Continue is built for model freedom, including local models via Ollama, so picks span cloud quality and private, low-cost open weights. Claude Sonnet 4.6 is the best hosted driver; for a true $0 or privacy-first setup, open models like Qwen3 235B, DeepSeek V3.2, Codestral, and Llama 4 Maverick run well locally or cheaply hosted.
The best hosted quality for Continue's chat, autocomplete, and edits.
A capable open-weight MoE you can self-host — efficient enough for local Continue setups.
Dependable open-weight quality at very low cost — a staple Continue default.
Fast, cheap code completions — a natural fit for Continue's inline autocomplete.
Broad local-runtime support and a 1M context for private, low-cost setups.
A cheap, fast hosted option when you don't want to run anything locally.
The model picks the moves; the agent runs the loop, the tools, and the guardrails. Once you've chosen a model, see which agent gets the most out of it.