AI IDE List
AI IDE List
ComparisonIDE Extensions & Plugins

Amazon Q Developer vs Kilo Code

Compare Amazon Q Developer and Kilo Code by workflow, pricing, privacy, model support, and best use cases.

Quick Verdict
Amazon Q Developer logo

Amazon Q Developer

Choose Amazon Q Developer when your team builds, operates, or modernizes software on AWS and wants AI help across IDEs, AWS Console, security review, GitLab/GitHub workflows, and application transformation. Choose a provider-neutral agent or full AI IDE if model flexibility, local execution, or non-AWS workflows matter more.

Kilo Code logo

Kilo Code

Choose Kilo Code when openness, model flexibility, BYOK/local options, and cross-surface agent workflows matter more than having one tightly controlled first-party editor experience.

Amazon Q Developer logo

Amazon Q Developer

Pricing model
freemium
Free plan
Yes
Open source
No
Local models
No
BYOK
No
Editor base
VS Code
Kilo Code logo

Kilo Code

Pricing model
open-source
Free plan
Yes
Open source
Yes
Local models
Yes
BYOK
Yes
Editor base
VS Code

Key Differences

Workflow

Amazon Q Developer

Amazon Q Developer is an AWS-native AI coding assistant for developers and teams that want IDE coding help, agentic workflows, security review, modernization, and cloud operations guidance across the AWS software lifecycle.

Kilo Code

Kilo Code positions itself as an open-source, multi-model coding agent that spans IDE extensions, CLI, cloud agents, and team governance.

Pricing

Amazon Q Developer

freemium

Kilo Code

open-source

compare.fields.localModels

Amazon Q Developer

No

Kilo Code

Yes

BYOK

Amazon Q Developer

No

Kilo Code

Yes

compare.fields.openSource

Amazon Q Developer

No

Kilo Code

Yes

Feature Comparison

FeatureAmazon Q Developer logoAmazon Q DeveloperKilo Code logoKilo Code
Primary workflowAmazon Q Developer is an AWS-native AI coding assistant for developers and teams that want IDE coding help, agentic workflows, security review, modernization, and cloud operations guidance across the AWS software lifecycle.Kilo Code positions itself as an open-source, multi-model coding agent that spans IDE extensions, CLI, cloud agents, and team governance.
Typeextensionextension
Editor baseVS CodeVS Code
Pricing modelfreemiumopen-source
Starting price$0$0
Free planYesYes
Open sourceNoYes
Local modelsNoYes
BYOKNoYes
PlatformsVS Code, JetBrains IDEs, IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, WebStorm, Visual Studio 2022 for Windows, Eclipse, AWS Console, AWS Console Mobile Application, GitLab Duo, GitHub and GitHub Enterprise Cloud preview, Microsoft Teams, Slack, AWS websites and documentation pages, Kiro CLI migration pathVS Code, Open VSX-compatible editors, JetBrains IDEs, CLI, Cloud Agents, Slack
ModelsClaudeAnthropic Claude, OpenAI GPT, Google Gemini, xAI Grok, MiniMax, Z.ai GLM, DeepSeek, Mistral AI, Moonshot AI Kimi, AWS Bedrock, Ollama, LM Studio, Atomic Chat, OpenRouter, OpenAI-compatible providers
Enterprise featuresIAM Identity Center support, Admin dashboard, User management, Policy management, Organization billing, Pro subscriptions, Data collection automatically opted out for Pro, IP indemnity for Pro, Reference tracking, Suppress public code suggestions, AWS IAM-aware context, AWS Console integration, GitLab Duo integration, GitHub preview integration, Microsoft Teams integration, Slack integration, Security scanning, Transformation quotas pooled at payer-account levelCentralized billing, Usage analytics and reporting, AI adoption score, Shared agent modes, Shared BYOK, Team management, Data privacy controls, Model and provider restrictions, Shared Private Gateway BYOK, Audit logs, SSO, OIDC, and SCIM, SLA commitments, Dedicated support channels
Best forAWS developers, Cloud application teams, Serverless and infrastructure teams, Java modernization projects, .NET modernization projects, Security scanning in IDE workflows, AWS cost and resource investigation, Teams using IAM Identity Center, GitLab Duo users building with AWS, Developers who want AI help across IDE and AWS Console workflows, Organizations that need AWS-native governance and admin controlsDevelopers who want an open-source AI coding agent inside VS Code or JetBrains., Teams that want BYOK, shared modes, usage analytics, and centralized AI cost controls., Power users who switch between IDE and terminal workflows., Developers comparing Roo Code, Cline, Continue, Cursor, and Claude Code., Privacy-conscious workflows that can run capable local models.
Not best forTeams that are not invested in AWS, Developers who want local model execution, Users who need provider-neutral BYOK model routing, Non-technical users looking for prompt-to-app builders, Developers who want a full standalone AI IDE, Teams that need open-source agent runtime control, Workflows where AI agents cannot read files, write diffs, or run shell commandsUsers who only need lightweight autocomplete with minimal setup., Non-technical users looking for a no-code prompt-to-app builder., Teams that require a single fixed first-party model vendor., Developers without budget or hardware for higher-capability model usage.

