Continue
Windmill
| Feature | Continue | Windmill |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free only | Free / from $10/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.3 / 5 | 4.4 / 5 |
| Best For | developers, open-source-advocates, privacy-focused-devs, self-hosters | developers, devops-teams, internal-tools, data-pipelines |
| Founded | 2023 | 2022 |
| Autocomplete | ✓ | ✗ |
| Chat | ✓ | ✗ |
| Inline Editing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Multi Model Support | ✓ | ✗ |
| Context Providers | ✓ | ✗ |
| Custom Commands | ✓ | ✗ |
| Workflow Editor | ✗ | ✓ |
| Script To Ui | ✗ | ✓ |
| Scheduling | ✗ | ✓ |
| Approval Flows | ✗ | ✓ |
| Multi Language | ✗ | ✓ |
| Self Hostable | ✗ | ✓ |
| Audit Logs | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ 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
✓ Windmill Pros
- Open-source and self-hostable
- Supports Python, TypeScript, Go, Bash, SQL natively
- Auto-generates UI from script parameters
- Excellent scheduling and workflow orchestration
✗ Windmill Cons
- Smaller community than Zapier/n8n
- Self-hosting requires infrastructure knowledge
- Less polished documentation for beginners
The Verdict
Continue is built for developers and open source advocates, with a focus on autocomplete and chat. Windmill targets developers and devops teams and leads with workflow-editor and script-to-ui.
Continue uses custom enterprise pricing, while Windmill starts at $10/mo — a tangible advantage for teams with a fixed budget.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Feature-wise, Windmill offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Continue takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
Both tools are a solid fit for developers — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
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.