The best Claude Code alternatives in 2026 (free, open source and local)

Claude Code is one of the strongest coding agents there is: with Opus 5.5, it tops the independent Terminal-Bench 4.0. But it has a few things people look elsewhere for. It needs a paid Claude plan ($20 a month or more), it runs Claude models only, its usage limits run out, and it isn't open source (its license reads "All rights reserved").

These are the alternatives worth trying in October 2026, each checked against its own website and GitHub on October 26. A disclosure first: I build Morphy, which isn't a replacement for Claude Code but runs it next to most of the agents below.

The alternatives at a glance

	Made by	Models	Free option	Paid from	Open source
Codex	OpenAI	OpenAI's; local models with `--oss`	In the ChatGPT app only (Free and Go)	$20 a month (ChatGPT Plus)	Yes, Apache-2.0
Antigravity CLI	Google	Gemini; Claude and GPT-OSS by tier	Yes, with weekly and 5-hour limits	Google AI Pro	Gemini CLI, which it replaced, is
GitHub Copilot CLI	GitHub	Claude, GPT, Gemini, Grok and more	Yes, limited	$10 a month	No
Cursor CLI	Cursor	Grok, Claude, GPT, Gemini, Composer	Cursor's free plan	Cursor's plans (X Subscription)	No
OpenCode	OpenCode	75+ providers, free models, local	Yes, free models	Pay as you go for paid models	Yes, MIT
Cline	Cline	Any, with your own keys	Yes: you pay only for the AI	–	Yes, Apache-2.0
Kilo Code	Kilo	Any, with your own keys, free and local models	Yes	Teams $15 a user	Yes
Goose	Agentic AI Foundation	15+ providers, local through Ollama	Yes: you pay only for the AI	–	Yes, Apache-2.0
Qwen Code	Alibaba's Qwen team	Qwen, plus OpenAI-, Anthropic- and Gemini-style APIs and local	Its free sign-in ended April 15, 2026	Alibaba Cloud's Coding Plan or your own keys	Yes, Apache-2.0

The alternatives, one by one

Companies' own agents

Codex

OpenAI's agent, and the closest thing to Claude Code: a terminal agent, IDE extensions for VS Code, Cursor and Windsurf, and a desktop view in the ChatGPT app with cloud tasks. It's sandboxed by default, and it's open source.

Price: included in ChatGPT. Free and Go ($8) get Codex in the desktop app only; Plus ($20) adds the CLI, the IDE extension, cloud tasks and GitHub reviews; Pro is $100, $200 or $500.
Good for: value. In Vals.ai's Terminal-Bench 4.0 run, GPT-6.1 Sol did a task for $1.72 against $13.20 for Opus 5.5, though it scored about ten points lower.
Watch out for: OpenAI's models only (local ones through codex --oss).

More in Codex vs Claude Code and Codex's usage limits.

Antigravity CLI

Google's terminal agent, agy, which replaced Gemini CLI for personal Google accounts on June 18, 2026 (Gemini CLI still works with paid Gemini API keys and Code Assist Standard or Enterprise). It installs with one line on Windows, macOS and Linux and signs in with your Google account.

Price: free, with weekly and five-hour limits; Google AI Pro and Ultra raise them.
Models: on the free tier, Gemini 3.8 Flash, Claude Sonnet 4.6 and Opus 4.6, and GPT-OSS-120b. Google AI Pro adds Gemini 4 Argon (in the CLI and the Antigravity app, not the editor) and Claude Sonnet and Opus 5.5.
Good for: trying a capable agent, Claude models included, without paying.
Watch out for: heavy use runs into the limits fast, and the newest Claude models need a paid plan.

Sources: pricing, models, hands-on.

GitHub Copilot CLI

Copilot's agent in your terminal, on every Copilot plan, Free included. It has a plan mode, sandboxing, cloud sessions and /model to switch between Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, xAI and other models, and it can also run on your own OpenAI-compatible, Anthropic or Ollama provider.

Price: Free (limited chat and agent use), Pro $10 a month ($15 of usage credits), Pro+ $39, Max $100.
Good for: Claude, GPT and Gemini in one cheap plan, and GitHub built in.
Watch out for: heavy agent use spends the credits; check how far yours go in a normal week.

Sources: about Copilot CLI, plans.

Cursor CLI

Cursor's agent outside the editor, as the agent command, on Windows (natively or in WSL), macOS and Linux. It runs Grok, Claude Opus 5.5, GPT, Gemini and Cursor's own Composer, and works headless in scripts and GitHub Actions.

Price: Cursor's plans, now part of the X Subscription: Plus ($8) runs Grok models only, and Claude and GPT are billed at API prices from Premium ($30).
Watch out for: for daily Claude use, a Claude plan is usually cheaper. See the Cursor alternatives for the details of the change.

Sources: Cursor CLI, installation.

Open source

OpenCode

The most popular open-source coding agent, with about 220,000 stars on GitHub: a terminal app, a desktop app and an IDE extension. It works with 75+ providers, including your GitHub Copilot or ChatGPT plan, local models, and free models of its own.

Price: free. Its Zen service sells paid models pay-as-you-go, and some are free for a limited time.
Good for: the most Claude Code-like experience without being tied to one company.
Watch out for: some free models collect your prompts to improve the model; OpenCode's own page lists which.

Sources: opencode.ai, Zen.

