Jan vs Continue
A side-by-side comparison of two open-source tools to help you choose the right one.
| Feature | CO | |
|---|---|---|
| Summary | An offline AI assistant that runs on your device. | Open-source autocomplete and chat for your IDE. |
| GitHub stars | 30K | 24.5K |
| License | AGPL 3.0 | Apache 2.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Pricing | Free & Open Source | Free & Open Source |
| Self-hostable | ||
| Replaces | ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot | GitHub Copilot, Claude Code |
| Rating | 4.6 / 5 | 4.6 / 5 |
Jan features
- Runs open models entirely offline on CPU or GPU
- Cross-platform desktop app (macOS, Windows, Linux)
- Optional connection to remote model APIs
- Local API server compatible with OpenAI clients
- No telemetry by default
Continue features
- Tab autocomplete with any model
- Inline edits and chat in your editor
- Custom context providers (docs, repos, issues)
- VS Code and JetBrains support
- Local models via Ollama for full privacy