Kilo Code

Overview

Kilo Code is an open-source coding assistant for developers who want an AI agent across editors, terminals and remote workflows. It suits people who value broad model choice and flexible ways to pay more than a single bundled subscription. The trade-off is that access, inference and cloud compute can carry separate costs.

Key features

Code help and model choice

Kilo combines code completion, chat and an agent for generating, refactoring and debugging code, as well as review and deployment work. Its Code, Architect, Debug, Custom and Auto modes give developers ways to shape the agent's task. Auto Model can route work through Efficient, Frontier or Free strategies, a useful cost-and-capability choice for teams that do not want one model for every job.

More than 500 models across 60-plus providers, including free and local models, make Kilo unusually flexible for developers already invested in a provider or who want to compare options. The free route requires no hosted credit and uses free models where available; BYOK and local models are also supported. That breadth comes with a billing distinction to understand: platform access, inference and cloud compute are priced separately. Kilo says hosted inference is billed at exact provider rates, without an AI markup.

Editor, terminal and cloud workflows

Extensions cover VS Code and JetBrains editors, including IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm and WebStorm, with a CLI for terminal work. Cloud Agents run remotely, can create branches, and can optionally commit and push changes. Integrations include GitHub and GitLab, with Bitbucket Cloud for organizations; Kilo for Slack can answer repository questions, implement changes, create branches and open pull requests. Slack use requires a paid Slack plan and available Kilo credits.

Cloud compute is billed by the second, with no rounding up or minimum usage charge, which helps avoid paying for unused time. Kilo's MIT license permits inspection, modification, forks and self-hosting. Enterprise security controls include privacy controls, audit logs, SSO, OIDC, SCIM and SLA commitments; the security offering also includes encryption in transit and at rest, SAML, RBAC and paid-plan no-retention support.

Pricing

The pricing model separates a free platform from usage and optional subscriptions. The Free plan is free and includes open-source VS Code, JetBrains and CLI extensions, agentic coding, code completion and generation, and use with any AI model; usage is billed separately. It is the natural starting point for individual developers, but it does not bundle inference costs.

Auto Free is free, with no hosted credit required, free-model routing where available, BYOK and local models through Ollama or LM Studio. Kilo Gateway is free, billed $0 /mo + usage, and offers pay-as-you-go hosted inference at exact provider rates across 500-plus models and 60-plus providers. These options keep a no-subscription path open, but provider usage still matters.

Teams costs $15 a month, billed $15/user/month. It adds team management, usage analytics, AI adoption scoring, shared agent modes, centralized billing, shared BYOK and priority support. It fits teams that need shared administration; the per-user price makes it less suitable for a solo user seeking only model access.

Kilo Pass subscriptions add monthly AI credits: Starter is $19 a month for up to $26.60 per month in credits; Pro is $49 a month for up to $68.60; Expert is $199 a month for up to $278.60. Each offers up to 50% bonus credits and can be cancelled anytime. Kilo Pass is a fit for users who prefer a credit subscription and Auto Model routing, but it is a separate inference option rather than a replacement for the platform plan.

Enterprise has custom pricing for governance, security review and SLA commitments, including SSO, OIDC, SCIM, audit logs, model and provider limits, and dedicated support. A 14-day trial includes Enterprise features for evaluation. It is the relevant tier for organizations needing formal controls, rather than a lower-cost route for individual use.

Platforms

Kilo is available through VS Code and JetBrains extensions, a CLI and cloud agents. The supported platform range also includes Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, web and Windows. Listed supported surfaces include Slack, IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, WebStorm and Code Reviewer.

Who it's for

Kilo is best suited to developers who want an agent in their existing editor or terminal, value access to many providers, or need remote agents that can work with repository branches. Teams can justify the paid tier when shared billing, analytics and agent modes matter. Organizations needing SSO, audit controls and contractual commitments have a distinct Enterprise path. It is a weaker fit for buyers who want one predictable price covering platform access, inference and remote compute.

Pros and cons

Pros: Broad provider support, BYOK and local models let developers choose how to supply inference.

Pros: Exact provider-rate hosted inference and per-second cloud billing avoid Kilo inference markup and compute minimums.

Pros: The free platform tier and MIT license offer a practical way to start and inspect or self-host the code.

Cons: Separate platform, inference and compute charges make total spend less straightforward than a single bundled plan.

Cons: Slack workflows require both a paid Slack plan and available Kilo credits.

Cons: Teams is priced per user, while Enterprise requires custom pricing, so costs can rise or require a sales discussion as needs grow.

Alternatives

Choose Replit if you want a freemium option centered on projects, with free daily usage limited to one live project and one background task at a time.

CodeGPT is another freemium option, with 10 daily Economy interactions and a $1.00 premium welcome credit on its free plan.

GitHub Codespaces is worth considering when the listed 2-core or 4-core compute plans better match your needs.

Qoder is an alternative freemium coding assistant with a free tier for limited messages, completions and next edits, plus BYOK.

JetBrains Junie may suit users seeking a free starting tier with five AI credits or an AI Pro plan at $8.33 a month.

Cursor offers a free Hobby tier with limited Agent requests and access to Composer, making it another option for those weighing a free coding workflow.

Zed is an alternative editor with a free Personal plan that includes 2,000 accepted edit predictions and support for external agents or API keys.

Claude Code is another option to consider.

Browse more AI Code Generators or AI Coding Assistants for additional choices.

Verdict

Kilo Code is a strong choice for developers who want broad model access, open-source editor and CLI tools, and the option to hand work to remote agents. Its central advantage is choice: provider, local and BYOK models can coexist with flexible inference and compute billing. Look elsewhere if you need a single predictable subscription that includes every usage cost.