The open-source alternatives to Cursor are Zed, Cline, Kilo Code, Tabby, twinny, OpenCode and Qwen Code. Zed is the one that replaces the editor itself, with edit prediction, an agent panel and local models under GPL-3.0. Cline and Kilo Code add the agent to VS Code or JetBrains, and Kilo Code adds autocomplete too. Tabby and twinny cover completion from a model you run. OpenCode and Qwen Code are terminal agents with editor plugins. A developer switches when they want to choose the model, keep code local, or leave a subscription.
6 of 7 carry an OSI licence. 7 of 7 run on your own machines. Figures read from GitHub on September 17, 2026.
One project per need, with the reason from its own README and the one thing to know before you choose it.
A native editor under GPL-3.0-or-later with edit prediction, an agent panel, external agents over ACP, MCP tools, sandboxing for its own agent and local models through Ollama or llama.cpp.
Know firstA different editor, so VS Code's extensions do not carry over, and the Zeta prediction model needs a Zed account.
MIT, with inline ghost-text completion, Code, Plan, Ask, Debug and Review modes, an MCP marketplace, and 500+ models at the provider's rate with no key to start.
Know firstModel access with no key runs through Kilo's account and gateway, and the README does not describe local models.
Apache-2.0, in VS Code, JetBrains, the terminal and a desktop app, with every edit shown as a diff, approval on each action, Ollama and LM Studio for local models, and MCP.
Know firstNo autocomplete described, and the JetBrains plugin is not open source.
Self-hosted, no database or cloud service, consumer-grade GPUs, plugins for VS Code, JetBrains and Vim, with retrieval-based completion and chat.
Know firstThe web server and team features are under a paid enterprise licence, so the product is source available; releases are slow.
MIT VS Code extension with fill-in-the-middle completion and chat, defaulting to a local Ollama-compatible endpoint and working offline.
Know firstVS Code only, no agent mode, and quality depends on the local model you run.
MIT, with a full-access build agent and a read-only plan agent switched with Tab, installers for every platform and a beta desktop app.
Know firstThe README states no provider, MCP or local-model details; the docs site does.
Apache-2.0, plugins for VS Code, Zed and JetBrains, a desktop app, and OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Qwen or local models through Ollama and vLLM, switched at runtime.
Know firstIts web UI and daemon mode are experimental, and its benchmark figures are its own.
The facts that decide most choices. Each project's page carries the full panel.
| Project | Best for | Openness | Licence | Runs as | Own machines | Stars |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zed | Replacing the editor itself | OSI | See LICENSE | Desktop app | Yes | 90,442 |
| Kilo Code | Autocomplete plus agent, inside VS Code or JetBrains | OSI | MIT | VS Code extension, JetBrains plugin, CLI, Web (Cloud Agent) | Yes | 27,344 |
| Cline | An agent with reviewable diffs and any model | OSI | Apache-2.0 | VS Code extension, JetBrains plugin, CLI, Desktop app, Node.js SDK | Yes | 68,575 |
| Tabby | A completion server for a whole team | Source available | See LICENSE | Docker (server), Built from source with Rust, VS Code, JetBrains and Vim plugins | Yes | 33,884 |
| twinny | Free completion from a local model | OSI | MIT | VS Code extension | Yes | 3,648 |
| OpenCode | A terminal agent with a planning mode | OSI | MIT | CLI, Desktop app (beta) | Yes | 208,214 |
| Qwen Code | Terminal plus editor plugins, any model | OSI | Apache-2.0 | CLI, VS Code, Zed and JetBrains plugins, Desktop app, Web UI (experimental), SDKs in TypeScript, Python and Java | Yes | 27,935 |
Licence and star figures read from GitHub on September 17, 2026. Stars are shown as a dated fact and were not used to rank this page.
A high-performance code editor from the creators of Atom and Tree-sitter, GPL-3.0-or-later with Apache-2.0 components, with an agent panel, external agents over ACP, edit prediction, MCP tools, sandboxing, and local models through Ollama or llama.cpp.
A native editor under GPL-3.0-or-later with edit prediction, an agent panel, external agents over ACP, MCP tools, sandboxing for its own agent and local models through Ollama or llama.cpp.
Know firstA different editor, so VS Code's extensions do not carry over, and the Zeta prediction model needs a Zed account.
An MIT coding agent for VS Code, JetBrains and the CLI with inline autocomplete, Code, Plan, Ask, Debug and Review modes, an MCP marketplace, access to 500+ models with no API key to start, and a hosted cloud agent.
MIT, with inline ghost-text completion, Code, Plan, Ask, Debug and Review modes, an MCP marketplace, and 500+ models at the provider's rate with no key to start.
Know firstModel access with no key runs through Kilo's account and gateway, and the README does not describe local models.
An Apache-2.0 coding agent for VS Code, JetBrains, the terminal and a desktop app that edits files as reviewable diffs, runs commands with your approval, works with any model provider including Ollama, and connects tools through MCP.
