Try another model on a real task in Reason
Open Reason on the web or the Mac app
Sign in at reasonmachines.com, or download the Reason Mac app for macOS from reasonmachines.com/download and sign in there. Both open the same Sessions.
Connect the plans you already pay for
In Settings › Models, choose Sign in with ChatGPT to run OpenAI models on your ChatGPT Plus, Pro or Business plan, and add any other subscriptions or API keys you use. Reason runs on your own accounts first; a Reason plan's credits cover the rest.
Give it a task you know well
Ask Reason for a task you already know the answer to, such as a review of your current branch, and compare the answer with Claude Code's own. Switch the model in the composer to compare providers on the same task.
Alternatives at a glance
| Type | Best for | Made by | Open source | Models | Free option | Paid | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Codex | Terminal CLI, plus IDE extension, desktop app and web | ChatGPT subscribers; the cheapest entry, with ChatGPT Free and Go | OpenAI | CLI under Apache-2.0 | OpenAI models; open models through codex --oss with Ollama | ChatGPT Free and Go include Codex: GPT-6 Luna in the desktop app, subject to rollout | ChatGPT Plus $20 a month, Pro from $100 |
| opencode | Terminal CLI, plus desktop app and IDE extension | Free and open source with almost any provider or a local model | The opencode project | MIT | 75+ providers and local models, Ollama included; ChatGPT Plus, GitHub Copilot and GitLab Duo subscriptions work | The tool is free; bring your own provider or a local model | Optional OpenCode Go from $10 a month |
| Aider | Terminal CLI | Git-aware pair programming with the model of your choice | Aider-AI | Apache-2.0 | Almost any LLM, local models included (for example through Ollama) | The tool is free; you pay your model provider, or nothing with a local model | None; only your model provider's charges |
| Cursor | IDE or editor, plus Cursor CLI | An AI editor with cloud agents and code review | Cursor | No | Grok models on Plus; third-party models at API list price on Premium and higher | Free plan with limited agent and chat requests | Plus $8 a month (Grok models only), Premium $30, Super $100, Ultra $200 |
| GitHub Copilot | IDE extension, plus Copilot CLI and the Copilot app | Teams already on GitHub; Copilot in the cloud on paid plans | GitHub | Not stated | Claude, GPT and Gemini models; Copilot Free uses auto model selection only | Copilot Free with an allowance of AI credits and 2,000 completions a month | Pro $10 a month, with higher tiers up to Max at $100 |
| Google Antigravity | IDE or editor, plus Antigravity CLI and the Antigravity app | A free Google plan with Gemini models | Not stated | Gemini models; third-party models on Google AI Ultra | $0 individual plan with basic weekly rate limits | Google AI Pro $20 a month; Ultra $100 or $200 a month | |
| Gemini CLI | Terminal CLI | Teams on Gemini Code Assist or paid Gemini API keys | Apache-2.0 | Gemini | None for individuals since June 18, 2026: free and Google AI Pro/Ultra access moved to Antigravity CLI | Gemini Code Assist Standard and Enterprise, or paid Gemini API keys | |
| Reason | Web and Mac app | Not choosing: one agent across the model accounts you connect, in web and Mac apps | Reason Machines | No | Reason's models, plus ChatGPT, Copilot and other subscriptions or API keys you connect | None; the agent needs a plan | Pro $50 a month, Max $200 a month |
| Local models via Ollama | Local model runtime used by the tools above | Running open models on your own hardware | Ollama | Depends on the model | Open models on your own hardware, or Ollama's cloud models | Free on your own hardware | Optional: Ollama's cloud models |
Prices are the vendors' US list prices and change often; follow the links to check them. Local models need a machine that can run them with a long context window; Ollama recommends 64k tokens or more for coding agents.
- OpenAI: Codex pricing and usage limits
- openai/codex on GitHub (Apache-2.0)
- opencode docs: providers
- anomalyco/opencode on GitHub (MIT)
- opencode docs: OpenCode Go
- Aider-AI/aider on GitHub (Apache-2.0)
- Aider docs: connecting to LLMs
- Cursor: pricing
- GitHub Docs: Copilot plans
- Google Antigravity: pricing
- Google Antigravity blog: changes to Antigravity plans
- google-gemini/gemini-cli on GitHub
- Reason docs: plans
- Ollama docs: Codex
Terminal vs IDE Claude Code alternatives
Claude Code itself runs in your terminal, IDE extensions, a desktop app and the web. Pick a terminal agent if you want to keep that workflow, or an AI editor or IDE extension if you'd rather see every change in your editor.
- Terminal CLI: Codex CLI, OpenAI's open-source (Apache-2.0) agent that runs locally and works with your ChatGPT plan or an API key.
- Terminal CLI: opencode, free and MIT-licensed, with 75+ providers and local models; it also comes as a desktop app and IDE extension.
- Terminal CLI: Aider, free and Apache-2.0, AI pair programming in your terminal that commits each change to git, with almost any LLM.
- Terminal CLI: Antigravity CLI, Google's terminal surface for Antigravity agents, included on every Antigravity plan, the $0 individual plan too.
- Terminal CLI: Gemini CLI, Google's open-source terminal agent, now for Gemini Code Assist Standard and Enterprise, Code Assist for GitHub and paid API keys; individuals moved to Antigravity CLI.
- IDE or editor: Cursor, an AI editor with agents, cloud agents and code review, plus a Cursor CLI; free plan with limited requests.
