OpenCode vs Claude Code: models, cost, features and undo compared

The most popular open source terminal agent against Anthropic's own: which models and keys each takes, what it costs, how the harnesses differ, and what each one's undo covers.

Updated October 2026

OpenCode is the open source agent that runs almost any model, including local ones. Claude Code is Anthropic's own agent for Claude, with a paid subscription behind it and the widest set of first-party features. Pick Claude Code if you pay for Claude Pro or Max. Pick OpenCode if you want to switch vendors, run local models, pay providers directly, or read the code that runs on your machine.

Last updated: October 2026. This page is published by the makers of Darce. Facts about OpenCode and Claude Code come from their own docs, pricing pages and repositories, fetched on October 15, 2026.

OpenCode vs Claude Code at a glance

	OpenCode	Claude Code
License	MIT, open source (213,000+ GitHub stars)	Proprietary
Models	75+ providers through Models.dev, plus local models	Claude only
How you pay	Your provider keys; a ChatGPT Plus/Pro or GitHub Copilot login; OpenCode Zen or Go	Claude Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise plan, or API billing
Claude Pro/Max subscription	Not allowed: "Anthropic explicitly prohibits this"	Yes, the supported way to use it
Local models	Ollama, LM Studio, llama.cpp	Not supported by Anthropic
Interfaces	Terminal, desktop app (beta), IDE extension	Terminal, IDE extensions, desktop app, web, mobile
Undo	`/undo` and `/redo` from git snapshots of the active directory	`/rewind` of Claude's own file edits
Approvals	Allow, ask or deny per tool; most default to allow	Six permission modes; auto mode with a classifier by default
Windows	Runs natively; WSL recommended	Native, but the sandbox needs WSL2

Models and keys

OpenCode works with "75+ LLM providers through Models.dev, including local models". You can paste API keys, or log in with accounts you already pay for: a ChatGPT Plus or Pro account, a GitHub Copilot account (some models need Copilot Pro+), or GitLab Duo, which is experimental. Local models run through Ollama, LM Studio or llama.cpp.

What you can't do is use a Claude Pro or Max subscription. OpenCode's provider docs say third-party plugins exist for that, but "Anthropic explicitly prohibits this", and OpenCode stopped bundling them as of version 1.3.0. Claude in OpenCode means an Anthropic API key, or a provider that resells Claude.

Claude Code runs Claude models only. It defaults to Opus 5.5 on paid plans and the API, with sonnet, haiku and opusplan aliases. Anthropic says it doesn't support routing Claude Code to non-Claude models through any gateway. People still do it with ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL; see Claude Code with other models for how, and what breaks.

Where each is better: OpenCode, if model choice matters to you. Claude Code, if you've already settled on Claude.

Cost

OpenCode is MIT licensed and costs nothing to install. You pay whoever serves the model:

Your own API keys, at each provider's rates. For example, Claude Sonnet 5.5 costs $2 per million input tokens and $10 per million output tokens on Anthropic's API.
A subscription you already have: ChatGPT Plus or Pro, or GitHub Copilot.
OpenCode Zen, pay as you go, with a few models listed as free "for a limited time".
OpenCode Go, $10 a month, or Go Plus at $40, with limits set as monthly dollar amounts.
Local models, free apart from your hardware.

Claude Code needs a paid Claude plan or API billing. The free Claude plan doesn't include it. Pro is $20 a month ($17 billed yearly), Max is $100 or $200, Team seats start at $20 a month billed yearly, and Enterprise is $20 per seat plus usage at API rates. Pro and Max have a five-hour session limit and a weekly limit, shared with the Claude apps.

Which is cheaper depends on how you work. For light use, OpenCode with a low-cost model, a free Zen model or a local model can cost little or nothing. If you use Claude's top models heavily every day, compare a Max plan's flat price with what the same tokens cost on the API, because OpenCode can't use Max. Our free coding agents guide lists every way to run one for $0.

Harness quality and features

The harness is everything around the model: tools, prompts, approvals, context handling. The same model can behave differently in two harnesses, so this matters as much as the model list.

Claude Code has the larger first-party feature set: skills, subagents, hooks, MCP, plugins and the Agent SDK; background agents and --worktree sessions in parallel; cloud sessions in Anthropic-managed VMs; scheduled routines (in research preview); and GitHub Actions and GitLab CI/CD. It runs in the terminal, VS Code, Cursor, JetBrains, a desktop app, the web and mobile.

