Cline
Agentic coding in VS Code — reads, writes, runs, browses.
Open Source☁ Cloud · no GPU
Actually FreeNo SignupOpen SourceWatermark-Free
Continue
Open-source Copilot — VS Code & JetBrains, any model.
Open SourceCPU-capableLocal or cloud
Actually FreeNo SignupOpen SourceWatermark-FreeHobbyist-FriendlyAPI
Visit ContinueUpdated 2026-05-16 · Direct link
Hardware requirements
Local or cloud · Entry GPU (6–8 GB)
Min VRAM
None
Rec. VRAM
8 GB
Min RAM
8 GB
Rec. RAM
16 GB
Disk
2 GB
GPU class
Entry GPU
Apple Silicon ✓CPU-Capable
Plugin itself is light; GPU need depends on which model you point it at.
Screenshot placeholder · Continue
What is Continue?
Continue is the open-source autonomy alternative to GitHub Copilot. Plugs into VS Code or JetBrains, supports any model (local Ollama, OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral) via a YAML config, and provides chat, edit, autocomplete, and an increasingly capable agent mode. Apache 2.0.
Pros & cons
Pros
- Works with any model — local or remote
- YAML config is editable, scriptable, version-controllable
- Strong tab-autocomplete with the right local model
Cons
- Autocomplete quality is model-bound — needs a good model to be good
- Agent mode is still maturing vs Cline / Aider
What's actually free?
Apache 2.0; cloud control plane is optional.
✓ Actually FreeNo SignupOpen SourceWatermark-Free
Alternatives
Aider
Terminal-native AI pair programmer with git awareness.
Open SourceCPU-capable
Actually FreeNo SignupOpen SourceWatermark-Free