/tag/v0.6.1","date":"2024-06-20T15:21:51Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.6.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/SWE-agent/SWE-agent/releases/tag/v0.6.0","date":"2024-06-05T13:16:40Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.6.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/SWE-agent/SWE-agent/releases/tag/v0.5.0","date":"2024-05-28T17:14:15Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.5.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/SWE-agent/SWE-agent/releases/tag/v0.4.0","date":"2024-05-09T14:58:44Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.4.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/SWE-agent/SWE-agent/releases/tag/v0.3.0","date":"2024-05-02T15:47:48Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/SWE-agent/SWE-agent/releases/tag/v0.2.0","date":"2024-04-15T19:01:34Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.2.0"}]` |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | - |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":3,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=cline&per_page=100","last_12m":3,"max_severity":"CRITICAL"}` | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fswe-agent%2FSWE-agent&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (AI Coding Agents)

| Capability | Cline | SWE-agent |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Capabilities** |  |  |
| Architecture model | Vs code extension cline | CLI tool aider |
| Terminal bash execution and self correction loops | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mcp model context protocol integration | - | ✗ |
| Bring your own key byok API support | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multi file diff generation and automated apply | ✓ | ✓ |
| Workspace indexing and semantic codebase search | - | ✗ |
| Browser automation support for visual qa | ✓ | ✗ |
| Privacy mode zero data retention for enterprise | - | ✗ |
| Rag on external documentation urls | - | ✗ |
| Local LLM support via ollama or lmstudio | ✓ | ✗ |
| SOC2 type ii | - | ✗ |
| Mit or apache permissive oss license | - | - |
| Pricing model | usage_credits | Bring your own key free |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T19:59:24.214Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*