What is Aider? Facts, license and pricing (Oct 2026)
Aider is open-source AI pair programming in your terminal that maps your codebase and connects to almost any LLM, including local models. License: Apache-2.0. Its GitHub repository (Aider-AI/aider) had 49,752 stars on Oct 25, 2026. Facts were read from official pages on Oct 25, 2026 and are Reported, not Tested.
Evidence: Reported. Everything here was read from Aider's own pages and the public GitHub API on 2026-10-25 (America/Chicago). We have not run Aider for this page, so it says nothing about quality or speed.
What Aider is
Aider's site says it lets you pair program with LLMs from the terminal, builds a map of your entire codebase to help on larger projects, and can connect to almost any LLM including local models. The GitHub repository lists the Apache-2.0 license. The newest release tag we saw is v0.86.3.dev (Feb 12, 2026).
We list Aider under AI coding agents.
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Aider key facts
| Feature | Aider |
|---|---|
| Vendor | Aider-AI (open-source project) |
| License | Apache-2.0 |
| Platforms | Terminal (command-line tool); supports most popular programming languages per the site |
| Pricing model | Free and open source |
| Free tier | Free software; you pay your LLM provider |
| GitHub | Aider-AI/aider: 49,752 stars, last push May 22, 2026 (GitHub API, Oct 25, 2026) |
| Latest release we saw | latest on Feb 12, 2026 |
| Evidence | Reported from vendor pages |
Who Aider is for
- Good for: Developers who live in the terminal and want git-friendly AI edits.
- Good for: People who want to pick their own model or run local models.
- Skip if: You want a GUI editor with an integrated agent.
- Skip if: You want a vendor-supported product with an SLA.
How to start with Aider
- Follow the install instructions on aider.chat and connect an API key for your chosen model.
Aider alternatives
- goose: Open-source, extensible AI agent that installs, runs, edits and tests code with the LLM of your choice.
- opencode: Open-source terminal coding agent with a TUI, a desktop app and many model providers.
- Cline: Open-source coding agent as an IDE extension, a CLI and an SDK.
- Claude Code: Anthropic's agentic coding tool for your terminal, IDE and GitHub.
What we did not verify
- Current maintenance pace.
- Quality with current frontier models (not tested).
- Output quality, speed and reliability of Aider: we have not run it for this page.
FAQ
What is Aider?
Aider's site says it lets you pair program with LLMs from the terminal, builds a map of your entire codebase to help on larger projects, and can connect to almost any LLM including local models. The GitHub repository lists the Apache-2.0 license. The newest release tag we saw is v0.86.3.dev (Feb 12, 2026).
What license is Aider under?
Apache-2.0. Read from the project's own pages on Oct 25, 2026.
Is Aider free?
Free software; you pay your LLM provider. Checked Oct 25, 2026; prices change, so confirm on the vendor's page.
Sources
- Aider (fetched 2026-10-25)
- Aider repository (GitHub) (fetched 2026-10-25)
- Aider releases (fetched 2026-10-25)
Related
Page history
- : First published from official pages read on 2026-10-25.
Markdown version for agents: /what-is/aider.md
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