Best for
Best for developers tackling complex, multi-file refactors and architectural changes from the terminal.
- Freelancers
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
AI Code Comparison
Claude Code vs. OpenHands
At a glance
At a glance
Best for
Best for engineering teams that want an open-source coding agent they can self-host and point at their own models.
- Freelancers
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.
Full Comparison
| Criterion | Claude Code | OpenHands |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Included in Claude Pro, $20 / month Max from $100 per month. Also available through the Anthropic API, billed per use. | Free, open source (MIT) The hosted Individual plan is free with up to 10 conversations per day; models are billed through your own key or the OpenHands provider at cost. Enterprise is priced on request. |
| Free trial | Through a Claude subscription | Free and open source; hosted Individual plan free with up to 10 conversations per day |
| Commercial use | Yes | Yes |
| Output | Terminal agent with project-level planning | Autonomous agents that plan, edit, run and test code |
| API | Yes, the Anthropic API | Yes, REST and WebSocket APIs through the Agent Server |
| Hosting | Not stated | Self-hosted locally, in Docker or Kubernetes, or the managed OpenHands Cloud |
| Where it runs | Terminal, pairs with any editor | Agent Canvas web interface, a terminal CLI, a Python, TypeScript and REST SDK, self-hosted Agent and Sandbox servers, or the managed OpenHands Cloud |
| Inline completions | No, it works by instruction rather than by autocomplete: the CLI and the VS Code and JetBrains extensions offer plan review, inline diffs and @-mentions, not tab completions as you type | No, an agent platform rather than an inline autocomplete tool |
| Agent mode | Yes, terminal-native agent with a project-level planning loop, deep multi-file context and MCP support | Yes, that is the product: agents that plan, edit, run and test code, with automations that decompose GitHub issues into tasks |
| Model choice | Yes, Opus, Sonnet, Haiku and Fable models, switched with the /model command, the --model flag, an environment variable or a settings file, including extended 1M-token context variants | Model-agnostic through LiteLLM, with provider guides for OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, AWS Bedrock, Azure and OpenRouter, plus local open-weight models |
| Data control | Team, Enterprise and API usage is not used to train models and is retained for 30 days, with zero data retention available to qualified Enterprise accounts; on Free, Pro and Max the account's own training setting applies. It also runs against Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud's Agent Platform and Microsoft Foundry, where telemetry and feedback are off by default | Runs on your own machine or in your own VPC when self-hosted; Enterprise adds SAML and SSO, multi-user RBAC and auditability |
| Ecosystem fit | Terminal, VS Code and JetBrains extensions, a desktop app, the web and mobile, plus GitHub Actions, GitLab CI/CD, Slack and Chrome; MCP servers connect external tools and the Agent SDK builds custom agents on the same engine | Git integrations plus Jira and Slack, and interoperability with agents that speak the Agent Client Protocol |
| Deployment | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based | more entries Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based, On-premise |
| Support | Not stated | Community forum |
| Onboarding | Documentation and knowledge base | Documentation and knowledge base |
| Company size | Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise | Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise |
| Integrations | more entries VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI/CD, Slack, Chrome, Model Context Protocol servers, Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud's Agent Platform, Microsoft Foundry | GitHub, Slack, Jira, Linear |
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The short version
Key Differences
- Starting price Claude Code Included in Claude Pro, $20 / month OpenHands Free, open source (MIT)
- Free trial Claude Code Through a Claude subscription OpenHands Free and open source; hosted Individual plan free with up to 10 conversations per day
- Deployment Claude Code Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based OpenHands Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based, On-premise
- Output Claude Code Terminal agent with project-level planning OpenHands Autonomous agents that plan, edit, run and test code
- API Claude Code Yes, the Anthropic API OpenHands Yes, REST and WebSocket APIs through the Agent Server
Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.
The trade-offs
Strengths and Limitations
Claude Code
Strengths
- Deepest reasoning for complex multi-file and architectural tasks
- Project-level planning
- Editor-agnostic
Limitations
- Terminal-first, not a full IDE interface
- Usage limits on Pro, and cost climbs on Max or heavy API use
OpenHands
Strengths
- Open source under MIT, so it can be self-hosted, audited and modified
- Model-agnostic through LiteLLM, including local open-weight models
- One agent available as a web interface, a CLI, an SDK and a hosted cloud service
Limitations
- No inline code completion; it is an agent platform, not an editor assistant
- Self-hosting means supplying and paying for your own model access
- The free hosted tier is capped at 10 conversations per day
Plans
Pricing
Claude Code
- Claude Pro $20 Per month, includes Claude Code.
- Claude Max From $100 Per month.
- Anthropic API Pay per use Amount depends on usage.
OpenHands
- Open source $0 Self-hosted under MIT, model-agnostic, with community support. You bring your own model access.
- Individual $0 Hosted cloud access with up to 10 conversations per day, API support and Jira and Slack integrations. Bring your own key, or use the OpenHands provider at cost.
- Enterprise Not stated Priced on request. SaaS or self-hosted VPC, SAML and SSO, unlimited concurrent conversations per user, multi-user RBAC and priority support.
What users say
Review Scores · opens after launch
Claude Code
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.
OpenHands
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.
Where this comes from
Where this comes from
Claude Code https://www.anthropic.com/claude-code · no check date recorded yet
OpenHands https://www.openhands.dev · no check date recorded yet
This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.