Cline

A free, open-source agent that runs as a VS Code extension, a CLI and an SDK. You bring your own API keys (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, OpenRouter and many more), and every step is shown for you to approve.

Price: free; you pay the AI provider directly.
Watch out for: paying per token adds up fast with the top models on long tasks.

Sources: GitHub, pricing.

Kilo Code

An open-source agent for VS Code, JetBrains and the terminal that works with any model: your own keys, free models, or local ones through Ollama or LM Studio.

Price: free to use with your own keys; Teams is $15 a user a month.
Good for: the same agent in VS Code and JetBrains.

Sources: pricing, GitHub.

Goose

An open-source agent from Block, now run by the Agentic AI Foundation under the Linux Foundation. It comes as a desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux, a CLI and an API, for code and other work.

Price: free; it works with 15+ providers (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Ollama, OpenRouter and more) on your own keys or subscriptions.
Good for: an agent that isn't only for code, with a desktop app as well as the terminal.

Sources: goose, GitHub.

Qwen Code

Alibaba's open-source terminal agent (Apache-2.0), which speaks OpenAI-, Anthropic- and Gemini-style APIs and runs local models through Ollama or vLLM.

Watch out for: many older articles call it free. Its free Qwen sign-in ended on April 15, 2026; now you use Alibaba Cloud's Coding Plan, OpenRouter or another provider.

Sources: GitHub, authentication.

Also worth knowing

Amp: runs its agents on remote machines that keep working with your laptop closed. A free Hobby tier (you pay for the machines you use) and Individual at $20 a month; it can use your own ChatGPT or Claude subscription.
Factory's Droid: an agent for the terminal, a desktop app and an SDK, with cloud agents; from $20 a month, with no free tier on its pricing page.
Crush: a polished terminal agent from Charm, for any provider. Source-available (FSL-1.1, which turns into MIT after two years).
Aider: many older lists put it first, and it's still a solid open-source pair programmer, but its last release (0.86.0) was in August 2025.

Not a replacement, but next to it

Morphy

A canvas where every chat is an agent, with projects, focus views, live cards, voice typing and (on Pro) your phone as a remote.

Runs on: Windows 10/11, macOS 11+, Linux (beta)
Agents: Claude Code, Codex, Copilot, Antigravity (Gemini), Grok, OpenCode, OpenRouter, Ollama, and (on Pro) any OpenAI-compatible API
Keeps agents apart: Optional: a chat can work in its own copy (a git worktree on its own branch); otherwise chats in a project share its folder
Price: Free plan (3 agents at a time, 2 projects, 3 cards); Pro $9/mo; you use your own AI plans

Good for: keeping Claude Code and trying the others next to it. Morphy runs Claude Code, Codex, Copilot, Antigravity (Gemini), Grok, OpenCode, OpenRouter and Ollama as chats on one canvas, each on your own plan. When Claude's limit runs out, Continue with hands the conversation to another AI in a new chat beside it, in the same folder. The free plan runs 3 agents at a time; Pro is $9 a month.

Watch out for: it isn't an agent itself: it runs the ones above, so you still need their plans or keys. It's young (version 0.1).

Sources: Morphy docs, Connect your AI, Freemium and Pro

Is there a free Claude Code alternative?

Yes, several:

No account and no money: OpenCode's free models.
A Google account: the Antigravity CLI's free tier, which includes Claude Sonnet and Opus 4.6.
A GitHub account: Copilot CLI on Copilot Free.
Your own computer: OpenCode, Cline, Kilo Code, Goose or Codex (codex --oss) with a local model through Ollama or LM Studio.

You can also keep Claude Code itself and point it at a free or local model. It works, but Anthropic doesn't support it: here's how to run Claude Code and Codex on free and local models.

Which should you pick?

You want results as close to Claude Code as possible: Codex.
You don't want to pay: the Antigravity CLI, or OpenCode with its free models.
You want Claude, GPT and Gemini for $10: GitHub Copilot CLI.
You want open source and your own keys: OpenCode in the terminal, Cline or Kilo Code in your editor.
You want private, local models: OpenCode, Goose or Kilo Code with Ollama.
You like Claude Code and only hit its limits: keep it, and put a second agent next to it. See Claude Code's usage limits and how to run several agents at once.

Questions

What is the best alternative to Claude Code? For most people, Codex: it's the closest in how it works and how well it does, at the same $20. If you'd rather not pay, start with the Antigravity CLI or OpenCode.

Is Claude Code open source? No. Anthropic's repository for it carries the notice "All rights reserved", with use under its commercial terms. Codex, OpenCode, Cline, Kilo Code, Goose and Qwen Code are open source.

What's Google's alternative to Claude Code? The Antigravity CLI (agy). It replaced Gemini CLI for personal accounts in June 2026, and it's free with limits.

Can I use a Claude Code alternative with local models? Yes: OpenCode, Goose, Kilo Code, Cline, Qwen Code and Codex all run local models through Ollama or LM Studio.

Is there a Claude Code alternative for VS Code? GitHub Copilot, Cline and Kilo Code all run in VS Code, and so does OpenAI's Codex extension.

Comparisons in this series

References

Each tool's sources are listed in its entry above. Background:

Anthropic: Claude Code's license, Claude pricing
OpenAI: Codex on GitHub
Terminal-Bench 4.0 and Vals.ai results: see Codex vs Claude Code
Aider's releases
Morphy: Connect your AI, Freemium and Pro