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Kilo vs Zero

Learn how Kilo and Zero differ in their key features, development activity, technology stack and community adoption, so you can decide which of these ai coding agents is best for you.

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Favicon of Kilo

Kilo

AI
Open source AI coding agent with 500+ models, bring-your-own-key support, and specialized modes for writing, debugging, and planning code across IDEs and CLI.
27,314stars+428(+1.6%)

Last 30 days

Screenshot of Kilo
Favicon of Zero

Zero

AI
Open-source AI coding agent for the terminal that works with 25+ model providers, keeps sessions on your disk, and ships as a single Go binary with no telemetry.
1,672stars+45(+2.8%)

Last 30 days

  • Last commit


    16 hours ago
  • Repository age


    4 months
  • Version


    v0.9.0
  • License


    MIT
  • Self-hosted


    Yes
  • Repository


    gitlawb/zero
Screenshot of Zero

Detailed Comparison

Both Kilo and Zero have their unique strengths and serve similar purposes effectively. Consider your specific needs regarding popularity, growth, activity, maturity, licensing and features when making your decision.

Kilo wins
Community & Popularity

Kilo significantly outpaces Zero in community adoption with 27,314 stars compared to 1,672 stars on GitHub. This 16.3x difference suggests Kilo has a much larger and more active community. In terms of developer contributions, Kilo has 3,159 forks, indicating strong developer engagement.

Zero wins
Growth Momentum

Zero is growing faster, adding 45 stars in the last 30 days (+2.8%) against adding 428 stars for Kilo (+1.6%). Zero is the smaller project of the two, so it is closing the gap rather than extending a lead.

Comparable
Development Activity

Both projects show recent activity, with Kilo last updated 9 hours ago and Zero 16 hours ago.

Kilo wins
Project Maturity

Kilo has been in development longer, starting 2 years ago, compared to Zero which began 4 months ago. This 1.2-year head start suggests Kilo may have more mature features and established processes.

Comparable
Licensing

Both projects use the MIT license, providing identical terms for usage and distribution.

Comparable
Use Cases & Features

Both tools serve similar use cases in AI Coding Agents. However, they also have distinct specializations: Kilo also focuses on IDEs & Code Editors.

Zero wins
Hosting & Deployment

Zero provides self-hosting options for complete data control and customization, while Kilo may be primarily cloud-based or require different deployment approaches.