Roo Code vs Kilo Code (2026)
Side-by-side comparison of Roo Code vs Kilo Code: pricing, capabilities, integrations, deployment complexity, and ratings. Last updated July 2026.
Data sourced from The AI Agent Index · Updated daily
This comparison has fundamentally changed since it was first written. Roo Code Inc. archived the Roo-Code GitHub repository on May 15, 2026 and pivoted the company to Roomote, a Slack-based AI engineering product unrelated to the VS Code extension. The Roo Code extension remains installable from the VS Code Marketplace and fully functional under its Apache-2.0 license, but there is no further development, bug fixes, or security patches from the original team. Community forks may continue development independently. Kilo Code is actively developed with $8 million in seed funding, over 25,400 GitHub stars, and 3 million plus users processing over 40 trillion tokens. It now runs inside VS Code, JetBrains, CLI, Cloud, and Slack with five built-in modes: Architect, Code, Debug, Ask, and Orchestrator for parallel subagent delegation across separate git worktrees. The extension is free and open source under MIT license. Kilo Pass managed inference starts at $19 per month with up to 50 percent bonus credits on annual plans. Teams plan at $15 per user per month adds centralized billing, usage analytics, and data privacy controls. G2 shows 4.8 stars from 3 reviews. Roo Code reached 24,200 GitHub stars and 1.56 million VS Code installs before archival. Its specialized Code, Architect, and Debug modes with BYOK model support across 50 plus providers remain functional for existing users. However, with no active maintainer, the extension will not adapt to VS Code API changes, new model providers, or security vulnerabilities over time. For developers choosing a coding agent today, Kilo Code is the clear recommendation as the actively maintained option with broader IDE support, parallel agents, commercial backing, and a growing ecosystem. Existing Roo Code users can continue using the extension short-term but should plan migration to Kilo Code, Cline, or OpenCode for long-term support and active development.
Roo Code
by Roo Code
Open-source VS Code AI coding agent with Code, Architect, and Debug modes. Repo archived May 2026 as company pivoted to Roomote. Free, BYOK, Apache-2.0. 24.2k GitHub stars.
Best for
Developers who want an actively maintained open-source coding agent with BYOK across 500 plus models, multi-IDE support across VS Code, JetBrains, CLI, Cloud, and Slack, and parallel agent execution with commercial backing
Kilo Code
by Kilo Code
Open-source AI coding agent for VS Code, JetBrains, CLI, Cloud, and Slack with parallel agents and 500+ models. 25.4K GitHub stars, 3M+ users. Free tier; Kilo Pass from $19/mo.
Best for
Existing Roo Code users who want to continue using a familiar archived extension short-term while planning migration to an actively maintained alternative
Capabilities
Roo Code
Kilo Code
Pros & Limitations
Editorial assessmentRoo Code
Pros
- ✓Specialized mode architecture produces more focused results than general-purpose AI: Code, Architect, and Debug modes each have tailored prompts, tool permissions, and context strategies, reducing the generic output quality gap that single-mode chat interfaces produce on specific workflow types.
- ✓Fully model-agnostic with BYOK across 50+ providers including Ollama local models: developers optimize cost and capability per task using Claude for complex reasoning, DeepSeek for cost-sensitive operations, and local models for privacy-sensitive codebases where cloud inference is restricted.
- ✓Apache-2.0 license with 3,300 forks and 7,073 commits: the full codebase is available for audit, self-hosting, and community-led continued development independent of the original Roo Code Inc. team, which has pivoted to a different product.
Limitations
- ⚠Repository archived May 15, 2026: Roo Code Inc. has pivoted to Roomote and the original Roo-Code GitHub repository is now read-only with no further development planned from the original team, making Cline or OpenCode better choices for teams that need ongoing maintenance and security updates.
- ⚠No commercial support, SLA, or compliance certifications: community support depended on GitHub Issues and Discord, and with the original team no longer active on the project, support for new issues is limited to community forks and the existing VS Code extension documentation.
