Claude Code vs OpenCode: Cost, Models and Privacy Compared

OpenCode is a free, open source coding agent that works with almost any model provider, while Claude Code is Anthropic's own agent and comes with a Claude subscription. If you want Claude models at a flat monthly price, Claude Code is the simpler deal. If you want to pick your own model, run local models or avoid depending on one vendor, OpenCode is the better fit.

What each one is

The agents look alike in daily use: both read your project, plan, edit files, run commands and let you undo. The real differences are which models you can use, how you pay for them and where your prompts end up.

Models: one family or almost any

Claude Code runs Claude models only, with Opus 5.5 as the default and Sonnet 5.5, Haiku 5.5 and Fable 5.1 a /model command away.

OpenCode connects to more than 75 providers through Models.dev, from Anthropic, OpenAI and Google to OpenRouter and local runners like Ollama and LM Studio. You switch with /connect and /models.

That rule is the single biggest cost difference between the two tools. A Claude subscription covers Claude Code; it doesn't cover Claude inside OpenCode.

Cost: what you actually pay

Those subscriptions buy different things. Claude plans give you Claude models inside Claude Code. OpenCode Go gives you a curated list of mostly open source models, with published request estimates per model, for use in OpenCode or any other agent.

Here is every route side by side:

If you pick the API-key route for Claude models, these are the list prices:

Coding agents read your files again and again, so metered Claude usage adds up quickly on long sessions. If you'd use Claude models most working days, compare your expected token bill with the $20 Pro plan before you choose the API route. Our Claude Code pricing guide covers every plan.

Privacy: where your code goes

On Claude's consumer plans, you choose whether your chats and coding sessions help train models, under Settings, then Privacy. If you allow it, Anthropic keeps that data in de-identified form for up to five years; Team and Enterprise plans don't train on your content by default.

Before you point either agent at client or company code, run through this:

Setup effort

Both install in a minute; OpenCode asks one extra decision up front, which provider to use. On Mac or Linux, OpenCode 2 installs with:

$ curl -fsSL https://opencode.ai/v2/install | bash
$ 

Homebrew (brew install anomalyco/tap/opencode-v2) and npm (npm install -g @opencode/cli) work too, per the OpenCode docs. On Windows, package managers aren't supported for version 2, so download the standalone Windows binary or the desktop app from the same page.

For Claude Code, follow our install guide. Then the first session compares like this:

If you also use Codex or Gemini, our Codex comparison and Gemini CLI comparison cover those agents the same way.

Honest verdict

What to do next

Pick one small project and decide what matters most to you: model choice, a fixed price, or privacy. If it's model choice or privacy, install OpenCode and connect a provider or a local model.

If it's a fixed price and Claude's models, start Claude Code on Pro instead. Our Claude Code course covers setup, prompting and real projects if you go that way.