cline vs continue
Updated
Both are free, open-source AI coding assistants for your editor. cline is more popular (71k vs 36k GitHub stars). Pick cline if you want the bigger community (71k vs 36k GitHub stars).
Side by side
 cline |  continue | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Coding assistants | Coding assistants |
| GitHub stars | 70,839 | 36,322 |
| Stars this week | +117 | +33 |
| Last update | today | today |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Commercial use | ||
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Runs on Mac | ||
| Runs without a GPU | ||
| GPU memory | Not stated | Not stated |
| Needs a paid API key | Not stated | No |
| Self-hostable | ||
| Trending this week | – | – |
Hardware details are as stated by each project and may be incomplete.
Choose cline if…
Autonomous coding agent as an SDK, IDE extension, or CLI assistant.
- you want the bigger community (71k vs 36k GitHub stars)
- you want the one with more momentum right now (+117 stars this week)
- you're on a Mac
Choose continue if…
AI coding assistant for developers with CLI and VS Code extension.
- its features fit your workflow better; check its README
FAQ
Is cline better than continue?
Both are free, open-source AI coding assistants for your editor. cline is more popular (71k vs 36k GitHub stars). Pick cline if you want the bigger community (71k vs 36k GitHub stars).
Which is better for commercial use, cline or continue?
Both use permissive licenses (Apache-2.0 and Apache-2.0), so both allow commercial use.
Do cline and continue run on a Mac?
cline runs on macOS, according to the project. continue doesn't say.
Are cline and continue free?
Yes. Both are open source and free to use.