Zoo Code vs Roo Code (2026)
Side-by-side comparison of Zoo Code vs Roo Code: pricing, capabilities, integrations, deployment complexity, and ratings. Last updated October 29, 2026 by The AI Agent Index Editorial Team.
Data sourced from The AI Agent Index
Zoo Code and Roo Code are the same product at two points in its life. Roo Code Inc. shut the Roo Code extension down on May 15, 2026, archived the repository the same day and moved on to Roomote, a separate cloud coding agent. Zoo Code is the community fork that kept going, and Roo Code's own shutdown notice names it as one of two places to go next, alongside Cline. So this page is less a contest than a question of whether to stay on the frozen original or move to the continuation. What carries over is almost everything. Zoo Code keeps Roo Code's modes, settings structure and Apache-2.0 license, and the vendor documents a two-step move: export the settings file from Roo Code and import it in Zoo Code, with custom modes, keyboard shortcuts and model configurations coming across. The file can contain API keys, so treat it as a secret. What differs is maintenance. Roo Code is frozen at v3.54.0. It still installs from the VS Code Marketplace and still runs, but it gets no bug fixes, security patches or adaptation to future VS Code changes. Zoo Code's repository was created on April 23, 2026, it reached the Marketplace on May 8, 2026, and it was shipping releases weekly as of October 2026, with v3.92.0 on October 24. It has also added a JetBrains plugin in beta, which Roo Code never had. Several rows in the table above need reading with that in mind. The editorial ratings sit close together, but Roo Code's is held below what its review numbers alone would earn, because our scoring has no way to mark a shut-down product. Its review base is far larger and much of it predates the freeze, while Zoo Code's is still small. GitHub stars tell the same story: Roo Code's count was built over a year and a half and stopped growing in May, and stars did not transfer to the fork. Neither row says which product is healthier today. Setup is the same job on both, installing an extension and adding a model key, so treat any difference in the setup rows as noise. The certification row also needs a caveat. Zoo Code's GDPR and CCPA chips come from its privacy policy, which states compliance with GDPR and PIPEDA and carries a California privacy section, not from an audit report. Roo Code's blank reflects a trust portal that was withdrawn when the company moved on. Pricing is free on both if you bring your own model keys, and the starting-price row reflects that. The difference is what sits around the free extension. Zoo Code sells optional prepaid, non-refundable credits for Zoo Gateway, a hosted model catalog, and for Cloud Agents that run sandboxed coding workflows, plus a per-seat Team plan and a custom Enterprise tier. Roo Code Inc. also ran a paid product, but no pricing for it survives on any surface the company still publishes. Ownership is where Zoo Code asks for some trust. Its terms are governed by the laws of Alberta, Canada, and they name no company behind the paid services. A team buying credits or seats is dealing with a community project rather than a named firm. MCP is the same on both: each connects out to external tools as a client and neither exposes a server of its own. Neither publishes a statement on model training, and with your own keys your code goes wherever your model provider takes it. For an existing Roo Code user the move to Zoo Code is the smallest step available, and Roo Code itself is only a short-term option while you migrate. Teams that would rather depend on a named company should also look at Kilo Code, a Roo Code descendant with a corporate owner, or at Cline, the upstream project both came from.
Zoo Code
by Zoo Code
Free, open-source AI coding agent for VS Code and JetBrains (beta), forked from Roo Code by its community. Built-in modes, BYOK across 28 providers, MCP client. Team $25/seat/mo.
Best for
Former Roo Code users and developers who want an actively maintained, free, open-source coding agent with the same modes, settings and Apache-2.0 license, and the option of a JetBrains plugin
Roo Code
by Roo Code
Open-source VS Code AI coding agent with Code, Architect and Debug modes. Shut down May 15, 2026 and frozen at v3.54.0, but still installable. Continued by the Zoo Code community fork. Apache-2.0, BYOK.
Best for
Existing Roo Code users who need their current setup to keep working for a short time while they export their settings and migrate
Capabilities
Zoo Code
Roo Code
Pros & Limitations
Editorial assessmentZoo Code
Pros
- ✓Picks up where Roo Code stopped, with the same modes, settings structure and Apache-2.0 license, and a documented export and import path for existing Roo Code settings.
- ✓Model-agnostic with your own keys, across 28 documented provider integrations plus local models through Ollama and LM Studio, so the extension itself costs nothing.
- ✓Actively maintained, with weekly releases through October 2026 and a JetBrains plugin in beta alongside the VS Code extension.
Limitations
- –Community-run and young: the repository dates from April 2026, its terms name no company behind the paid services, and support is community-based outside Enterprise.
- –The independent review base is small, with 25 ratings on the VS Code Marketplace and no G2 profile, so there is little outside evidence yet on long-term reliability.
- –Zoo Gateway and Cloud Agents credits are prepaid and non-refundable, so teams should size purchases to expected usage.
