Short answer: Claude Code is Anthropic's own agent: it runs Claude models only, on a Claude plan, and with Opus 5.5 it tops the independent Terminal-Bench 4.0. OpenCode is the most popular open-source coding agent (MIT, about 227,000 stars on GitHub): it runs almost any model from 200+ providers, has free models to start with, signs in with your ChatGPT or GitHub Copilot plan, and costs nothing itself. Pick Claude Code for the best results with Claude and the deepest set of tools around it; pick OpenCode if you want open source, a choice of models, or to spend little or nothing.
One catch decides it for many people: OpenCode can't use your Claude Pro, Max or Ultra plan. Anthropic doesn't allow other apps to offer a claude.ai sign-in, so in OpenCode Claude models need an API key, paid per token.
I build Morphy, which runs both as chats side by side, so read this with that in mind. Everything here is from OpenCode's and Anthropic's own pages, checked on November 13, 2026.
OpenCode vs Claude Code at a glance
| OpenCode | Claude Code | |
|---|---|---|
| Made by | Anomaly | Anthropic |
| Open source | Yes, MIT | No |
| Models | 200+ providers through Models.dev, local models, free models | Claude only |
| Sign in with a plan | ChatGPT Plus or Pro, GitHub Copilot | Claude Pro, Max, Ultra, Team or Enterprise |
| Claude models | With an API key (or through Copilot, OpenRouter or OpenCode's Zen) | Included in your Claude plan |
| Free option | Free models, with a daily request limit | None: Claude's free plan doesn't include Claude Code |
| Paid options | OpenCode Go, $10 or $40 a month, for open models; Zen, pay as you go | Claude Pro $20 ($17 billed yearly), Max $100, Ultra $200 |
| Where it runs | Terminal, desktop app (Windows, Mac, Linux), phone app, SDK | Terminal, VS Code and JetBrains, the Claude desktop app, the web and your phone |
| Project instructions | AGENTS.md | CLAUDE.md, and AGENTS.md when there's no CLAUDE.md |
| Extending it | Plugins, MCP, custom agents, skills, commands | Plugins, MCP, subagents, agent teams, skills, hooks, workflows |
What is OpenCode?
OpenCode is an open-source coding agent, in your terminal, in a desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux, on your phone (to start, steer and approve sessions) and as an SDK for your own scripts. OpenCode 2 is the current version.
- Any model. More than 200 providers through Models.dev, including local models through Ollama or LM Studio. Sign in with ChatGPT Plus or Pro to use your OpenAI plan, or with GitHub Copilot to use the models your Copilot plan includes.
- Free models work as soon as it's installed, with no account, up to a daily request limit.
- The Claude Code features you'd expect: several sessions in parallel on one project, plugins, MCP servers, custom agents,
SKILL.mdskills, custom commands, permissions, and/undoand/redofor your files and the conversation.
Install it with npm on any system, or with its script on macOS and Linux:
npm install -g @opencode/clicurl -fsSL https://opencode.ai/v2/install | bashWhat does OpenCode cost?
OpenCode itself is free. You pay for the models, in one of four ways:
- Nothing, with its free models or a local model.
- Your existing plan: ChatGPT Plus or Pro, or GitHub Copilot.
- OpenCode Go, $10 a month (Go Plus: $40), for open-weight models tested for coding, like Kimi K3.1 Pro, DeepSeek V4 Pro, GLM and Qwen, plus a few small ones like Claude Haiku 5.5 and GPT-6 Luna. Limits count in 5-hour, weekly and monthly windows. Go also works in Claude Code and Codex.
- Pay as you go, with your own API keys, or through OpenCode's Zen, which sells access to most models, Claude Opus 5.5 included, per token.
What is Claude Code?
Anthropic's own agent, in the terminal, in VS Code and JetBrains IDEs, in the Claude desktop app, on the web and on your phone. It runs Claude models only, but it's built around them: on Terminal-Bench 4.0's official leaderboard, Claude Code with Opus 5.5 scores 64.85, the highest of any agent, and Fable 5.2 scores higher still on Anthropic's own tests. Around it: subagents and agent teams, 33 hook events, plugins, skills, worktrees, ultracode, agent view for background sessions, cloud sessions and Remote Control from your phone.
It needs a Claude plan (Pro, $20 a month or $17 billed yearly; Max $100; Ultra $200) or an Anthropic API key. More in Claude Max vs Ultra and Claude Code's usage limits.
Which is better?
There's no independent test of OpenCode against Claude Code, and results depend on the model at least as much as on the agent. With the same Claude model, both read your code, edit files and run commands in much the same way. The differences:
Claude Code is better if:
- you already pay for Claude, since OpenCode can't use that plan;
- you want the strongest results available today (Opus 5.5 and Fable 5.2, in the agent built for them);
- you want subagents, agent teams, dynamic workflows, 33 hooks and the rest of Anthropic's tooling.
OpenCode is better if:
- you want open source you can read, fork and run anywhere;
- you want to choose the model per task, or try open models like Kimi K3.1 Pro, which came third on Vals.ai's Terminal-Bench 4.0 at $4.57 a task against $12.04 for Opus 5.5;
- you want to start for free, or pay $10 a month;
- you already pay for ChatGPT or Copilot.
Can you use both?
Yes. Both read AGENTS.md (Claude Code when a project has no CLAUDE.md), so one instructions file serves both. A common setup: Claude Code on your Claude plan for the hard work, and OpenCode on free or cheap open models for the routine jobs, or when Claude's limit runs out.
In Morphy, a Claude Code chat and an OpenCode chat (OpenCode 1 or 2) can work on the same project side by side, and a conversation can move from one AI to another, so OpenCode can pick up where Claude stopped. See Connect your AI.
Questions
Is OpenCode better than Claude Code? Not with Claude models: Claude Code is Anthropic's own agent and the stronger pick there. OpenCode's strengths are open source, any model, free models and a lower price.
Can OpenCode use my Claude Pro or Max subscription? No. Anthropic doesn't permit other apps to offer a claude.ai sign-in, so OpenCode uses Claude models through an API key, GitHub Copilot, OpenRouter or Zen.
Is OpenCode free? Yes, and it comes with free models that have a daily request limit. For more, use a plan you have (ChatGPT, Copilot), OpenCode Go from $10 a month, or pay per use.
Does OpenCode work with local models? Yes, through Ollama, LM Studio and other local providers. Here's how to set up free and local models.
OpenCode or Codex? Codex is OpenAI's agent, also open source, made for OpenAI's models and your ChatGPT plan. OpenCode can sign in with that same plan and use other models too. More in Codex vs Claude Code.
Comparisons in this series
- Codex vs Claude Code
- Junie CLI vs Claude Code
- The best Claude Code alternatives
- Lovable vs Claude Code
References
- OpenCode: opencode.ai, docs, providers, instructions, Go, Zen, GitHub
- Anthropic: Claude Code overview, authentication and credential use, Claude pricing
- Benchmarks: Vals.ai Terminal-Bench 4.0, and Codex vs Claude Code for the official leaderboard
- Morphy: Connect your AI