- IDE extension: GitHub Copilot, in Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs, Vim/Neovim and other editors, with Copilot CLI and the Copilot app on every plan, Copilot Free included.
- OpenAI: Codex CLI
- opencode docs: introduction and install
- Aider-AI/aider on GitHub (Apache-2.0)
- Google Antigravity: Antigravity CLI
- Google Antigravity docs: plans and rate limits
- google-gemini/gemini-cli on GitHub
- Cursor docs
- GitHub Docs: About GitHub Copilot
- GitHub Docs: GitHub Copilot CLI
- GitHub Docs: Copilot plans
Switching because of Claude's usage limits?
If you're switching because Claude Code keeps hitting its five-hour or weekly limit rather than for a missing feature, you may not need to leave Claude Code: see how its usage limit works and what to do when you reach it, and how to keep a task going on another account.
Hit your limit? Reason keeps going on your other connected accounts or Reason credits.
Free Claude Code alternatives
Codex on ChatGPT Free: OpenAI includes Codex in the Free plan with GPT-6 Luna in the desktop app, subject to rollout; Codex Cloud is not included.
Google Antigravity's individual plan is $0 a month with basic weekly rate limits. Gemini CLI is no longer the free route: Google moved free individual access to Antigravity CLI on June 18, 2026.
opencode with a local model: opencode is free and MIT-licensed, and connects to Ollama on your computer. Codex can do the same with codex --oss. You pay only for your hardware, and quality depends on the model you can run.
You can't use a Claude Pro or Max subscription in opencode or other third-party tools: Anthropic prohibits it, and opencode removed those plugins in version 1.3.0.
You don't have to choose
Keep Claude Code for what it does best, and use Reason's web or Mac app for second opinions, parallel Sessions, or a task when Claude Code is out of usage. Reason runs on the model accounts you connect, such as your ChatGPT plan or Copilot subscription, so you pick the model per task.
Open-source and local-LLM alternatives in 2026
Free and open source: opencode (MIT), Aider (Apache-2.0), Cline (Apache-2.0) and OpenHands (MIT). All four work with local models: opencode and Cline through Ollama, Aider with almost any LLM including local ones, and OpenHands with the agent and model you choose. A local model costs nothing per token, but quality depends on the model your hardware can run.
Cheaper than Claude Code: Codex is included in ChatGPT Free and Go, Cursor has a free plan and Plus at $8 a month, GitHub Copilot Pro is $10 a month, and Google Antigravity has a $0 individual plan.
Reason: all your AI subscriptions in one coding agent
Use the subscriptions you already pay for (ChatGPT Plus/Pro/Business, Claude Pro/Max, SuperGrok or X Premium+, GitHub Copilot) or your own API keys in one coding agent. Hit your limit? Reason keeps going on your other connected accounts or Reason credits.
Reason is an always-on teammate that is also a coding agent: its own cloud computer per Session, memory across Sessions, Loops and Slack, with the model picked per task. Work that runs on your own subscription or API key is billed by that provider and keeps its limits; Reason's plans are Pro at $50 and Max at $200 a month, with no free plan, and it isn't open source.
Questions
Is there something better than the Claude code?
Not for everyone, but there are strong alternatives for different needs: Codex for ChatGPT subscribers, Cursor for an AI editor, GitHub Copilot if you already work on GitHub, and opencode or Aider for free, open-source tools that run almost any model. Reason lets you use several providers' models on the accounts you connect, so you don't have to pick one.
What is the best terminal alternative to Claude Code?
It depends on what you already pay for: Codex CLI if you have a ChatGPT plan, opencode or Aider if you want free, open-source tools that work with almost any model or a local one, and Antigravity CLI if you want Google's Gemini models on a free or Google AI plan. Gemini CLI is now for Gemini Code Assist organizations and paid API keys, not individuals.
What is the best IDE alternative to Claude Code?
Cursor if you want an AI editor of its own, with agents, cloud agents and code review, and GitHub Copilot if you want to keep your current IDE: it's an extension for Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs, Vim/Neovim and other editors. Both have free plans with limited usage.
Is there a free AI like Claude code?
Yes. opencode (MIT) and Aider (Apache-2.0) are free and open source, costing nothing beyond your model provider or a local model through Ollama; Codex is included in ChatGPT Free, and Cursor, GitHub Copilot and Google Antigravity have free plans with limited usage.
Is Claude Code still the best for coding?
On benchmarks it still leads Codex: Artificial Analysis's Coding Agent Index v2.0 scores Claude Code on Opus 5.5 at 62 and Codex on GPT-6 Astra at 55, though Codex costs less per task. Whether it's best for you depends on price, Claude's usage limits and which models you want to use.
Is Gemini CLI still free?
Not for individuals. Gemini CLI's README says free individual access and Google AI Pro and Ultra moved to Antigravity CLI on June 18, 2026; Gemini CLI now serves Code Assist licenses and paid API keys.
Can I use my Claude subscription in opencode?
No. Anthropic doesn't permit third-party tools to route requests through Free, Pro, Max or Ultra plan credentials, and opencode stopped bundling those plugins in 1.3.0. opencode works with an Anthropic API key, other providers or local models.
Is Reason free?
No. Reason's coding agent needs a plan: Pro is $50 a month and Max $200 a month. Models you run on your own connected accounts count against those accounts.