Cline vs Roo Code

Cline

• Open Source$0

  Free for individual developers. Use the open-source extension, CLI, and supported local workflows; pay only for model inference.

• Cline ProviderUsage-based

  Unified billing through Cline with credits and supported hosted models, including free model options where available.

• Bring Your Own KeyUsage-based

  Use your own API keys from providers such as Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, OpenRouter, AWS Bedrock, Vertex AI, Groq, Cerebras, Vercel AI Gateway, DeepSeek, and others.

• Local Models$0

  Run local or self-hosted models where supported; actual cost depends on local hardware and chosen model.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Adds JetBrains support, SSO, SLA, dedicated support, centralized billing, RBAC, team management, provider controls, authentication logs, and advanced configuration options.

Roo Code

• Roo Code Extension$0

  Free and open-source VS Code extension. Users pay only for the model provider or infrastructure they choose.

• Bring Your Own API KeyUsage-based

  Use external inference providers such as Anthropic, OpenAI, OpenRouter, Requesty, Google, and others; costs depend on provider token pricing.

• Local Models$0

  Use local models through supported setups such as Ollama or LM Studio; actual cost depends on local hardware.

• Codebase IndexingUsage-based

  Optional semantic indexing may require embedding API usage and a Qdrant vector database; cost depends on repository size.

• Roomote Cloud Agent$899 / month

  Cloud agent product made by the creators of Roo Code; priced per parallel Roomote after a 7-day trial with included token allowance.

Cline

Cline runs client-side in the user’s development environment, but prompts, code context, terminal output, browser data, and tool results may be sent to the selected model provider or Cline Provider depending on configuration. Cline’s terms say telemetry data may include non-code metadata and is enabled by default but can be disabled in extension settings. BYOK privacy depends on the selected third-party provider, so users should avoid exposing secrets, customer data, private keys, production credentials, or regulated data through prompts, terminal output, browser sessions, MCP tools, or local files included in context.

Roo Code

Roo Code runs locally inside the developer’s VS Code environment, but prompts, file context, terminal output, MCP tool results, embeddings, and generated edits may be sent to whichever model or embedding provider the user configures. Local-model setups reduce external data exposure, while BYOK setups inherit the privacy and retention terms of the selected provider. Users should avoid exposing secrets, credentials, production data, customer data, private keys, or sensitive terminal output, and should be especially cautious with auto-approval, web browsing, MCP servers, and untrusted repositories.