Use Case Winners

Best for editor-first coding
Similar

Both Amazon Q Developer and Kilo Code have comparable signals here.

Best for private or controlled model workflows
Kilo Code

Kilo Code supports local model workflows.

Best for teams and enterprise governance
Amazon Q Developer

Amazon Q Developer lists more team or enterprise controls.

Best for frontend or web app work
Amazon Q Developer

Amazon Q Developer has stronger frontend or web workflow signals.

Best for model flexibility
Kilo Code

Kilo Code supports more model/provider options or BYOK-style workflows.

Best for open-source preference
Kilo Code

Kilo Code is marked as open source.

Pricing Comparison

Amazon Q Developer logo

Amazon Q Developer

  • Free Tier$0 / month

    Perpetual free tier with monthly limits, including 50 agentic requests per month and up to 1,000 lines of code per month for supported transformations.

  • Amazon Q Developer Pro$19 / user/month

    Expanded usage limits, latest Claude model access, IDE/CLI use, Identity Center support, admin dashboard, policy management, data opt-out by default, and IP indemnity.

  • Transformation overage$0.003 / line of code

    Applies to Amazon Q Developer transformation usage above included Pro allocations for eligible Java upgrade transformations.

  • GitLab Duo with Amazon QGitLab plan-dependent

    Available through supported GitLab workflows and tiers; use depends on GitLab Duo and AWS integration setup.

  • Enterprise / Organization useUsage-based

    Managed through AWS accounts, IAM Identity Center, subscriptions, quotas, governance, and AWS organization billing.

Kilo Code logo

Kilo Code

  • Free & Open Source$0 / forever

    Core VS Code, JetBrains, and CLI coding agent; AI usage is billed separately or supplied via BYOK/local models.

  • Teams$15/user / month

    Adds centralized billing, usage analytics, shared modes, shared BYOK, team management, privacy controls, and priority support.

  • EnterpriseCustom

    Adds model/provider restrictions, private gateway BYOK, audit logs, SSO/OIDC/SCIM, SLA commitments, and dedicated support.

  • Auto Free / BYOK / Local$0 / month

    Use free routed models where available, bring provider keys, or run local models with Ollama, LM Studio, or Atomic Chat.

  • Kilo Gateway$0 + usage / month

    Pay-as-you-go hosted inference at provider rates with no AI inference markup.

Privacy & Security

Amazon Q Developer logo

Amazon Q Developer

Amazon Q Developer can process prompts, code context, local project files, diffs, shell output, security scan context, AWS resource metadata, GitLab or GitHub workflow context, and chat content depending on where it is used. AWS states that Amazon Q Developer Pro proprietary content is not used for service improvement, while the Free tier provides opt-out controls. Teams should still avoid exposing secrets, credentials, regulated data, or production tokens in prompts, files, terminal output, repositories, or connected chat and DevOps tools.

Kilo Code logo

Kilo Code

Kilo Code can use local models through Ollama, LM Studio, and Atomic Chat for workflows where code and prompts stay on the local machine. Hosted Gateway, Cloud Agents, code review, and BYOK routing may send prompts, repository context, or outputs to Kilo infrastructure and/or the selected model provider, so sensitive repositories should be reviewed against provider terms, enterprise controls, and internal policy.

Choose Amazon Q Developer if...

  • AWS developers
  • Cloud application teams
  • Serverless and infrastructure teams
  • Java modernization projects
  • .NET modernization projects

Choose Kilo Code if...

  • Developers who want an open-source AI coding agent inside VS Code or JetBrains.
  • Teams that want BYOK, shared modes, usage analytics, and centralized AI cost controls.
  • Power users who switch between IDE and terminal workflows.
  • Developers comparing Roo Code, Cline, Continue, Cursor, and Claude Code.
  • Privacy-conscious workflows that can run capable local models.

Avoid Amazon Q Developer if...

  • Teams that are not invested in AWS
  • Developers who want local model execution
  • Users who need provider-neutral BYOK model routing
  • Non-technical users looking for prompt-to-app builders
  • Developers who want a full standalone AI IDE

Avoid Kilo Code if...

  • Users who only need lightweight autocomplete with minimal setup.
  • Non-technical users looking for a no-code prompt-to-app builder.
  • Teams that require a single fixed first-party model vendor.
  • Developers without budget or hardware for higher-capability model usage.

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