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Kaku vs OpenCode (2026): Which Vibe Coding App Is Better?

Both are popular terminal coding agents. Here is how Kaku and OpenCode stack up on price, strengths and weaknesses, and which one we would pick.

Kaku

Zero-config macOS terminal built on WezTerm for running AI coding CLIs

7.5 /10

Pricing: Free

Pros

  • Popular and active: ~6k GitHub stars, 1,660+ commits, MIT licensed
  • Ships with sensible zero-config defaults, fonts, themes and shell integration tuned for running AI coding CLIs
  • Built-in glue for a real workflow: pane/tab management plus Lazygit and Yazi integration alongside AI chat/command-suggestion shortcuts

Cons

  • macOS only
  • It's a terminal host, not an agent itself — you still bring your own AI CLI (Claude Code, Gemini, Copilot, Kimi Code) and API keys
Visit Kaku ↗

OpenCode

Open-source terminal coding agent that works with any model provider

8.4 /10

Pricing: Open source

Pros

  • Free and open source; any model provider
  • Claude Code-style extensibility
  • Fast, well-designed terminal UI

Cons

  • You pay the model provider directly; costs vary with usage
  • Smaller community of ready-made extensions
Visit OpenCode ↗

Kaku vs OpenCode at a glance

KakuOpenCode
Editor score7.5 / 108.4 / 10
Pricing modelFreeOpen source
Starting priceFreeFree
Reader upvotes01
Best forterminal, macos, weztermterminal, open source, byok
Agent Skills supportNoYes
Subagents supportNoYes
MCP supportNoYes
AGENTS.md supportNoYes
Plugins supportNoYes
Hooks supportNoNo
Rules supportNoNo
Agent skills in this directory053
Subagents & agents in this directory326
MCP servers in this directory073

Our pick

OpenCode edges it with a score of 8.4 versus 7.5. OpenCode is the better fit if you value: free and open source; any model provider, claude code-style extensibility. Choose Kaku instead if you need: popular and active: ~6k github stars, 1,660+ commits, mit licensed, ships with sensible zero-config defaults, fonts, themes and shell integration tuned for running ai coding clis.

Other terminal coding agents to consider

Full ranking →

OpenAI Codex Freemium

OpenAI's coding agent for the terminal, IDE and cloud, included with ChatGPT plans

★ 128k · +1.2k this week

9.1 Visit ↗

Amp Freemium

Frontier coding agent for the terminal and editor, from the makers of Sourcegraph

Free plan, paid from $20/mo

8.2 Visit ↗

Orca Open source

An ADE for running fleets of coding agents in parallel worktrees, from desktop or mobile

★ 84k · +5.3k this week

8.0 Visit ↗