Kilo Code vs.
GitHub Copilot
Kilo Code is open-source, model-agnostic AI code assistant that’s pay-per use. Frequent feature releases and active support.
Used by developers at leading companies
Why pick Kilo Code
over GitHub Copilot?
Kilo Code is a superset of the
most popular AI coding tools
Kilo Code combines the best features of all the AI coding assistants into one single product:
Works directly in your Visual Studio Code.
Multiple agent personas, such as Orchestrator, Architect, Code, and Debug, plus custom modes that you can configure yourself.
MCP marketplace to get access to all the integrations you’ll need.
Customize prompts, models, providers, terminal, browser.
Fully open-source, no lock-in, no training on your data.
While Copilot users report waiting for months for new features, Kilo Code ships releases often, most of the time twice per week, meaning that you get the latest features and innovations.
Model-agnostic
Copilot prioritizes OpenAI models due to Microsoft ownership of both GitHub and OpenAI. And many developers may want to use models that they prefer, rather than what Microsoft wants them to use.
Kilo Code is truly model-agnostic and supports all of 500+ models on OpenRouter, so that you can use any model that you like, including local models, free models, and your own API tokens.
Pay only per what you use
Copilot charges a monthly fee, while with Kilo Code you pay for only what you really use. No subscription fees, and we don’t charge markup fees either, so the pricing you get for model tokens is the exact same that you would get directly through OpenRouter or the providers themselves. And did we mention you can always bring your own API token?
Active support via Discord
Copilot users report not being able to get fast support when they run into issues.
Kilo Code has a loyal Discord community with 100+ messages daily where the engineering team answers user questions and helps everyone get started and succeed. Regardless of what you want to build with AI, here you are well supported.
I’ve been subscribed to GitHub Copilot for $40/month and I honestly regret it I’ve tried to stay patient but it’s just not delivering. Every time I give it a simple task it either:
Modifies the wrong parts of the code
Ignores the context completely
Suggests broken or irrelevant garbage
At this point it’s more of a distraction than a helper I end up spending more time undoing or cleaning up after it than if I just wrote the code myself.
u/Superb-Following-380, Reddit user that’s unhappy with GitHub Copilot
Posted under r/GithubCopilot on 27 May 2025
Get the best AI coding
agent for VS Code
Kilo Code includes all the best features of all the AI coding assistants.
Open-source
Read and modify every line of Kilo Code. No vendor lock-in or black boxes. Always know what runs in your VS Code and be confident in the product direction.
Read and modify every line of Kilo Code. No vendor lock-in or black boxes. Always know what runs in your VS Code and be confident in the product direction.
Tons of functionality and frequent releases
Kilo Code includes all the functionality you’ll need to be productive with AI, and we ship very often, most of the time adding new features twice per week, every week.
Read and modify every line of Kilo Code. No vendor lock-in or black boxes. Always know what runs in your VS Code and be confident in the product direction.
Model-agnostic
Kilo Code doesn’t lock you into a specific model. You can use the model that is best for you, including 500+ models available through OpenRouter such as Gemini 2.5 Flash or Claude 4, as well as free and local models.
Read and modify every line of Kilo Code. No vendor lock-in or black boxes. Always know what runs in your VS Code and be confident in the product direction.
Transparent, pay-per-use pricing
Kilo Code offers transparent pricing with no markup, and you get $20 in free model credits to start.
Read and modify every line of Kilo Code. No vendor lock-in or black boxes. Always know what runs in your VS Code and be confident in the product direction.
Automated test-fix cycle through multiple agent personas
Agent writes, tests, and fixes code on its own by using multiple agent personas such as Code and Debug. Bugs found during testing are fixed and retested instantly, saving your time.
Read and modify every line of Kilo Code. No vendor lock-in or black boxes. Always know what runs in your VS Code and be confident in the product direction.
Frequently Asked Questions
Kilo Code takes care of some of the more boring and monotonous programming tasks for you, as well as helping you navigate and understand the codebase faster. For example, you can generate a draft version of an application from a natural language description with Kilo Code in seconds, which would otherwise take hours or days to create by hand. You can also ask Kilo Code questions about the codebase, which can save tons of time when getting up to speed on a new project. In addition, you can use Kilo Code to refactor and debug, write docs, automate repetitive tasks, and lots more.
Kilo Code’s Debug mode uses a methodical approach of analyzing any errors or bugs that you’re encountering, narrowing possibilities for what may be causing the issues, and determining fixes for them given the context of your codebase. If you are stuck with an error, just ask Kilo Code, and it will help you understand and fix it.
A common issue with using large language models for programming is they may hallucinate programming interfaces or APIs that don’t really exist. To address this, Kilo Code integrates with Context7 which makes API documentation accessible to the models for additional context. As a result, the code you write with Kilo Code uses existing functions and APIs and uses best practices described in the docs of relevant programming languages, libraries, and services.
Kilo Code adapts to every project and is able to understand even the most particular and complex setups.
Kilo Code doesn’t use your data for model training. You can use Kilo Code with models that you host locally, and in that case your code and data doesn’t leave your machine. If you use a hosted model, such as Claude or Gemini, their providers offer strong guarantees around data safety. Please review each model provider’s privacy policy for more details.
Kilo Code is free, with no monthly fees or subscriptions. You can use any model available through OpenRouter with no markup. Pay only for what you use. When you sign up, get $20 of free credits, on us.
Looking for a better Copilot alternative?
Take control with a local AI agent that writes, tests, and debugs features end-to-end—no always-on fees, and no code or data leaves your machine.
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