Compare / Amp vs Kilo Code
Head-to-head
Amp vs Kilo Code.
Side-by-side on ratings, pricing, pros, cons, and the honest take on which to pick. Both are in our coding agent category — direct competitors.
| Amp | Kilo Code | |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.0 / 5 | 4.0 / 5 |
| Category | Coding Agent | Coding Agent |
| Tech level | developer | developer |
| Open source | No | Yes |
| Pricing | Free tier with meaningful usage allowance. Paid tiers $19–$49/month for individuals. Enterprise pricing for teams bundled with Sourcegraph Code Search. Token-based usage on top of subscription tiers. | Free tier (Kilo Auto — no credit card, no token limit on the free model tier). Paid plans run $20–$50/month for higher-tier model access. BYOK is the recommended path for serious use: connect your own API key to any of 500+ models via Kilo Gateway and pay providers directly. A solo developer on BYOK with Claude Sonnet typically lands at $30–$80/month in API costs depending on usage intensity. |
| Best for | Engineering teams already paying for Sourcegraph Code Search who want to add an AI agent that reuses the existing codebase index. Strong for large enterprise codebases (1M+ lines) where context retrieval is the bottleneck. Free tier is generous enough for individual evaluation. | Developers who want Claude Code-style agentic workflows but need JetBrains support, want model flexibility, or care about open-source licensing. Strong for teams running mixed IDE setups, cost-conscious solo developers, and anyone burned by Cursor's pricing changes who wants a free / BYOK alternative. |
| Not for | Teams not on Sourcegraph — the standalone story is less differentiated than Claude Code or Augment Code. Solo developers and small projects where the codebase-context advantage doesn't compound. Builders who want a simpler CLI or terminal-first experience. | Non-technical users wanting a no-code interface. Teams already happy with Claude Code who don't need JetBrains or alternative models — Claude Code's polish is hard to beat when you only need Claude in VS Code. Builders who want the largest community and most mature documentation — Cline is upstream and more established. |
Our verdict on Amp
Sourcegraph's agentic coding tool built on years of code-search investment. The codebase-context story is genuinely differentiated for teams already running Sourcegraph at scale. As a standalone vs Cursor or Claude Code, it's solid but less obvious — the strategic moat is the Sourcegraph install base, not the agent itself.
Full Amp review →Our verdict on Kilo Code
The best-priced agentic coding tool for developers who need JetBrains support or want to switch models mid-session. Apache 2.0, BYOK, multi-IDE. The right pick when Cursor's editor lock-in and Claude Code's model lock-in both bother you.
Full Kilo Code review →Amp
What works
- Built on Sourcegraph's mature code-search and indexing infrastructure
- Free tier with meaningful usage allowance for individual evaluation
- Strong codebase-context story without separate indexing setup
- Native integration with Sourcegraph Code Search
- Sourcegraph's enterprise compliance (SOC 2, on-prem options) carries over
- Cross-repo awareness that single-repo tools miss
- Active product velocity — feature gap vs Cursor is closing fast
What doesn't
- Standalone value less compelling than Claude Code or Augment Code for non-Sourcegraph teams
- Newer to agentic coding (launched mid-2025) than competitors with longer track records
- Smaller community vs Cursor or Copilot
- Locked into Sourcegraph as the indexing/context layer
- Best fit narrows to enterprise teams already paying for Sourcegraph
- Editor support skews VS Code-centric; JetBrains story less mature
Kilo Code
What works
- VS Code, JetBrains, and CLI — broadest IDE coverage of any coding agent on this list
- 500+ models via Kilo Gateway — switch between Claude, GPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, local mid-session
- Apache-2.0 open source — auditable, self-hostable, no vendor lock-in
- Generous Kilo Auto free tier with no credit card required
- BYOK pricing means you pay model providers directly — no platform markup
- Slack, Discord, Telegram integrations for async agent workflows
- Cloud agents run 24/7 without your laptop open
What doesn't
- Documentation depth lags Cline (the upstream project) — newer, smaller community
- JetBrains plugin lags the VS Code experience in feature parity
- 500+ model menu adds decision overhead — most users would be better served by a curated default
- Cloud agent feature is newer and less proven at scale than CI/CD-based approaches
- Free tier model quality is fine for evaluation but BYOK is the right serious-use path
Which to pick
These two are closely matched. Don't pick on overall rating — pick on use case. Amp for engineering teams already paying for sourcegraph code search who want to add an ai agent that reuses the existing codebase index. strong for large enterprise codebases (1m+ lines) where context retrieval is the bottleneck. free tier is generous enough for individual evaluation. Kilo Code for developers who want claude code-style agentic workflows but need jetbrains support, want model flexibility, or care about open-source licensing. strong for teams running mixed ide setups, cost-conscious solo developers, and anyone burned by cursor's pricing changes who wants a free / byok alternative.
Honest middle: most serious operators end up using more than one tool. If you're early in your AI agent journey, our five-question picker recommends a starting platform from your specific situation.
Common questions
Amp vs Kilo Code — which should I pick?
Amp and Kilo Code are closely matched (we rate them 4.0/5 and 4.0/5). Pick by use case rather than overall score: Amp for engineering teams already paying for sourcegraph code search who want to add an ai agent that reuses the existing codebase index. strong for large enterprise codebases (1m+ lines) where context retrieval is the bottleneck. free tier is generous enough for individual evaluation.; Kilo Code for developers who want claude code-style agentic workflows but need jetbrains support, want model flexibility, or care about open-source licensing. strong for teams running mixed ide setups, cost-conscious solo developers, and anyone burned by cursor's pricing changes who wants a free / byok alternative..
Is Amp or Kilo Code cheaper?
Amp's pricing: Free tier with meaningful usage allowance. Paid tiers $19–$49/month for individuals. Enterprise pricing for teams bundled with Sourcegraph Code Search. Token-based usage on top of subscription tiers. Kilo Code's pricing: Free tier (Kilo Auto — no credit card, no token limit on the free model tier). Paid plans run $20–$50/month for higher-tier model access. BYOK is the recommended path for serious use: connect your own API key to any of 500+ models via Kilo Gateway and pay providers directly. A solo developer on BYOK with Claude Sonnet typically lands at $30–$80/month in API costs depending on usage intensity. The right "cheaper" pick depends on usage volume and what's included — see the pricing row in the table above.
What's Amp best for?
Engineering teams already paying for Sourcegraph Code Search who want to add an AI agent that reuses the existing codebase index. Strong for large enterprise codebases (1M+ lines) where context retrieval is the bottleneck. Free tier is generous enough for individual evaluation.
What's Kilo Code best for?
Developers who want Claude Code-style agentic workflows but need JetBrains support, want model flexibility, or care about open-source licensing. Strong for teams running mixed IDE setups, cost-conscious solo developers, and anyone burned by Cursor's pricing changes who wants a free / BYOK alternative.
Are Amp and Kilo Code direct competitors?
Yes — both are coding agent options. They target similar builders, which is why the head-to-head matters.
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