Open source agent
An agent whose source code is publicly licensed (MIT, Apache, AGPL) — you can self-host, fork, and audit.
Open-source agents in 2026 (Cline, Codex CLI, Fixie) are real production tools, not the consolation prize they used to be. The licensing is the value: you control where the code goes, what it logs, and how it upgrades.
The cost isn't the agent — it's the model API tokens you bring. Daily autonomous coding with an OSS agent typically runs $40–150/month in token spend before factoring time-to-maintain.
For regulated industries (healthcare, finance, defense), open source is often the only viable choice — it can run entirely on infrastructure you control.
Cline, Codex CLI, Sweep, and Fixie are all open-source. Combined with your own model key they make a complete production stack with no per-seat licensing.
See open-source agentsFrequently asked
Are open-source agents cheaper than closed ones?+
Only at scale. For individual use, closed agents at $20–50/mo usually beat the token cost of self-hosting. The crossover is around 3–5 users on the same stack.