OpenCode vs Kilo Code (2026): 209k vs 27k Stars, Both MIT, Both $0, Kilo CLI Is an OpenCode Fork

OpenCode vs Kilo Code at a Glance

Both are open source and model-agnostic, so neither locks you in. OpenCode has the largest star count of any open-source coding agent, ahead of OpenAI Codex (125,963) and Gemini CLI (107,130). Star counts were read from the GitHub API on September 22, 2026.

What Changed Since July 2026

• Sep 22: Kilo v7.7.7 adopts OpenCode v1.18.14 through v1.18.18. OpenCode V2 reaches 2.0.14.
• Sep 21: OpenCode v1.18.32 adds Grok 4.7 to Zen and Go, and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash to Zen.
• Sep 17: Kilo v7.7.3 removes KiloClaw: the VS Code chat panel, the /kiloclaw TUI command, and the Kilo Chat client. The /local-review aliases are gone too. Use /review.
• Sep 11: OpenCode V2 2.0.0 ships on npm as @opencode/cli. New plugin API, so V1 plugins break.
• Sep 10: Kilo v7.6.0 removes the interactive_terminal tool. Commands that need keyboard input now run in your own terminal. Adds /goal, /caffeinate, and a one-time import of Claude Code instructions, skills, and MCP definitions.
• Aug 24: OpenCode v1.18.22 drops the OpenCode Go first-month discount.
• Jul 15: Anaconda acquires Kilo Code. Anaconda says Kilo routes almost 10 trillion tokens per month. The repo is still MIT licensed.
• Jul 14: OpenCode v1.18.0 completes the desktop v2 migration, with a setting to switch back to the old layout.

OpenCode Go now asks third-party clients to send their own user agent and a stable x-opencode-session header. Kilo Code CLI is on the validated list after Kilo PR #13752. The Kilo VS Code extension is not.

Kilo CLI vs OpenCode: Same Engine, Different Platform

The Kilo-Org/kilocode README answers the most common question directly: "Kilo CLI is a fork of OpenCode, enhanced to work within the Kilo agentic engineering platform." Kilo CLI 1.0 shipped on February 3, 2026, built on the OpenCode server. On April 2, 2026 the rebuilt Kilo Code for VS Code went GA on the same core, replacing the Roo/Cline-lineage internals that had served over 2.2 million developers.

So the real difference is what sits around the engine. Kilo adds the Kilo Gateway, session sync between CLI and editor, Agent Manager with git worktree isolation, inline autocomplete, an MCP marketplace, JetBrains, and a cloud agent. OpenCode adds nothing on top. It is the engine, and it ships first.

A bigger gap is open now. OpenCode V2 shipped as 2.0.0 on npm (@opencode/cli) on September 11, 2026, and was on 2.0.14 by September 22. V2 has a new plugin API, so V1 plugins do not run. It also has new server and client contracts, and one global cli.json for TUI config in place of layered tui.json. V2 reads V1 opencode.json as-is. The GitHub Releases page still shows the 1.18.x line, because V2 ships as git tags only. Kilo CLI has none of V2. Kilo's port onto OpenCode V2 is an open tracking issue on a separate kilo-v2 branch, and its status note says end-to-end acceptance is incomplete. Expect the gap to widen during that migration.

Install Commands (OpenCode, Kilo CLI, Kilo Code)

OpenCode ships as a single binary from a one-liner, npm, Homebrew, and most OS package managers:

# OpenCode (stable v1)
curl -fsSL https://opencode.ai/install | bash
npm i -g opencode-ai@latest          # or bun/pnpm/yarn
brew install anomalyco/tap/opencode  # recommended tap, always current
# Also: scoop, choco, pacman, paru, mise, nix
# Desktop app: brew install --cask opencode-desktop

# OpenCode V2 (2.0.x, replaces the V1 binary; both run as "opencode")
curl -fsSL https://opencode.ai/v2/install | bash
npm i -g @opencode/cli
brew install anomalyco/tap/opencode-v2

Kilo CLI installs the same way and runs as kilo:

# Kilo CLI
npm install -g @kilocode/cli
curl -fsSL https://kilo.ai/cli/install | bash
brew install Kilo-Org/tap/kilo
paru -S kilo-bin
kilo                                   # start in a project
kilo run --auto "run tests and fix any failures"   # CI mode, auto-approves

Kilo Code for VS Code installs from the VS Code Marketplace (also on Open VSX). The JetBrains plugin is in the JetBrains Marketplace. The old kilocode.ai domain redirects to kilo.ai.

Pricing and Billing: OpenCode Zen and Go vs Kilo Gateway and Kilo Pass

The agents cost nothing. Spend goes to the model. Both teams now sell optional hosted model access, and both let you skip it with your own key.

OpenCode Go caps spend in windows: 20% of the monthly allowance per 5 hours and 50% per week, per the Go docs. Kilo Pass is prepaid credit with a bonus, not a rate limit. Prices are from kilo.ai/pricing and opencode.ai/docs/zen, checked September 22, 2026.

Features: OpenCode vs Kilo Code Extension

Compaction is a shared weak spot because it is shared code. An August 2026 Hacker News comment named compaction in OpenCode and Kilo Code as the main blocker to switching harnesses. The fix, conversation-aware compaction, landed upstream in OpenCode v1.18.16 to v1.18.18 and reached Kilo in v7.7.7.

Models and Providers

OpenCode uses the AI SDK and Models.dev to support 75+ LLM providers, plus local inference via Ollama, LM Studio, and llama.cpp. OpenCode Zen is the team's curated list of models tested for coding agents. Custom OpenAI-compatible endpoints go in opencode.json:

{
  "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
  "provider": {
    "myprovider": {
      "npm": "@ai-sdk/openai-compatible",
      "name": "My AI Provider",
      "options": { "baseURL": "https://api.myprovider.com/v1" },
      "models": { "my-model": { "name": "My Model" } }
    }
  }
}

Kilo Code routes 500+ models across 60+ providers through the Kilo Gateway, lets you switch models mid-task, and accepts your own keys with no Kilo plan required. Because Kilo CLI is an OpenCode fork, the same provider block works in kilo.jsonc.

Terminal vs Editor

Kilo Code is for developers who want the agent inside VS Code or JetBrains with review UI, autocomplete, and Agent Manager. The v7 rebuild had rough edges: Kilo's week-one post (April 7, 2026) acknowledged Plan and Ask agents that were not strict enough about writes, sessions stuck on rate limits, and memory regressions on large monorepos and Windows. Users who preferred the old extension rolled back with Install Specific Version to 5.x.

OpenCode is for developers who want the agent in the terminal. Its client-server design runs in any shell, including remote machines over SSH, with no editor dependency. Kilo CLI covers the same ground if you want Kilo's gateway and session sync. Compare OpenCode with Cline and Codex.

Best Models to Run on Either

Both are bring-your-own-key, so the model decides quality and cost. For code, the question is which endpoint gives you the cheapest tokens at full output quality.

Morph serves open coding models on custom kernels behind an OpenAI-compatible API. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (morph-dsv41flash) is $0.12 per 1M input tokens and $0.8 per 1M output tokens with a 1M context window. Kilo lists DeepSeek V4.1 Flash on its gateway and OpenCode added it to Zen in v1.18.32, so it is a common choice on both. Add Morph as a custom provider with the block above. See pricing for the full model list.

Where OpenCode Wins

Where Kilo Code Wins

Decision Framework

Frequently Asked Questions