Skip to content
BetterOpenSource

Plandex vs Kilo Code

A side-by-side comparison of two open-source tools to help you choose the right one.

Feature
SummaryA terminal AI agent for large, real-world projects.An open VS Code agent with planning modes.
GitHub stars13K7.8K
LicenseMITApache 2.0
LanguageGoTypeScript
PricingFree & Open SourceFree & Open Source
Self-hostable
ReplacesClaude CodeClaude Code, GitHub Copilot
Rating4.5 / 54.5 / 5

Plandex features

  • Massive context window for big codebases
  • Diff-review sandbox before applying changes
  • Smart context management to control cost
  • Version-controlled, reversible changes
  • Self-hostable server

Kilo Code features

  • Orchestrator, architect, code, and debug modes
  • Use any AI model you like
  • Automatic error recovery
  • Context-aware, project-wide assistance
  • Open source VS Code extension

Plandexpros & cons

Pros

  • Designed for large, multi-step tasks
  • Careful review workflow before applying edits
  • MIT licensed and self-hostable

Cons

  • Terminal-first workflow
  • Large contexts can be token-expensive

Kilo Codepros & cons

Pros

  • Flexible mode-based workflow
  • Model-agnostic and open
  • Lightweight to adopt

Cons

  • Smaller community than the largest agents
  • Mode switching has a small learning curve

Command Palette

Search for a command to run...