Kilo Code
Open-source coding agent with 500+ models and zero-markup BYOK
Overview
Kilo Code is an Apache-2.0 coding agent for VS Code, JetBrains and the CLI, forked from Roo Code in March 2025 by a team including ex-GitLab CEO Sid Sijbrandij. It routes to 500+ models at provider rates with zero markup.
Pricing
Pricing shown for reference only. These figures reflect RECATOOLS research as of 12 Jul 2026 and may be out of date or incomplete. This is not financial or purchasing advice — always confirm the current price on the provider’s official website before making any decision.
- VS Code, JetBrains & CLI extensions
- Zero-markup BYOK
- Local models via Ollama/LM Studio
- Up to 50% bonus credits
- Works across Kilo Code and KiloClaw
- Usage analytics & AI adoption score
- Shared agent modes & BYOK
- Centralized billing
- Priority support
- Shared Private Gateway BYOK
- Audit logs
- SLA commitments
- Dedicated support
What you can produce with Kilo Code
- Apache-2.0 open-source (VS Code, JetBrains, CLI)
- 500+ models across 60+ providers, zero-markup BYOK
- Ask/Architect/Debug/Orchestrator agent modes
- Local model support via Ollama/LM Studio
- Diffing and checkpoint system for reviewable changes
- Team billing and shared agent management (Teams plan)
- SSO/OIDC/SCIM for Enterprise
ASEAN Perspective
Kilo Code in Southeast Asia
ASEAN-region availability and pricing notes coming soon. Drop the editorial team a note via /contact/ if you can supply local context (Singapore/Malaysia/Indonesia/Thailand/Vietnam).
Kilo Code's lineage — forked from Roo Code, which forked Cline, in March 2025 — shows in how fast it's matured: Reddit's r/kilocode describes it as "Cursor but open and free," and by mid-2026 it had crossed 3 million downloads and 40 trillion tokens processed. The pitch is real: Apache-2.0 licensed, 500+ models across 60+ providers, zero markup on BYOK usage, plus Ask/Architect/Debug/Orchestrator modes that go beyond simple autocomplete.
The rough edges are what you'd expect from a fast-moving open-source project: a steeper setup curve than a polished closed tool, cost documentation reviewers want clearer, and auth flows some users describe as rough on first setup. Since output quality depends entirely on which model you point it at, budget $30-80/month in API costs for daily use on a real codebase, and expect some tuning before it clicks.
What people say
Kilo Code's story is genuinely unusual in the AI coding space: launched in March 2025 when Jan Paul Posma forked Roo Code (itself a fork of Cline) with backing from GitLab co-founder and former CEO Sid Sijbrandij and Brooklyn Data founder Scott Breitenother, it went from a fork assembled in weeks to over 3 million downloads across VS Code and JetBrains marketplaces and 40+ trillion tokens processed by mid-2026. The GitHub repo (Kilo-Org/kilocode) sits around 20-25k stars.
Reviewer sentiment, based on Product Hunt, Reddit and comparison writeups, is consistently positive on a few specific points: model freedom (500+ models, no vendor lock-in), zero-markup BYOK pricing, and the multi-mode workflow — Ask, Architect, Debug, Orchestrator — that reviewers say handles planning and large-repo work better than plain autocomplete tools. Several reviews note the diffing and checkpoint system produces usable code with less rework than competitors.
Complaints are narrower and mostly about polish rather than core functionality: a steeper setup curve for new users, variable API costs that some reviewers say need clearer documentation, rough authentication in at least one reported setup flow, and a fast-moving feature set that occasionally ships ahead of its own docs. None of these show up as dealbreakers in aggregate — reviewers consistently rank it among the strongest open-source coding agents available in 2026.
Pricing splits two ways: the core agent is free and open source, with users bringing their own API keys (no markup) or routing through free/local models via Ollama or LM Studio. On top of that, Kilo Pass offers a monthly credit subscription starting at $19 with up to 50% bonus credits, a Teams plan runs $15 per user per month for shared billing and agent management, and Enterprise is custom-quoted with SSO/SCIM and audit logs. Actual inference cost is the wildcard — Kilo's own estimate for a developer running it 8 hours a day on a medium codebase is $30-80 a month in model API spend, on top of any subscription.
Summary of public user & expert reviews, compiled by RECATOOLS.
About this listing
This entry was compiled from publicly available data including Kilo Code's official website, press releases, documentation, and reputable third-party publications. RECATOOLS is not affiliated with Kilo Code unless explicitly stated.
Third-party AI tools update their pricing, features, availability, and policies frequently. Information here may be outdated by the time you read this — we make reasonable efforts to keep listings current, but cannot guarantee absolute accuracy.
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