Kilo Code vs Roo Code
A side-by-side comparison of Kilo Code and Roo Code, two Agent tools, drawn from Ignaite's continuously-verified listings.
Compared from listings verified as of
At a glance
| Attribute | Kilo Code | Roo Code |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Agent | Agent |
| Pricing | FREEMIUM | FREEMIUM |
| License | Open core | Open core |
| Deployment | — | — |
| Platforms (differs) | VS Code extension, CLI | VS Code extension |
| Model support | BYO key / model | BYO key / model |
| Vendor (differs) | Kilo Code, Inc. | Roo Code |
| Capabilities (differs) |
|
|
The honest brief
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)
Roo Code
Forked from Cline to push harder on autonomy and configurability, staying fully open and model-agnostic with no vendor lock-in.
- Custom role-based modes with own prompts
- Modes hand off mid-task
- Run frontier APIs or a local model
- Direct file and terminal access
- API token costs are on you
- Autonomy needs careful approval review
- Centered on VS Code and forks
When to pick which
Both cover Autonomous coding agent, Code generation, and IDE integration.
Pick Kilo Code if you need Terminal / CLI agent, Multi-agent orchestration, and Multi-model access.
- Terminal / CLI agent (secondary capability)
- Multi-agent orchestration (secondary capability)
- Multi-model access (primary capability)
Pick Roo Code if you need Code documentation and MCP server.
- Code documentation (secondary capability)
- MCP server (secondary capability)
They also differ on:
- Platforms
- VS Code extension, CLI · VS Code extension