Continue is an open-source AI coding extension that runs in VS Code or JetBrains — BYO model (Anthropic, OpenAI, Ollama, local). Strong choice for teams that want to standardise on a single AI workflow without vendor lock-in.
Pros
- ✅ Free and open source
- ✅ Works with local models via Ollama
- ✅ No data leaves your machine if local
Cons
- ⚠️ Less polished than Cursor/Copilot
- ⚠️ Setup is fiddly
Use cases
self-hostedopen sourceBYO model
Compare with similar tools
All in Coding →Compare
Continue vs Cursor
Side-by-side breakdown
Compare
Continue vs GitHub Copilot
Side-by-side breakdown
Compare
Continue vs Replit Agent
Side-by-side breakdown
Cursor
FeaturedCoding · Claude / GPT-4o (configurable)
9.5
AI-first VS Code fork — chat, edit, and agentic coding in one IDE.
Freemium· Free hobby; Pro $20/mocodingrefactors
GitHub Copilot
FeaturedCoding · GPT-4o / Claude / OpenAI o-series
9.1
The original AI pair programmer, now with chat and agents.
Paid· $10/mo individual; $19/mo businessautocompletechat
Replit Agent
FeaturedCoding
8.7
Build & deploy a full app from a single prompt.
Freemium· Free credits; Core $20/moprototypesinternal tools
Aider
Coding · BYO (Claude / GPT-4 / Gemini)
8.4
Terminal-based AI pair programmer that writes commits.
FreeCLIgit workflow
Codeium
Coding
8.3
Free, fast AI autocomplete + chat across 70+ editors.
Freemium· Free; Pro $15/moautocompletechat
Cody
Coding
8.0
Sourcegraph's AI coding assistant — codebase-aware via their search index.
Freemium· Free; Pro $9/mo; Enterprise customenterprisemonorepos