Why developers are switching from Blackbox AI to Kilo Code
Open source. Open pricing. Four primary agents with native sub-agent delegation. Complete freedom.
Quick Comparison
Use the Kilo agent in a desktop workspace, or keep your existing VS Code, JetBrains, CLI, and Cloud workflows. Desktop runs the Kilo CLI engine and supports 500+ hosted models through Kilo Gateway, your provider keys, and local inference.
Available for macOS Apple Silicon, Windows, and Linux. The built-in local model server, notebooks, and conda environments require a Kilo account. Local inference is not a guarantee of an entirely offline or air-gapped application. See requirements.
Compare the whole cost, not just the seat
- Platform
- Free for individuals. Teams is $15/user/month; Enterprise is custom. SSO, SCIM, and audit logs are Enterprise features, not included in Teams.
- Inference
- Use available free models, local inference, or BYOK. Kilo Gateway charges provider rates with no inference markup. Kilo Pass is an optional credit subscription.
- Cloud compute
- Cloud Agents and hosted Code Reviews have separately priced compute in addition to model inference. Check current pricing and any applicable beta offer. BYOK does not remove compute charges.
Credit purchase processing fee: 5%. Applies to card purchases that add credits, including top-ups and Kilo Pass. Excludes seat subscriptions and non-card payments. See full pricing.
Open-source scope: VS Code, JetBrains, and CLI clients are MIT-licensed; Gateway and Cloud backend code are source-available under a separate license. These licenses do not establish the license of every Desktop component. See component licenses.
Kilo details reviewed . Competitor review dates are listed separately.
Open Source
MIT-licensed VS Code, JetBrains, and CLI clients you can inspect and customize.
Compare component licenses separately from hosted service access.
BYOK & Local Models
Bring your own API keys. Run models locally with Ollama or LM Studio.
Blackbox documents a Blackbox key and an OpenAI-key path for Codex multi-agent mode; local inference parity is not established.
Agent Power
Four primary agents - Code, Plan, Debug, Ask - with native sub-agent delegation.
Blackbox also documents multiple coding agents, model selection, and debugging workflows.
Six reasons developers choose Kilo Code over Blackbox AI
Compare model access, client transparency, and workflow fit.
Open Source Transparency
MIT-licensed VS Code, JetBrains, and CLI clients. Hosted backend licenses differ.
Bring Your Own Keys
Use supported provider keys or compatible endpoints. Provider and feature compatibility varies; BYOK does not remove hosted compute costs.
Four Primary Agents
Code, Plan, Debug, and Ask agents with native sub-agent delegation. Blackbox also offers multiple selectable coding-agent integrations.
Pay-as-you-go Pricing
Provider-rate inference with a 5% fee on card credit purchases. Cloud compute and paid team seats are separate; Kilo Pass is optional.
Run Models Locally
Use compatible Ollama or LM Studio models for local inference. Hosted features and connected tools have separate data flows; local execution alone is not local inference.
Enterprise Features
Teams adds billing, analytics, and collaboration controls. Enterprise adds SSO, SCIM, and audit logs.
Trusted by developers at the world's most innovative companies
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
Blackbox CLI, model selection, and VS Code status were checked against official docs. Other entries explicitly identify details that still need verification.
Platform & IDE Support
AI & Model Flexibility
Agent Capabilities
Advanced Features
Teams & Enterprise
Pricing & Access
Platform & IDE Support
| Feature | Blackbox AI | Kilo Code |
|---|---|---|
VS Code support | Integration discontinued; see official notice | |
JetBrains IDEs | Current plugin availability not reverified | |
CLI support | ||
Cloud Agents | Agents API; check deployment requirements | |
Local execution | CLI reads and edits local projects |
AI & Model Flexibility
| Feature | Blackbox AI | Kilo Code |
|---|---|---|
Model choice | Multiple providers and models | 500+ |
BYOK support | Blackbox key in quickstart; OpenAI key documented for Codex multi-agent mode | |
Local models (Ollama, LM Studio) | Not established by the reviewed quickstart | |
Model switching | Choose a model through CLI configuration |
Agent Capabilities
| Feature | Blackbox AI | Kilo Code |
|---|---|---|
Basic chat | ||
Plan agent | Architecture planning documented in CLI | |
Debug agent | Debugging tasks documented in CLI | |
Native sub-agent delegation | Agent-dependent; exact parity not established | |
Multi-agent system | Parallel agents on separate git branches | |
Specialized agents | Multiple selectable coding agents | 4 primary + custom |
Advanced Features
| Feature | Blackbox AI | Kilo Code |
|---|---|---|
Memory bank | Exact equivalent not reverified | |
MCP support | Check selected agent integration | |
Codebase indexing | Project context and file reading documented | |
Custom agents | Check selected agent integration | |
Code repository search |
Teams & Enterprise
| Feature | Blackbox AI | Kilo Code |
|---|---|---|
Centralized billing | Check current organization plan | $15/user/month plus usage |
Usage analytics | Plan-dependent; not reverified | Granular |
Model access controls | Plan-dependent; not reverified | |
SSO/SAML | Check current enterprise terms | Enterprise |
Pricing & Access
| Feature | Blackbox AI | Kilo Code |
|---|---|---|
Extension/plugin | VS Code integration discontinued | Free |
Free tier | Check current offers and limits | Free individual platform; usage separate |
Pay-as-you-go | Model API pricing published | |
Pro subscription required | Depends on product and usage | |
AI usage markup | Unknown | No inference markup; card credit fee applies |
Official Blackbox sources: CLI quickstart, CLI features and parallel agents, VS Code status, and model API pricing.
