#20 of 21 · 7.6/10 editorialIDE ExtensionOpen Source50% community win rate

Continue Review 2026: Ratings, Pros & Cons, Alternatives

Name: Continue Review 2026
Item: Continue
Rating: 7.6
Author: Standard Compute

Continue is an open-source (Apache 2.0) AI coding assistant for VS Code and JetBrains IDEs, plus a CLI. It offers chat, autocomplete, and inline editing with full control over which models you use, including local models, cloud APIs, and custom context providers. It is no longer developed: the Continue team joined Cursor, the GitHub repo is read-only, and the last release (2.1.0 for VS Code) shipped in June 2026. The extension still installs and works, but expect no fixes for new models or editor versions.

Visit Continue →Pricing: Free (BYO API key), no longer maintainedUpdated 2026-10-16

What it costs to run Continue

4 options compared, with prices and limits.

Best API for Continue →See the Continue integration →

How Continue Scores

Output Quality

7.5/1055% votes

Autonomy

6.5/1039% votes

Reliability

6.5/10

Speed

7.5/10

Value

9.5/10

Ease of Use

8.0/1045% votes

Bars show editorial scores from hands-on testing. Percentages showContinue's live community win rate in head-to-head votes, shown once a category has 10 or more votes.

Continue Pros, Cons, and Known Issues

Pros

Open source and works in both VS Code and JetBrains IDEs
Total model freedom: cloud APIs, local models, or any mix
Custom context providers and rules tailor it to your codebase
Free, no subscription, and the extension still installs and runs

Cons

No longer maintained: the team joined Cursor and the repo has been read-only since mid-2026, so no fixes for new models or editors
Configuration-heavy: the power comes with real setup time
Out-of-the-box autocomplete is weaker than Copilot or Cursor
Agent features are younger than the chat/edit core

Known issues users report

Config format has changed across major versions, so upgrading sometimes means migrating settings
Local-model setups need tuning to get acceptable autocomplete latency
The project's own README now recommends the Continue CLI over the JetBrains plugin

Key Features

VS Code & JetBrains support

Customizable models

Chat & autocomplete

Custom context providers

Local model support

Slash commands

Runs on: VS Code · JetBrains IDEs (macOS, Linux, Windows)|Best for: Developers who want full control over their AI coding assistant

Continue runs on Standard Compute

Standard Compute

Current frontier models Claude Fable 5.1 · GPT-6 Astra

More intelligence
per dollar.

Each step goes to the cheapest model that can do it, on providers we vet for price, uptime and speed, with automatic fallback when one fails.

Compliance: Opt-in rules keep a company, team or key on European or US providers
Privacy: We don’t train on your prompts or store them

Get your API key Best API for Continue

Fixed monthly plans from $19 · cancel anytime · Continue setup →

7-day fair refund Free trial, no card Billing by Stripe3,800+ agent users

Continue: Frequently Asked Questions

Is Continue free?

Yes. Continue is open source and free, and you connect your own models: a cloud API key, a local model via Ollama, or a flat-price plan via Standard Compute. Know before you adopt it that the project is no longer maintained: the team joined Cursor and the repo has been read-only since mid-2026.

What is Continue best at?

Continue is best for developers who want full control: choose the model for each task, add custom context providers (docs, databases, internal APIs), and keep everything open source. It's the most customizable mainstream coding assistant.

Continue vs Copilot: why switch?

Today, probably not. Continue offered model choice (including local models for privacy), custom context and zero subscription, but it is no longer maintained. If you want those qualities in a maintained tool, look at Cline or Kilo Code; stay on Copilot if you want the best out-of-the-box autocomplete with zero configuration.