Roo Code
Pros
- ✓Specialized mode architecture produces more focused results than general-purpose AI, because Code, Architect and Debug modes each carry tailored prompts, tool permissions and context strategies rather than a single general chat.
- ✓Fully model-agnostic through BYOK, with 24 documented provider integrations including Anthropic, OpenAI, Google Gemini, DeepSeek, Bedrock and Vertex, plus OpenAI-compatible endpoints and local models via Ollama and LM Studio.
- ✓Apache-2.0 licensed with more than 3,400 forks, so the full codebase stays available for audit, self-hosting and community-led continuation, and it is carried forward by the Zoo Code fork.
Limitations
- –Roo Code Inc. shut the extension down on May 15, 2026 and archived the repository the same day. It is read-only, with no further development, bug fixes or security patches from the original team. The company points users to the Zoo Code community fork and to Cline.
- –No commercial support, SLA or compliance certifications. Community support ran through GitHub Issues and Discord, and with the original team no longer active, help for new issues comes only from community forks and the existing documentation.
- –The original team has moved on. Roo Code Inc. now builds Roomote, a separate cloud coding agent, so continuity, licensing and commercial questions can no longer go to the original team. The community-run Zoo Code fork is the maintained path.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Zoo Code vs Roo Code?
Zoo Code and Roo Code are the same product at two points in its life. Roo Code Inc. shut the Roo Code extension down on May 15, 2026, archived the repository the same day and moved on to Roomote, a separate cloud coding agent. Zoo Code is the community fork that kept going, and Roo Code's own shutdown notice names it as one of two places to go next, alongside Cline. So this page is less a contest than a question of whether to stay on the frozen original or move to the continuation. What carries over is almost everything. Zoo Code keeps Roo Code's modes, settings structure and Apache-2.0 license, and the vendor documents a two-step move: export the settings file from Roo Code and import it in Zoo Code, with custom modes, keyboard shortcuts and model configurations coming across. The file can contain API keys, so treat it as a secret. What differs is maintenance. Roo Code is frozen at v3.54.0. It still installs from the VS Code Marketplace and still runs, but it gets no bug fixes, security patches or adaptation to future VS Code changes. Zoo Code's repository was created on April 23, 2026, it reached the Marketplace on May 8, 2026, and it was shipping releases weekly as of October 2026, with v3.92.0 on October 24. It has also added a JetBrains plugin in beta, which Roo Code never had. Several rows in the table above need reading with that in mind. The editorial ratings sit close together, but Roo Code's is held below what its review numbers alone would earn, because our scoring has no way to mark a shut-down product. Its review base is far larger and much of it predates the freeze, while Zoo Code's is still small. GitHub stars tell the same story: Roo Code's count was built over a year and a half and stopped growing in May, and stars did not transfer to the fork. Neither row says which product is healthier today. Setup is the same job on both, installing an extension and adding a model key, so treat any difference in the setup rows as noise. The certification row also needs a caveat. Zoo Code's GDPR and CCPA chips come from its privacy policy, which states compliance with GDPR and PIPEDA and carries a California privacy section, not from an audit report. Roo Code's blank reflects a trust portal that was withdrawn when the company moved on. Pricing is free on both if you bring your own model keys, and the starting-price row reflects that. The difference is what sits around the free extension. Zoo Code sells optional prepaid, non-refundable credits for Zoo Gateway, a hosted model catalog, and for Cloud Agents that run sandboxed coding workflows, plus a per-seat Team plan and a custom Enterprise tier. Roo Code Inc. also ran a paid product, but no pricing for it survives on any surface the company still publishes. Ownership is where Zoo Code asks for some trust. Its terms are governed by the laws of Alberta, Canada, and they name no company behind the paid services. A team buying credits or seats is dealing with a community project rather than a named firm. MCP is the same on both: each connects out to external tools as a client and neither exposes a server of its own. Neither publishes a statement on model training, and with your own keys your code goes wherever your model provider takes it. For an existing Roo Code user the move to Zoo Code is the smallest step available, and Roo Code itself is only a short-term option while you migrate. Teams that would rather depend on a named company should also look at Kilo Code, a Roo Code descendant with a corporate owner, or at Cline, the upstream project both came from.
Which is best for my team: Zoo Code vs Roo Code?
Zoo Code is best for: Former Roo Code users and developers who want an actively maintained, free, open-source coding agent with the same modes, settings and Apache-2.0 license, and the option of a JetBrains plugin. Roo Code is best for: Existing Roo Code users who need their current setup to keep working for a short time while they export their settings and migrate.
How does pricing compare between Zoo Code vs Roo Code?
Zoo Code is free to start. Roo Code is free to start.
View full Zoo Code profile
Pricing, reviews, integrations →
View full Roo Code profile
Pricing, reviews, integrations →
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