Yes, Continue offers a free tier with Free and open-source — bring your own API key or use local models. Paid plans start at $20/mo.

What are the limitations of Continue?

Requires configuration — not plug-and-play like Copilot. Quality depends heavily on which LLM you connect. Smaller community than Copilot or Cline. Team features are newer and less mature.

Continue

Open-source AI code assistant for any IDE

Most customizable

Developers who want a fully customizable, open-source AI assistant that works in any IDE

Good Fit If You're...

Developer who wants an open-source Copilot alternative

Continue gives you tab autocomplete, chat, and inline editing — the same feature set as Copilot — but fully open-source. Use any model, keep full control.

Team that needs to run AI models on-premise

Continue works with local models via Ollama. If your company can't send code to external servers, you can run everything locally and still get AI assistance.

JetBrains user who wants model flexibility

Most open-source AI tools only work in VS Code. Continue supports JetBrains IDEs too — IntelliJ, PyCharm, WebStorm — with the same BYOK flexibility.

Developer who likes to tinker and customize their tools

Continue's configuration system lets you fine-tune prompts, set up custom slash commands, and create context providers. If you enjoy optimizing your workflow, Continue gives you the knobs to turn.