- ⚠Company has moved to a different product category: Roo Code Inc. is now building Roomote, a Slack-based AI engineer for operational work, meaning organizational continuity, licensing questions, and commercial arrangements can no longer be handled through the original development team.
Kilo Code
Pros
- ✓Open-source MIT-licensed and model-agnostic with 500+ models: connect any provider through BYOK with no markup, or use Kilo Pass managed inference from $19 per month. {{github_stars}} GitHub stars and 3M+ users validate broad developer adoption.
- ✓Multi-mode architecture with parallel agents across 6+ surfaces: Architect, Code, Debug, Ask, and Orchestrator modes handle planning and execution as separate concerns with subagent delegation across concurrent git worktrees. Cloud Agents, Slack, and Code Reviewer extend beyond IDE-only workflows.
- ✓Trusted by engineering teams at Meta, Amazon, Airbnb, PayPal, Square, and Red Hat with $8M seed funding and Product Hunt #1 Open Source Product of the Month award. Over 40 trillion tokens processed across the platform.
Limitations
- ⚠Enterprise governance features (SSO, granular audit logs, RBAC) are less mature than GitHub Copilot or Cursor for procurement-heavy enterprise organizations that require formal security review before deployment.
- ⚠Setup complexity for advanced features including Memory Bank, custom modes, and MCP tool configuration has a real learning curve compared to Copilot or Cursor which require near-zero configuration for basic agentic coding.
- ⚠Local model performance depends heavily on available hardware: expect uneven results without sufficient GPU compute for larger open-source LLMs, which limits local-first deployments on standard developer machines.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Roo Code vs Kilo Code?
This comparison has fundamentally changed since it was first written. Roo Code Inc. archived the Roo-Code GitHub repository on May 15, 2026 and pivoted the company to Roomote, a Slack-based AI engineering product unrelated to the VS Code extension. The Roo Code extension remains installable from the VS Code Marketplace and fully functional under its Apache-2.0 license, but there is no further development, bug fixes, or security patches from the original team. Community forks may continue development independently. Kilo Code is actively developed with $8 million in seed funding, over 25,400 GitHub stars, and 3 million plus users processing over 40 trillion tokens. It now runs inside VS Code, JetBrains, CLI, Cloud, and Slack with five built-in modes: Architect, Code, Debug, Ask, and Orchestrator for parallel subagent delegation across separate git worktrees. The extension is free and open source under MIT license. Kilo Pass managed inference starts at $19 per month with up to 50 percent bonus credits on annual plans. Teams plan at $15 per user per month adds centralized billing, usage analytics, and data privacy controls. G2 shows 4.8 stars from 3 reviews. Roo Code reached 24,200 GitHub stars and 1.56 million VS Code installs before archival. Its specialized Code, Architect, and Debug modes with BYOK model support across 50 plus providers remain functional for existing users. However, with no active maintainer, the extension will not adapt to VS Code API changes, new model providers, or security vulnerabilities over time. For developers choosing a coding agent today, Kilo Code is the clear recommendation as the actively maintained option with broader IDE support, parallel agents, commercial backing, and a growing ecosystem. Existing Roo Code users can continue using the extension short-term but should plan migration to Kilo Code, Cline, or OpenCode for long-term support and active development.
Which is best for my team — Roo Code vs Kilo Code?
Roo Code is best for: Developers who want an actively maintained open-source coding agent with BYOK across 500 plus models, multi-IDE support across VS Code, JetBrains, CLI, Cloud, and Slack, and parallel agent execution with commercial backing. Kilo Code is best for: Existing Roo Code users who want to continue using a familiar archived extension short-term while planning migration to an actively maintained alternative.
How does pricing compare between Roo Code vs Kilo Code?
Roo Code uses a free model. Kilo Code uses a freemium model, starting at $19 per month.
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