One platform. Four primary agents with native sub-agent delegation. Choose the workflow that fits.
Kilo Code provides a full team of AI agents working together to build your software.
Agentic Engineering
Glide through your workflow with an agent for every step
Ask agent
A knowledgeable technical assistant focused on answering questions without changing your codebase
Install Kilo Code
Install Kilo Code in VS Code, JetBrains, or use the CLI. One click, no configuration required.
Choose Your Models
Pick from 500+ hosted models, add supported provider keys, or set up compatible local models.
Unlock Advanced Features
Try the Plan agent for planning, Debug for troubleshooting, and native sub-agent delegation for complex projects.
Common Questions About Switching from Blackbox AI
Kilo Code vs Cursor
Compare Kilo Code with Cursor across desktop apps, IDEs, models, BYOK, agents, cloud workflows, pricing, and enterprise controls.
GitHub Copilot vs Kilo Code
Compare GitHub Copilot and Kilo across desktop apps, IDEs, agents, CLI, models, local use, pricing, review, and governance.
Kilo Code vs Cline
Compare Kilo and Cline across Desktop beta apps, IDEs, CLI, cloud sessions, models, BYOK, orchestration, teams, and pricing.
Kilo Code vs Devin Desktop
Compare Kilo with Devin Desktop, formerly Windsurf, across IDEs, local and cloud agents, models, pricing, and teams.
Kilo Code vs Roo Code
Roo Code was discontinued May 15, 2026. Compare its preserved capabilities with maintained Kilo workflows and plan a safe migration.
Kilo Code vs Continue
Continue joined Cursor and is no longer actively maintained. Compare its preserved IDE, CLI, YAML, and local-model capabilities with Kilo.
Kilo Code vs Gemini Code Assist
Compare Kilo with paid Gemini Code Assist across IDEs, models, agents, quotas, Google Cloud integration, data controls, and pricing.
Kilo Code vs OpenAI Codex
Compare Kilo and Codex across desktop apps, IDEs, CLI, cloud, hosted models, local providers, subagents, open source, pricing, and governance.
Kilo Code vs Claude Code
Compare Kilo and Claude Code across Desktop, IDEs, CLI and cloud workflows, including model choice, subscription entitlements, extensibility and usage costs.
Kilo Code vs Roomote
Compare Kilo Desktop beta, IDE and CLI workflows with Roomote, a source-available cloud coding agent offering self-hosting, BYOK and parallel tasks.
Kilo Code vs Tabnine
Compare Kilo with Tabnine across agentic coding, IDE and CLI workflows, model choice and private enterprise deployments. Pricing depends on the offered contract.
Kilo Code vs Augment Code
Compare Kilo with Augment Cosmos, Auggie CLI and IDE integrations: context, custom agents, parallel cloud work, flat-team pricing and the Harness asset-sale agreement.
Kilo Code vs Lovable
Kilo Code plugs into your real IDE and codebase — Lovable is a hosted AI app builder optimized for greenfield prototyping.
Kilo Code vs Replit
Use Kilo inside your existing editor and infrastructure vs Replit's hosted browser IDE.
The Open-Source Google Antigravity Alternative
Compare Google Antigravity with Kilo Code for agentic coding across Desktop beta, VS Code, JetBrains, CLI and cloud, with supported BYOK and local models.
Kilo Code vs Warp
Compare Kilo's IDE integrations, CLI, Desktop beta and Cloud Agents with Warp's terminal-first agent environment. Model access and billing depend on the workflow.
Kilo Code vs Amp Code
Compare Amp apps, orbs, BYOK, and teams with Kilo Desktop, IDEs, CLI, and Cloud
Kilo Code vs Grok Build
Compare terminal agents, provider choice, and automation
Kilo Code vs JetBrains AI and Junie
Compare native JetBrains workflows, model access, and pricing
Kilo Code for JetBrains IDEs
AI coding assistant for IntelliJ, PhpStorm, WebStorm, and Rider
Kilo CLI vs Claude Code
Compare Kilo CLI with Claude Code for terminal-first AI coding
Kilo CLI vs Aider
Compare model choice, workflows, and pricing for command-line agents
Kilo CLI vs Codex CLI
See how Kilo CLI compares with OpenAI Codex CLI
Kilo CLI vs Gemini CLI
Compare Google Gemini CLI with Kilo CLI and 500+ models
Kilo CLI vs OpenCode CLI
Compare Kilo CLI with the upstream OpenCode CLI and subscriptions
Kilo Code vs Google Antigravity
Compare models, pricing, agent workflows, and product surfaces
Kilo Autocomplete vs Cursor Tab
Feature-by-feature comparison for AI code completions
Kilo Autocomplete vs GitHub Copilot
Compare autocomplete quality, pricing, and IDE support
Kilo Autocomplete vs Codeium
Compare Kilo Code autocomplete with Codeium completions
Kilo Code Reviews vs Greptile
Compare AI code review workflows, model choice, and pricing
Graphite vs Kilo Code Reviews
Compare Graphite PR workflows with Kilo Code Reviews
Best AI Coding Assistant
Compare top AI coding assistants and when to choose each one