Continue
Polar
| Feature | Continue | Polar |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free only | Free only |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.3 / 5 | 4.3 / 5 |
| Best For | developers, open-source-advocates, privacy-focused-devs, self-hosters | open-source-developers, indie-hackers, creators, saas-founders |
| Founded | 2023 | 2023 |
| Autocomplete | ✓ | ✗ |
| Chat | ✓ | ✗ |
| Inline Editing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Multi Model Support | ✓ | ✗ |
| Context Providers | ✓ | ✗ |
| Custom Commands | ✓ | ✗ |
| Subscriptions | ✗ | ✓ |
| One Time Payments | ✗ | ✓ |
| Digital Products | ✗ | ✓ |
| Github Sponsors | ✗ | ✓ |
| Api | ✗ | ✓ |
| Embeddable Checkout | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Continue Pros
- Fully open-source (Apache 2.0)
- Works with any LLM provider
- VS Code and JetBrains support
- Local model support
✗ Continue Cons
- Requires self-configuration of LLM
- Less polished than Copilot
- Setup can be complex for beginners
✓ Polar Pros
- Built for developers and open-source
- GitHub integration for sponsors
- Handles international tax/VAT
- Beautiful checkout and billing portal
✗ Polar Cons
- Takes a percentage of revenue
- Limited to digital products
- Relatively new platform
The Verdict
Continue is built for developers and open source advocates, with a focus on autocomplete and chat. Polar targets open source developers and indie hackers and leads with subscriptions and one-time-payments.
Both tools use custom enterprise pricing — you'll need to contact sales for a quote, which makes direct cost comparison difficult.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.