Apache-2.0, in VS Code, JetBrains, the terminal and a desktop app, with every edit shown as a diff, approval on each action, Ollama and LM Studio for local models, and MCP.
Know firstNo autocomplete described, and the JetBrains plugin is not open source.
A self-hosted coding assistant server with an Apache-2.0 core and a proprietary ee directory for the web server and team features, serving code completion and chat to VS Code, JetBrains and Vim from models on your own GPU.
Self-hosted, no database or cloud service, consumer-grade GPUs, plugins for VS Code, JetBrains and Vim, with retrieval-based completion and chat.
Know firstThe web server and team features are under a paid enterprise licence, so the product is source available; releases are slow.
An MIT VS Code extension for fill-in-the-middle code completion and sidebar chat that defaults to a local Ollama-compatible endpoint and works offline, with nine providers and no paid tier.
MIT VS Code extension with fill-in-the-middle completion and chat, defaulting to a local Ollama-compatible endpoint and working offline.
Know firstVS Code only, no agent mode, and quality depends on the local model you run.
An MIT terminal coding agent with a full-access build agent and a read-only plan agent switched with the Tab key, installers for every platform, a beta desktop app, and the most-starred repository in this directory.
MIT, with a full-access build agent and a read-only plan agent switched with Tab, installers for every platform and a beta desktop app.
Know firstThe README states no provider, MCP or local-model details; the docs site does.
An Apache-2.0 coding agent from the Qwen team for the terminal, editor, desktop, browser and chat apps that works with OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini and Qwen APIs or local models through Ollama and vLLM, switched at runtime, with MCP, a sandbox and subagents.
Apache-2.0, plugins for VS Code, Zed and JetBrains, a desktop app, and OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Qwen or local models through Ollama and vLLM, switched at runtime.
Know firstIts web UI and daemon mode are experimental, and its benchmark figures are its own.
The questions that settle it, in the order they usually come up.
Yes: Cline, Kilo Code or twinny as extensions, or Qwen Code's plugin. No: Zed, which is a different editor with agents built in.
Kilo Code, Zed, twinny or Tabby have it. Cline, OpenCode and Qwen Code are agents without described autocomplete.
twinny, Tabby, Zed, Cline and Qwen Code all document local models. Kilo Code's README does not, and OpenCode's defers to its docs.
A team that wants one completion server on its own GPU: Tabby, with the enterprise licence read first. One developer: any of the others.
Cursor, in the vendor's own words, is "your coding agent for building ambitious software", an AI tool that takes on coding tasks while the developer focuses on decisions, by its own description. cursor.com. The cases below are where that still wins.
Stars, licence, last commit and last release are read from the GitHub API by a script every week and carry the date they were read. Nobody types them.
What each project does is written from its own README and LICENSE, read in full on the date shown, and phrased as the project's claim. The sources are listed at the end.
That a project is faster, better or cheaper than Cursor. A price for anyone. A user count. A roadmap. If a fact is not on this page, it was not in the source.
To replace the editor: Zed (GPL-3.0-or-later with Apache-2.0 parts), a native editor with edit prediction, an agent panel, MCP and local models through Ollama or llama.cpp. To stay in VS Code or JetBrains: Cline (Apache-2.0) for an agent with reviewable diffs, or Kilo Code (MIT) for autocomplete plus agent modes with 500+ models at the provider's rate.
Yes. Kilo Code has inline ghost-text autocomplete in VS Code and JetBrains. Zed has edit prediction with its open-source Zeta model. twinny does fill-in-the-middle completion in VS Code from a local model. Tabby serves completion from a self-hosted server. Cline does not describe autocomplete.
twinny with a local Ollama-compatible server, Tabby with its self-hosted server and models on your GPU, Zed with a local model through llama.cpp, LM Studio or Ollama, Cline with Ollama or LM Studio, Qwen Code with Ollama or vLLM. Kilo Code's README does not describe local models; OpenCode's README defers to its docs.
Yes. Cline, Kilo Code and twinny are VS Code extensions, and Cline and Kilo Code also ship JetBrains plugins. Qwen Code has plugins for VS Code, Zed and JetBrains. Tabby has VS Code, JetBrains and Vim plugins talking to its server. Only Zed asks you to change editors.
The software is free under its licence in every case here except Tabby's enterprise directory, which needs a paid seat licence for production use. The model is the cost: your own API keys, a subscription such as ChatGPT or Claude where the tool supports it, Kilo Code's pass-through at the provider's rate, or a local model with no fee.
The facts panel on each project page shows the last commit and the last release, read from GitHub on the date printed. When read, Cline, Kilo Code, Zed, OpenCode and Qwen Code all had releases within the week; Tabby's last tagged release was January 2026 with a push in June. Stars are shown as a dated fact and were not used to rank this page.
Running one of these inside your own environment, with your own data and your own security rules, is the kind of work Reveneau does. Read how a forward deployed engagement works.