OpenCode ships two main agents, Build (all tools on) and Plan (edits and shell commands ask first), plus General, Explore and Scout subagents you can call with @. It reads diagnostics from your language servers (LSP), connects to MCP servers, and can share a session as a public link (sharing is manual by default). It runs as a terminal UI, a desktop app in beta, and an extension for VS Code, Cursor and other editors. Releases are frequent: v1.19.0 shipped on October 11, 2026.

Approvals differ in default stance. OpenCode's permissions are allow, ask or deny per tool, and "most permissions default to allow"; it asks when the same tool call repeats three times with identical input or a tool touches paths outside the project, and denies reading .env files. Claude Code starts interactive sessions in auto mode, where a classifier model reviews actions before they run, and has a sandbox you can turn on with /sandbox. Out of the box, Claude Code is the more guarded of the two. OpenCode can be just as strict once you write the rules.

Where each is better: Claude Code for breadth of features and Claude-specific tuning. OpenCode for openness, model choice and a large community: over 213,000 GitHub stars and, by OpenCode's count, 950 contributors.

Undo coverage

This is a real difference, and OpenCode comes out ahead.

OpenCode takes a git snapshot of the session's active directory right before each model step and another when the step finishes. The paths that changed between the two are recorded against that step, so /undo restores them whether the agent used its edit tool or a shell command, and removes files the step created. /redo cancels the rollback. Limits from its docs:

It needs a git repository. Outside one, /undo rolls back the conversation but not files.
Git-ignored files, untracked files over 2 MiB and files outside the active directory aren't captured.
Shell effects on services, processes, databases, git state or the network aren't reversed.

Claude Code saves a checkpoint before each prompt. /rewind (or Esc twice) restores code, the conversation, or both, and checkpoints last about 30 days. But "checkpointing does not track files modified by Bash commands", so a file Claude deleted with rm or moved with mv stays deleted or moved. Most subagent edits and hard-linked files aren't restored either. Details and recovery steps: Claude Code rewind.

Where each is better: OpenCode, because its snapshots cover files changed by shell commands in the project. Claude Code's checkpoints survive resuming a session and last about 30 days.

When to use each

You pay for Claude Pro or Max: Claude Code. It's the supported way to use that plan for coding.
You want to switch between Claude, GPT, Gemini, Qwen and others: OpenCode.
You want local models or no cloud at all: OpenCode with Ollama, LM Studio or llama.cpp.
You want hooks, cloud sessions, routines and CI integrations from the model's maker: Claude Code.
You want undo to cover what shell commands changed: OpenCode.
You want an agent you can audit or fork: OpenCode.
You're on native Windows: both run there, but Claude Code's sandbox needs WSL2, and OpenCode recommends WSL for the best experience.

For a feature-by-feature look at OpenCode against our own agent, see Darce vs OpenCode. For more options, see OpenCode alternatives and Codex vs Claude Code.

Where Darce fits

Darce, our MIT-licensed agent, sits between the two: 250+ models through one plan or your own OpenRouter key, with /undo that covers shell commands and asks before anything undo can't reverse, like git push, migrations and deploys.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

Is OpenCode better than Claude Code?

Not across the board. Claude Code has the larger first-party feature set and is the supported way to use a Claude Pro or Max plan. OpenCode is open source, works with 75+ providers and local models, and its undo also covers files changed by shell commands.

Can I use my Claude Pro or Max subscription in OpenCode?

No. OpenCode's provider docs say Anthropic explicitly prohibits using Claude Pro or Max through third-party plugins, and OpenCode stopped bundling those plugins in version 1.3.0. Use an Anthropic API key in OpenCode, or Claude Code for the subscription.

Is OpenCode free?

The tool is MIT licensed and free to install. You pay for models: your own API keys, a ChatGPT Plus/Pro or GitHub Copilot login, OpenCode Go from $10 a month, or OpenCode Zen pay as you go, which lists a few free models for a limited time. Local models cost nothing beyond your hardware.

Does OpenCode's undo revert shell commands?

For files, yes, within limits. OpenCode snapshots the session's active directory before and after each model step and restores the paths that changed, whatever changed them. It needs git, skips ignored files and untracked files over 2 MiB, and can't reverse effects on databases, services or git state.

Can Claude Code use other models like OpenCode does?

Only unofficially. Claude Code can be pointed at another endpoint with ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL, but Anthropic says it doesn't support routing Claude Code to non-Claude models through any gateway.

Try Darce in your terminal

Free to try, no account. Every change it makes can be undone with /undo.

$ npx darce-cli

Docs: Undo and rewind