Aider vs Amp (2026)

Aider

by Aider (Open Source)

Amp

by Amp Frontier Corporation

Pros

• ✓Free and open source under the Apache 2.0 license, so the code can be audited, forked and run without a vendor account.
• ✓Works with many model providers, or a local model, through your own API key, so you pay only the provider's usage charges and can switch models at any time.
• ✓Commits every edit to git with a descriptive message, so AI changes can be reviewed with normal git tools or undone with the /undo command.
• ✓Builds a map of the whole repository and runs a linter after each edit, and a watch mode takes instructions written as code comments from any IDE or editor.

Limitations

• –Terminal-first: using it comfortably takes familiarity with the command line, git and managing model API keys.
• –No commercial support, SLA or compliance certification for the tool itself, and data handling depends on the model provider you connect.
• –Model usage is billed by your provider, so spending and rate limits have to be watched and managed with that provider.
• –The latest tagged GitHub release is v0.86.0 from August 2025, and the most recent commit to the repository is from May 2026.

Pros

• ✓Each thread can run in a cloud orb set up with the project's code, tools and plugins, so agents keep working after the laptop closes, and threads can be started or followed from the web, Mac, iPhone, Android or CLI.
• ✓Multi-model by design: four modes route work across OpenAI, Anthropic and fast models, and on Hobby, Individual and Teams developers can bring a ChatGPT subscription or their own keys with no Amp token fees.
• ✓Team features come at no extra charge, including shared threads, multiplayer, shared portals, plugins and skills and pooled credits, and a GitHub App lets agents open pull requests and read CI status.

Limitations

• –Model usage beyond a tier's included credits is paid separately, through the developer's own provider subscription or keys or through Amp credits at provider API prices, and purchased credits expire after twelve months.
• –Paid tiers are billed monthly and orb time is metered by the minute: Megawatt's 45,000 minutes go faster on larger orbs, and the largest orb size is limited to Gigawatt and Enterprise.
• –SCIM, audit logs, IP allowlisting and regional endpoints are on the quote-based Enterprise tier, and SAML or OIDC SSO needs at least one workspace member on a paid tier.