Kilo Code vs Claude Code vs Darce: open source agents compared

Kilo Code is an open source (MIT) coding agent for VS Code, JetBrains and the terminal, with 500+ models through its own gateway at provider rates. Claude Code is Anthropic's Claude-only agent. Darce is an open source terminal agent with 250+ models on one plan and an undo that also reverses what shell commands did.

Last checked: October 2026. Facts about Kilo Code and Claude Code come from their official docs, repos and pricing pages, linked in the sources below.

What is Kilo Code today?

Kilo Code started as a VS Code extension and is now a family of products from Kilo (Kilo Code repo):

• A VS Code extension, rebuilt in 2026 on the same core as the Kilo CLI (Kilo blog).
• A JetBrains plugin.
• Kilo CLI, started with kilo. Its README says "Kilo CLI is a fork of OpenCode".
• A Cloud Agent you run from the web, and automated pull request reviews.
• Kilo Gateway, which gives you 500+ models at the provider's rate with no markup.

So "Kilo Code vs Claude Code" is no longer purely an extension vs a CLI: both now cover the editor and the terminal.

At a glance

Models and pricing

Kilo Code is free and open source; you pay for what the models cost. Through Kilo Gateway you "pay exact provider rates with no markup", with a 5% processing fee on credit purchases. You can also bring your own keys or use free and local models. Kilo Pass is an optional credit subscription: Starter $19/month (up to $26.60 in credits), Pro $49/month (up to $68.60) and Expert $199/month (up to $278.60). Teams is $15 per user per month, and cloud agents are billed separately per second (Kilo pricing).

Claude Code comes with Claude Pro ($20/month, $17/month billed yearly) or Max (from $100/month), and isn't in the Free plan (Claude pricing). It runs Claude models only (model configuration).

Darce has a free trial with no account, a Free plan with a daily allowance, Builder at $15/month and Power at $65/month. One plan covers 250+ models, switchable mid-task with Shift+Up/Down. Limits are hard, with no overage bills. See pricing.

Where Kilo is better: it has a wider model catalog, lets you bring your own keys and run local models, and passes provider prices through. Darce doesn't take your own keys or run local models.

Modes and agents

Kilo's README lists built-in agents for coding, planning (Plan), answering questions without touching files (Ask) and debugging (Debug), and its CLI docs also describe Architect and Orchestrator modes and custom agents (Kilo CLI docs). Claude Code has a plan mode and subagents. Darce has four approval modes (auto, ask, plan, full), where plan is read-only.

How each one runs commands

Kilo Code inherits a permission system where each tool resolves to allow, ask or deny, set globally with a * rule or per tool, with pattern rules where the last match wins. Choosing "Always run" saves an allow rule. /auto-approve turns on auto-approval for all prompts, and kilo run --auto runs non-interactively, denying anything not auto-approved (Kilo CLI docs).

Claude Code uses permission modes: Manual, acceptEdits, plan, auto (a classifier reviews actions), dontAsk for CI, and bypassPermissions for containers, plus an optional Bash sandbox on macOS, Linux and WSL2 (permission modes).

Darce scores every command before it runs: read-only, changes the project, reaches outside (network, installs, unknown commands), or destructive. In the default auto mode, risky commands ask with the reason. Scripts like npm run x get a classifier check of the real script line, and effects /undo can't reverse, like deploys and migrations, always ask. See Safety.

The difference in approach: Kilo gives you rules you write; Darce ships an opinionated risk scorer you can switch modes on but don't need to configure.

Checkpoints and undo

Kilo's new extension takes git-based snapshots before and after each step, stored in a separate repository outside your project, so your own .git history isn't touched. Two limits are worth knowing: revert works "per user message, not per individual step or file edit", and gitignored files such as node_modules/, dist/ and .env are excluded (Kilo checkpoints). The docs don't say explicitly whether files changed by terminal commands are restored. The CLI has /undo, /redo and /fork.

Claude Code makes a checkpoint per prompt but doesn't track changes made by Bash commands (checkpointing). More in Claude Code rewind vs Darce undo.

Darce snapshots before every step into private git refs, so /undo steps back one change at a time, including files a shell command created, changed or deleted, and /rewind scrubs through the session. Its limits are similar to Kilo's: shell-command coverage needs a git repo, gitignored files aren't snapshotted, and history lasts for the session.

Parallel work

Kilo's Agent Manager, inside the VS Code extension, runs several sessions at once, each in its own git worktree with its own terminal, and a review panel to compare changes before you merge or open a PR (Agent Manager). Kilo also has cloud agents.

Claude Code has subagents, background agents and cloud sessions.

Darce's /swarm splits one task into 2-4 parallel agents in worktrees and merges the result, and /undo reverts the whole swarm. /derby races three models on the same task so you can keep the best diff. Darce has no cloud agents.

Platforms

Kilo: VS Code, JetBrains, a CLI (npm, Homebrew and others) and a web cloud agent. Claude Code: terminal on macOS, Linux, WSL and Windows, plus IDE, desktop, web and mobile. Darce: terminal on macOS, Linux and Windows with Node.js 22+.

Who Kilo Code is for

Kilo suits developers who want one open source agent across VS Code, JetBrains and the terminal, the widest model choice at provider prices, and a visual Agent Manager for parallel worktrees. If you've used OpenCode, the CLI will feel familiar.

Who Claude Code is for

Claude Code suits developers who want Claude models and Anthropic's own tooling everywhere, and who already pay for Claude Pro or Max.

Who Darce is for

Darce suits terminal users who want 250+ models without managing keys or credits, approvals that score risk for you, and step-by-step undo that also covers what shell commands changed. Try it with npx darce-cli, no account: Getting started.

Bottom line

Pick Kilo Code for an open source agent in your editor and terminal with 500+ models at cost. Pick Claude Code for Claude everywhere. Pick Darce for a focused terminal agent with risk-scored approvals and fine-grained undo. Related: Cline, OpenCode, Cursor and the Claude Code alternative.

Sources

• Kilo Code on GitHub
• Kilo pricing
• Kilo CLI docs
• Kilo CLI platform docs
• Kilo checkpoints
• Kilo Agent Manager
• The new Kilo Code for VS Code
• Claude Code overview
• Claude Code permission modes
• Claude Code model configuration
• Claude Code checkpointing
• Claude pricing

Frequently asked questions