Crush vs Kilo Code
A side-by-side comparison of Crush and Kilo Code, drawn from Ignaite's continuously-verified listings.
Compared from listings verified as of
At a glance
| Attribute | Crush | Kilo Code |
|---|---|---|
| Category (differs) | IDE | Agent |
| Pricing (differs) | BYO KEY | FREEMIUM |
| License (differs) | Proprietary | Open core |
| Deployment (differs) | Local | — |
| Platforms (differs) | CLI, macOS, Linux, Windows | VS Code extension, CLI |
| Model support | BYO key / model | BYO key / model |
| Vendor (differs) | Charm | Kilo Code, Inc. |
The honest brief
Crush
Charm's signature TUI polish over a model-agnostic terminal agent: switch providers mid-session and keep code, keys, and data on your own machine.
- Polished, keyboard-driven terminal UI
- BYO keys for many providers
- LSP-aware code context
- Runs locally; you control keys and data
- Requires your own model API keys
- Beta — some features still missing
- FSL license is not OSI open-source yet
Kilo Code
Routes 500+ models at zero markup on your own keys, so you pay providers directly — unlike agents that mark up or lock you to one model.
- Fully open source (MIT)
- Works in VS Code, JetBrains, and CLI
- Plans, writes, edits, and runs code
- Specialized modes (Code, Architect, Debug)
- Free tier plus paid cloud and team plans
- You manage model costs and keys
- Cloud and team features are paid
- Agent quality depends on chosen model
- Young project (launched 2025)