Continue.dev vs Roo Code

Agent philosophy: Continue.dev is "build your own AI workflow." You write rules, define agent behavior, and shape the tool around your process. Roo Code is "here's your AI team, ready to go." You pick a role (Architect, Coder, Reviewer) and the agent knows what to do. If you like tweaking configs, Continue.dev. If you want to start working immediately, Roo Code.

PR automation: Continue.dev runs source-controlled checks on every PR. You define rules in code, agents enforce them silently, and they only surface issues with suggested fixes. Roo Code handles PR reviews through cloud agents, but the approach is more conversational than rule-based.

Cloud access: Roo Code has cloud agents accessible from Slack, web, and GitHub. Non-engineers can assign tasks to AI without opening an IDE. Continue.dev is IDE-only (or CLI), so everyone interacting with it needs a development environment.

Model support: Both are model-agnostic, but Continue.dev has deeper provider configuration. It supports Claude Sonnet 4.6, GPT-5, Gemini 3.1 Pro, Grok Code Fast 1, and dozens more with fine-grained settings per provider. Roo Code supports the major providers plus local LLMs via MCP, with a simpler setup flow.

IDE support: Continue.dev works in VS Code and JetBrains. Roo Code is VS Code only. If your team uses IntelliJ or WebStorm, that narrows the choice.

Pricing model: Continue.dev charges $3 per million tokens (Starter) or $20/seat for teams. Roo Code charges $20/month for Pro with credit-based cloud agents at $5/hour. Different math depending on your usage patterns.

Continue.dev and Roo Code are both open-source VS Code extensions that let you bring your own AI models. They share the same foundation: install the extension, configure your model provider, start coding with AI. But they've evolved in different directions.

Continue.dev focuses on customizable AI assistants and automated code quality. Its sweet spot is PR automation: you define rules, and Continue's agents check every pull request against your standards. It supports VS Code and JetBrains, works with practically any model provider, and the core extension is completely free.

Roo Code takes a different angle: it gives you a named "AI dev team" with role-specific agents (Architect, Coder, Reviewer, Debugger, Tester). It recently added cloud agents that you can access from Slack, web, or GitHub, meaning non-engineers on your team can delegate tasks to AI without touching an IDE. The extension is also free and open source, with paid cloud tiers for team features.

Both are excellent tools. The right choice depends on whether you want a customizable assistant (Continue.dev) or a pre-built AI team (Roo Code).

Both free tiers are genuinely generous: you get the full extension with bring-your-own-model support. For solo developers using their own API keys, both tools cost essentially nothing beyond your existing model provider bills.

Continue.dev's paid tiers kick in when you want managed hosting: $3 per million tokens on Starter, $20/seat/month on Team. The per-token model means you only pay for what you use, which works well for light-to-moderate usage.

Roo Code's paid tiers are subscription-based: $20/month for Cloud Pro, with cloud agent credits at $5/hour. If you're running autonomous tasks frequently (say, a few hours of cloud agent work per week), the hourly model adds up faster than per-token pricing. But if you mainly use the VS Code extension with your own keys, the $20/month gets you team dashboards and analytics.

For solo developers on a budget, both are free with BYOM. For teams wanting managed services, Continue.dev's per-token pricing is better for light usage. Roo Code's hourly agent pricing is better if you run autonomous tasks frequently and want the cloud collaboration features.

If you want maximum model flexibility and JetBrains support, go with Continue.dev. It has the deepest provider configuration of any open-source coding tool, and it's the only one here that works outside VS Code.

If you want pre-built agent roles and cloud collaboration, go with Roo Code. The named roles (Architect, Coder, Reviewer, Debugger, Tester) reduce setup time, and the cloud agents let non-engineers participate in AI workflows.

If you're a solo dev on a budget, either one works. They're both free with BYOM. Try whichever matches your IDE. If you're on VS Code, install both and see which workflow clicks.

If your team includes non-engineers who need AI access, Roo Code's Slack and web agents are the differentiator. Continue.dev requires everyone to use an IDE or CLI, which isn't practical for project managers or designers who want to delegate coding tasks to AI.