Claude Code vs OpenCode
Compare Claude Code and OpenCode by workflow, pricing, privacy, model support, and best use cases.
Claude Code
Choose Claude Code when you want a powerful Anthropic-native coding agent that can work inside your terminal, IDE, and GitHub workflow. Choose an open-source or provider-agnostic tool if local models, BYOK across many providers, or full transparency matter more than Claude-native integration.
OpenCode
Choose OpenCode when you want an open, terminal-native coding agent with broad provider choice, local model support, and GitHub workflow automation. Choose a hosted AI IDE or commercial coding assistant instead if you want a more polished out-of-the-box editor experience, bundled billing, or heavy team administration.
Key Differences
Workflow
Claude Code is Anthropic’s agentic coding tool for developers who want Claude to work directly inside terminals, IDEs, repositories, and CI workflows.
OpenCode is an open-source, provider-agnostic AI coding agent for developers who want Claude Code-style terminal workflows without being locked to a single model provider.
Pricing
freemium
open-source
compare.fields.localModels
No
Yes
compare.fields.openSource
No
Yes
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Claude Code | OpenCode |
|---|---|---|
| Primary workflow | Claude Code is Anthropic’s agentic coding tool for developers who want Claude to work directly inside terminals, IDEs, repositories, and CI workflows. | OpenCode is an open-source, provider-agnostic AI coding agent for developers who want Claude Code-style terminal workflows without being locked to a single model provider. |
| Type | cli-agent | cli-agent |
| Editor base | CLI | CLI |
| Pricing model | freemium | open-source |
| Starting price | $20 | $0 |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Open source | No | Yes |
| Local models | No | Yes |
| BYOK | Yes | Yes |
| Platforms | macOS, Linux, Windows, Terminal, VS Code, Cursor, VS Code forks, JetBrains IDEs, Claude desktop app, GitHub Actions, Claude Agent SDK | macOS, Linux, Windows, WSL, Terminal, Desktop app, VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, VSCodium, ACP-compatible editors, GitHub Actions |
| Models | Claude Opus 4.8, Claude Sonnet 4.6, Claude Haiku 4.5 | Claude, GPT, Gemini, GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT Plus, ChatGPT Pro, GLM-5.1, GLM-5, Kimi K2.7 Code, Kimi K2.6, MiMo-V2.5, MiMo-V2.5-Pro, MiniMax M3, MiniMax M2.7, Qwen3.7 Max, Qwen3.7 Plus, Qwen3.6 Plus, DeepSeek V4 Pro, DeepSeek V4 Flash, Local models |
| Enterprise features | Team and Enterprise account administration, Central billing, Usage analytics, SSO support on organization plans, Admin controls, Enterprise deployment support, GitHub Actions integration, Claude Agent SDK access, Cloud provider deployment options, Security and compliance review through Anthropic enterprise channels | Centralized organization config, SSO integration, Internal AI gateway routing, Ability to disable other AI providers, Per-seat enterprise pricing, No token charge from OpenCode when using an internal LLM gateway, Share feature can be disabled, Private npm registry support through .npmrc, Implementation support, Roadmap support for self-hosted share pages |
| Best for | Terminal-first developers, Large refactors, Repository exploration, Debugging failing tests, Writing and updating tests, Code review preparation, Documentation automation, GitHub issue and PR workflows, Teams already using Claude, Developers who want a managed frontier-model coding agent | Terminal-first developers, Open-source AI coding workflows, Claude Code alternatives, BYOK model routing, Local model experiments, Developers who want to switch between multiple LLM providers, GitHub issue and pull request automation, Teams that want internal AI gateway control, Developers using VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, or VSCodium with terminal-based agents, Cost-sensitive users who want optional open-model subscriptions |
| Not best for | Users who need local model execution, Developers who mainly want inline autocomplete, Non-technical users looking for a visual prompt-to-app builder, Teams requiring provider-agnostic model routing, Users who want a fully open-source coding agent, Projects where agentic shell actions are not allowed by security policy | Users who want a fully managed proprietary AI IDE with minimal setup, Non-developers building apps from prompts, Developers whose main need is inline autocomplete, Teams that require polished enterprise admin dashboards out of the box, Users who do not want to manage provider credentials, model selection, or usage limits, Highly sensitive projects using public share links or unapproved external providers |
Use Case Winners
Both Claude Code and OpenCode have comparable signals here.
OpenCode supports local model workflows.
Both Claude Code and OpenCode have comparable signals here.
Neither tool shows a strong signal for this use case in the current structured data.
OpenCode supports more model/provider options or BYOK-style workflows.
OpenCode is marked as open source.
Pricing Comparison
Claude Code
- API Pay-as-you-goUsage-based
Use Claude Code with a Claude Console account and pay standard Claude API token rates.
- Claude Pro$20 / month
$17/month when billed annually. Includes Claude Code with shared Claude plan usage limits.
- Claude Max 5x$100 / month
Higher individual usage tier with Claude Code included and about 5x Pro capacity per session.
- Claude Max 20x$200 / month
Highest individual usage tier with Claude Code included and about 20x Pro capacity per session.
- Claude Team$25+ / user/month
Team Standard starts at $25/user/month monthly or $20/user/month annually; Premium is available at higher usage and feature levels.
OpenCode
- Open Source$0
MIT-licensed open-source coding agent. Users can install and run OpenCode locally with their own model credentials.
- Bring Your Own ModelUsage-based
Use external LLM providers through API keys, GitHub Copilot login, ChatGPT Plus/Pro login, local models, or OpenAI-compatible endpoints.
- OpenCode ZenPay-as-you-go
Optional curated model gateway with per-token pricing and usage limits for teams or individuals.
- OpenCode Go$5 first month, then $10 / month
Optional subscription for reliable access to selected open coding models, designed especially for international users.
- EnterpriseCustom
Per-seat enterprise plan with centralized config, SSO integration, internal AI gateway routing, and implementation support.
Privacy & Security
Claude Code
Claude Code may process prompts, codebase context, command output, files, tool calls, and repository metadata to provide coding assistance. Privacy and retention depend on whether the user authenticates through a Claude subscription, Anthropic API, or cloud provider deployment such as Bedrock, Vertex AI, or Foundry. Users should keep secrets out of prompts and source files, use environment variables or secret stores, and review permissions before allowing agentic actions.
OpenCode
OpenCode states that it does not store code or context data by default, with processing happening locally or through direct API calls to the selected AI provider. The main exception is the optional /share feature, which uploads conversation data to OpenCode-hosted share pages and creates public links. Privacy depends on provider choice, local model usage, enterprise gateway routing, share settings, and whether sensitive files, secrets, or production data are included in context.
Choose Claude Code if...
- Terminal-first developers
- Large refactors
- Repository exploration
- Debugging failing tests
- Writing and updating tests
Choose OpenCode if...
- Terminal-first developers
- Open-source AI coding workflows
- Claude Code alternatives
- BYOK model routing
- Local model experiments
Avoid Claude Code if...
- Users who need local model execution
- Developers who mainly want inline autocomplete
- Non-technical users looking for a visual prompt-to-app builder
- Teams requiring provider-agnostic model routing
- Users who want a fully open-source coding agent
Avoid OpenCode if...
- Users who want a fully managed proprietary AI IDE with minimal setup
- Non-developers building apps from prompts
- Developers whose main need is inline autocomplete
- Teams that require polished enterprise admin dashboards out of the box
- Users who do not want to manage provider credentials, model selection, or usage limits