Greptile
Swell
| Feature | Greptile | Swell |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $100/mo | Free / from $299/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.2 / 5 | 4.3 / 5 |
| Best For | developer-tool-builders, engineering-teams, code-review, onboarding-new-developers | developers, subscription-businesses, custom-ecommerce, b2b-commerce |
| Founded | 2023 | 2016 |
| Codebase Indexing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Natural Language Queries | ✓ | ✗ |
| Code Review | ✓ | ✗ |
| Documentation Generation | ✓ | ✗ |
| Api Access | ✓ | ✗ |
| Multi Repo | ✓ | ✗ |
| Context Retrieval | ✓ | ✗ |
| Headless Api | ✗ | ✓ |
| Subscriptions | ✗ | ✓ |
| Multi Currency | ✗ | ✓ |
| Custom Models | ✗ | ✓ |
| Webhooks | ✗ | ✓ |
| Admin Dashboard | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Greptile Pros
- Deep semantic understanding of entire repositories
- API-first for embedding in your own tools
- Supports private repos across GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket
- Answers questions about code architecture and logic
✗ Greptile Cons
- API-only (no standalone consumer product)
- Indexing time for large repos can be slow
- Limited language/framework support for newest tech
✓ Swell Pros
- Extremely flexible API
- Built-in subscription support
- Good for unique business models
- Developer-friendly
✗ Swell Cons
- Requires development resources
- Expensive for small stores
- Smaller ecosystem
The Verdict
Greptile is built for developer tool builders and engineering teams, with a focus on codebase-indexing and natural-language-queries. Swell targets developers and subscription businesses and leads with headless-api and subscriptions.
On pricing, Greptile is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $100/mo compared to $299/mo for Swell. That $199/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Feature-wise, Greptile offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Swell takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
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.