GILD verdict
Choose Cline if engineers want an agent inside VS Code or JetBrains that runs commands to check its work, each step approved.
Choose Aider if they work in the terminal and want edits limited to the files they add, each landed as a commit. Cline's vendor sells Enterprise SSO and organization controls; Aider is a project you pin and fork. Both run on your keys, so compare cost per accepted change on the same model.
Cline wins when the tool should work through a task on its own. In AIMultiple's June 2026 one-shot test on Claude Sonnet 4.6, Cline passed 60% of backend checks on a helpdesk build, and Aider passed 13.3%. Aider wins on token spend. On that build it sent 1.3k input tokens to Cline's 76k.
Choosing between Aider and Cline
Choose Aider if
- Engineers work in the terminal and want the model to change only the files they add.
- Each edit should land as a commit in your own git history.
- You script edits from shell loops or CI with --message.
Choose Cline if
- Engineers want the agent inside VS Code or a JetBrains IDE, with every edit and command approved by default.
- Planning should happen in its own mode before edits, and the agent should call tools from MCP servers.
- You expect to buy Enterprise SSO and organization controls from the vendor.
Side by side
| Dimension | Aider | Cline |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | Terminal CLI; any editor through --watch-files comments | Extensions for VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, VSCodium, and JetBrains IDEs; a CLI; a desktop app for macOS and Windows |
| PriceList prices in US dollars. Neither price includes model usage on your own key. | Free; model usage paid to your provider | Free for individual developers; inference on your own key or Cline credits, or ClinePass at US$9.99 per month; Enterprise is custom |
| How it acts | Edits the files in the chat and runs the shell commands it suggests after confirmation; no built-in MCP client | Reads files, edits, runs commands, and uses the browser and MCP tools, each needing approval unless Auto Approve allows it |
| Planning | Ask mode discusses without editing; architect mode pairs a planning model with an editing model | Plan mode reads and discusses without changing files; Act mode can use a different model |
| Undo | A git commit per edit in your repository; /undo reverts the last one | Checkpoints after each tool use in a shadow Git repository, separate from your history |
| Project rules | CONVENTIONS.md or any file loaded read-only with --read | .clinerules/ or .cline/rules/, AGENTS.md, and .cursorrules |
| Telemetry | Opt-in analytics without code or prompts; a random subset of users is asked | On by default; excludes code and prompts except on the Cline and ClinePass providers |
| GitHub stars (Oct 28, 2026) | 49.8k | 71.0k |
| Independent same-model test (AIMultiple, June 2026)AIMultiple ran each tool once with no human steering, the mode Aider is least built for. | Version 0.86.2 on Claude Sonnet 4.6, one-shot: 13.3% of backend checks on a helpdesk build, with 1.3k input and 18k output tokens. Two of 10 builds crashed on startup21 | Version 3.0.27 on Claude Sonnet 4.6, one-shot: 60% of backend checks on the same build, with 76k input and 40k output tokens21 |
What practitioners report, side by side
Each product's figures come from its own practitioners, for the group you pick.
Overall signal
All practitioners rate Cline +39, 11 points above Aider at +28. Most of the gap is in praise, with 43 of Cline's 73 sources positive against 30 of Aider's 59. Cline has 13 negative and Aider 12.
The score counts the authors from all practitioners that take a side, one vote each with their latest view, and is how far positive votes lead negative ones, per 100 votes, so Aider's +28 rests on votes split 28 positive, 17 mixed and 12 negative and Cline's +39 on 40, 17 and 13.
A lead of a fifth of the votes reads positive and a lead of half strong positive, with the same lines below zero. The dots show each source, positive, mixed, negative. Use a task pilot to measure accepted work and review time.
