Kilo Code

Kilo Code is an open-source AI coding assistant that brings completion, chat and agent workflows to editors and terminals. It suits developers who want to choose among hosted, local or self-supplied models; teams needing governance may prefer its paid tiers. The trade-off is a separate bill for platform access, AI inference and cloud compute.

Overview

Kilo can generate, refactor and debug code, automate reviews and deploy applications. Work can happen in VS Code or JetBrains editors, through a CLI, or with remote cloud agents that can create branches and optionally commit and push changes. Slack can answer repository questions, implement changes, create branches and open pull requests, though it requires a paid Slack plan and available Kilo credits.

Its MIT-licensed source can be inspected, modified, forked or self-hosted. Kilo supports more than 500 models across more than 60 providers, including free and local models, as well as bring-your-own-key (BYOK). The company says it was acquired by Anaconda in July 2026, with products, plans and support continuing unchanged at the announcement.

Key features

Model choice and agent modes

Code completion, chat assistance and a coding agent cover both quick editor help and delegated work. Modes include Code, Architect, Debug, Custom and Auto. Auto Model routes work through Efficient, Frontier or Free strategies, giving users a way to balance capability against cost; the choice of models and routing is a stronger point than a single bundled assistant, but requires attention to provider charges.

Repository workflows and security

Cloud Agents run remotely and can make repository branches, with optional commits and pushes. Official integrations include GitHub, GitLab, DoltHub and Bitbucket Cloud for organizations; the Enterprise comparison also includes Bitbucket and Jira integrations. The Security Agent syncs GitHub Dependabot alerts, triages findings with AI and can help dismiss or remediate them.

Enterprise includes privacy controls, audit logs, SSO, OIDC, SCIM and SLA commitments. Kilo's security materials also cite encryption in transit and at rest, RBAC, SSO/SAML and paid-plan no-retention support. These controls make the higher tier more relevant to organizations with governance requirements than to individual developers.

Pricing

Kilo separates platform access, inference and cloud compute. Free access to the extensions does not mean all usage is free: usage is billed separately. Hosted inference through Kilo Gateway charges exact provider rates with no markup, while cloud compute is usage-based, billed per second, without rounding up or a minimum usage charge.

The free options avoid a hosted-credit requirement but depend on free models, BYOK or local inference; the paid credit subscriptions bundle monthly AI credits, with the stated amounts framed as maximums. Teams adds coordination and support, not a single all-in price for compute and inference. Cloud compute remains separately usage-billed.

Platforms

Kilo supports VS Code, JetBrains editors, CLI and cloud agents. Supported editor surfaces include IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm and WebStorm; the product also lists Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, web and Windows availability. Slack is another supported surface, with the paid-Slack and Kilo-credit requirements noted above.

Who it's for

Kilo is a good fit for developers who value model flexibility, local or BYOK use, and the option to move from editor assistance to remote repository work. Its free routes suit cost-conscious individuals willing to work with free models or manage provider usage. Teams can justify the per-user tier when analytics, centralized billing and shared modes matter; organizations needing identity, audit and SLA controls should consider Enterprise. It is less compelling for buyers seeking one predictable price that covers platform, inference and compute.

Pros and cons

• Pro: Broad support for 500+ models across 60+ providers, with free, local and BYOK options, gives developers meaningful control over model choice.
• Pro: Editor, CLI, cloud-agent and Slack workflows cover both local coding and delegated repository tasks.
• Pro: MIT licensing permits inspection, modification and self-hosting.
• Pro: Gateway inference has no provider-rate markup, and cloud compute charges per second without a minimum.
• Con: Platform access, inference and cloud compute are separate charges, so a free plan does not guarantee free ongoing use.
• Con: Free-model routing depends on availability, while hosted inference and cloud work can still incur usage costs.
• Con: Slack workflows require both a paid Slack plan and available Kilo credits.

Alternatives

For a hosted development environment, consider GitHub Codespaces instead: it offers freemium access and usage-priced 2-core and 4-core compute, rather than centering on Kilo's model-choice and coding-agent workflows. Replit is another freemium option across mobile, desktop and web; its Starter plan includes daily free usage, one live project and one background task at a time.

If code review is the priority, Bito has a freemium plan and a paid AI Code Reviews Team option. For a paid coding assistant with a free plan, Claude Code offers a Pro tier at $17 a month. CodeGPT offers a free tier with daily Economy interactions, welcome premium credit and BYOK. Cursor has a free Hobby tier with limited Agent requests and Composer access, plus a $20 a month Pro plan. Devin offers a limited-usage free tier and paid plans. Gemini Code Assist is a no-cost alternative for individuals with a stated daily model-request allowance.

Browse AI Code Generators or AI Coding Assistants for more options.

Verdict

Choose Kilo Code if model flexibility, open-source control and workflows spanning editors, terminals and remote agents matter more than a bundled bill. Teams and enterprises also get increasingly useful administration and security controls. Look elsewhere if you need predictable all-in pricing or do not want to manage separate inference and compute costs.