Aider vs Claude Code
Aider
aider.chat
Claude Code
claude.comSide by side
| Figure | Aider | Claude Code |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $17/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 4 |
| Spec score · AI Coding Assistants | 8.8 (#21) | 9.5 (#2) |
| Spec score · AI Code Generators | 8.8 (#13) | 9.4 (#2) |
| Spec score · AI Code Generation Software | 8.8 (#7) | 9.3 (#2) |
| Spec score · Coding Tool | 8.8 (#8) | 9.2 (#3) |
| Coding agent | Yes | Yes |
| Chat assistance | Yes | Yes |
| Codebase indexing | Yes | Yes |
| Installation | The maker documents installation on Mac, Linux, and Windows, and says aider-install can use a separate Python environment. | Native installers are provided for macOS, Linux, WSL and Windows, with Homebrew and WinGet options; native installs auto-update. |
| Supported IDEs | VS Code | VS Code,JetBrains IDEs,Cursor,Devin Desktop |
| Terminal access | Yes | Yes |
| What it does | Aider lets you pair program with LLMs to start a new project or build on an existing codebase. | Claude Code is an agentic coding tool that reads repositories, edits files, runs commands and works across terminal, IDE, desktop and browser. |
Plans
In their own words
Claude Code
Claude Code is a coding agent with chat assistance, terminal access, and codebase indexing. It supports VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, Cursor, and Devin Desktop, with agent mode, desktop app control, browser control, screen understanding, and human approval controls. Listed platforms include web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and a Chrome extension; deployment is hybrid. A free Claude plan is available, but Claude Code is not part of it. Pro includes Claude Code for $17 a month with an annual subscription discount and $200 billed up front. That plan also lists more usage, Projects, and more Claude models. Max 5x is $100 a month and lists five times Pro's usage and higher output limits. Max 20x is $200 a month, with 20 times Pro's usage and higher output limits. The maker was founded in 2021 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.