Cline vs Continue
Auto-updated comparison · last refreshed September 3, 2026
TL;DR
| Cline | Continue | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | vscode-extension | vscode-extension |
| Vendor | open source | open source |
| Pricing | Free tier (you pay LLM API costs directly) | Free tier (OSS extension, BYO API keys) |
| Autocomplete | No | Yes |
| Agent mode | Yes | Yes |
| MCP support | Yes | Yes |
| Local models | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Codebase indexing | No | Yes |
| Team features | No | Yes |
Where Cline wins
- works inside VS Code you already use
- MCP support
- local models
Where Continue wins
- fully OSS
- config-file driven
- local model support
Weaknesses
Cline: you pay API costs directly; no autocomplete
Continue: config-heavy; slower to add new features than Cursor
Best for
Pick Cline if you are VS Code users who want an agent without switching IDE.
Pick Continue if you are teams that need OSS auditable AI tooling, or local LLM users.
FAQ
Is Cline more expensive than Continue?
Free tier (you pay LLM API costs directly) vs Free tier (OSS extension, BYO API keys). Compare the Pro tiers first if you're a solo dev; Business/Enterprise only matters for teams.
Do Cline and Continue use the same AI models?
Cline supports: any via API. Continue supports: any via API. Most modern tools default to Claude Sonnet 4.6 in 2026.
Can I use both?
Yes. They don't conflict at the file level. Some devs use one for autocomplete and one for agent work.
Related comparisons
Best Cline and Continue pairings by language
- Python: Cline for Python · Continue for Python
- TypeScript: Cline for TypeScript · Continue for TypeScript
- Rust: Cline for Rust · Continue for Rust
- Go: Cline for Go · Continue for Go