Footprint on the Agentic Software Development stack
They differ on three of 12 layers. Aider owns one that Cline does not, and Cline owns one that Aider does not. Coverage is each product's placement on this stack, as its product page shows it. Core is a job the product owns; Supports and Touches are jobs it helps with. Coverage says nothing about how well a product does them.
| Layer | Aider | Cline |
|---|---|---|
| Build | ||
| Codebase context | Core | Supports |
| Tool execution | Supports | Core |
| Ship | ||
| Source control | Supports | Touches |
The 9 layers where they match
| Layer | Aider | Cline |
|---|---|---|
| Plan | ||
| Work planning | Supports | Supports |
| Build | ||
| Coding | Core | Core |
| Agent runtime | Core | Core |
| Validate | ||
| Debugging | Supports | Supports |
| Testing | Supports | Supports |
| Code review | Touches | Touches |
| Application security | Touches | Touches |
| Ship | ||
| CI/CD | Touches | Touches |
| Operate | ||
| Observability | Touches | Touches |
What practitioners praise
Among all practitioners, Aider alone has six praise themes that reach 5 sources from 3 authors. Any Model, Any Provider and Explicit Context Control lead, at 15 of 15 and 9 of 9. Cline alone has four praise themes that reach 5 sources from 3 authors. Model and Provider Choice and Multi-Step Execution lead, at 20 of 20 and 15 of 15.
| Praised for | Aider | Cline |
|---|---|---|
| Any Model, Any Provider | 15 of 15 | Not a theme in its sources |
| Explicit Context Control | 9 of 9 | Not a theme in its sources |
| Terminal Workflow | 9 of 11 | Not a theme in its sources |
| Git-Native Changes | 6 of 6 | Not a theme in its sources |
| Lower Token Use | 6 of 6 | Not a theme in its sources |
| Planning & Control | 6 of 6 | Not a theme in its sources |
| Model and Provider Choice | Not a theme in its sources | 20 of 20 |
| Multi-Step Execution | Not a theme in its sources | 15 of 15 |
| Visibility and Control | Not a theme in its sources | 10 of 10 |
| Plan and Act | Not a theme in its sources | 9 of 10 |
Each count is the sources that praise a theme, or raise it as a concern, out of those that discuss it. A row pairs the two products when both carry a theme under the same or an equivalent name.
A count ending in "so far" has under 5 sources from 3 authors among all practitioners. "Not a theme in its sources" means GILD found no theme of that name in that product's sources.
What practitioners raise as concerns
Among all practitioners, Aider alone has four concern themes that reach 5 sources from 3 authors. Slower Release Pace and Manual Context and Less Autonomy lead, at 10 of 11 and 7 of 12. Both carry Results Depend on the Model. It is raised in 7 of the 9 Aider sources that discuss it, against 10 of 10 for Cline. Cline alone has four concern themes that reach 5 sources from 3 authors. Token Spend on Your Own Key and Reliability and Update Regressions lead, at 17 of 29 and 12 of 15.
| Raised as a concern | Aider | Cline |
|---|---|---|
| Results Depend on the Model | 7 of 9 | 10 of 10 |
| Slower Release Pace | 10 of 11 | Not a theme in its sources |
| Manual Context and Less Autonomy | 7 of 12 | Not a theme in its sources |
| Reliability | 6 of 6 | Not a theme in its sources |
| Requires Close Review | 6 of 7 | Not a theme in its sources |
| Token Spend on Your Own Key | Not a theme in its sources | 17 of 29 |
| Reliability and Update Regressions | Not a theme in its sources | 12 of 15 |
| Approvals and Safety | Not a theme in its sources | 9 of 9 |
| Context Management | Not a theme in its sources | 6 of 8 |
21 sources
- Aider
- Aider docs: Connecting to LLMs
- Aider docs: Git integration
- Aider docs: Chat modes
- Aider docs: Aider in your IDE
- Aider docs: Specifying coding conventions
- Aider docs: Options reference
- Aider docs: Analytics
- Aider docs: Scripting aider
- Aider on GitHub (Aider-AI/aider)
- Cline pricing
- Cline docs: Installing Cline
- Cline docs: Authorization and bring your own key
- Cline docs: Plan & Act mode
- Cline docs: Auto Approve & YOLO mode
- Cline docs: Checkpoints
- Cline docs: Rules
- Cline docs: MCP
- Cline docs: Telemetry
- Cline on GitHub (cline/cline)
- AIMultiple: Agentic CLI Tools Compared: Claude Code vs Cline vs Aider (updated Jun 2026)