Continue AI Code Assistant

🚀 Quick Verdict

Continue is the ultimate choice for technical founders who hate being locked into a single AI provider. We were surprised by how easily it swaps between cloud models for complex logic and local models for free autocomplete. It’s a tool for those who prefer building their own workflow over a polished, out-of-the-box experience.

Overall Score	8.8/10
Best For	Privacy-conscious developers and technical founders
Tested Plan	Free Open Source Plan
Testing Period	21 days
Biggest Strength	Model and provider flexibility
Biggest Weakness	Manual configuration complexity
Best Alternative	Cursor

🤔 What Is Continue?

Continue is an open-source extension for VS Code and JetBrains that brings AI directly into your editor. Unlike GitHub Copilot, it doesn’t force you to use one specific model; instead, it acts as a bridge between your code and any LLM you choose, including local models like DeepSeek or Llama.

It was built to give developers more control over their context and prompts. Founders use it to automate repetitive tasks like writing unit tests, refactoring old code, or even running automated checks on pull requests via GitHub actions.

⚙️ How We Tested Continue

We installed the VS Code extension on a Mac Studio and tested it for $0 (using local Ollama models) and then with $10 of DeepSeek API credits. Our testing focused on 3 founder-level tasks: generating a draft changelog from a week of git commits, performing a security review on a new feature branch, and refactoring a messy TypeScript module into smaller components.

✨ Key Features (What Actually Stood Out)

The primary advantage is how it handles different models for different tasks within your coding environment.

• Model Context Protocol (MCP) — This allows the assistant to pull live data from external sources like your database or official documentation pages during a chat.
• Custom Agents — We created a security-review agent that automatically flag issues in our PRs based on a simple markdown prompt.
• Tab Autocomplete — It provides inline suggestions that felt nearly as fast as Copilot when we used a small, local model like StarCoder2.
• Codebase Indexing — By indexing our local files, it could answer questions about how different parts of our app connect without us pasting code.
• Edit Mode — You can highlight a block of code and hit a shortcut to describe changes, which then appear as a diff you can accept or reject.

💰 Continue Pricing — Is It Worth It?

Continue is free and open-source, which makes it an incredible value for anyone trying to increase their productivity without a monthly subscription. The only “cost” is your time for setup and any API fees if you choose to use cloud models like Claude or GPT-4 instead of local ones.

Plan	Price	Best For	Watch Out For
Open Source	$0	Individual founders	Manual config required
Continue Hub	Varies	Teams sharing agents	Still in early stages

Our pick: Open Source — The free extension gives you everything you need to run a high-end AI setup using local models or cheap API keys.

🧪 What We Found During Testing

The setup was the biggest hurdle. Unlike paid tools where you just log in, we had to edit a JSON file to connect our DeepSeek API key and specify which model should handle autocomplete versus chat. However, once configured, the ability to use “deepseek-reasoner” for complex architecture questions while using a cheaper model for simple edits saved us significant money.

A founder in our community who runs a SaaS agency told us they switched to Continue specifically to keep client code from being used for model training by big tech providers.

⚠️ Limitations We Found

• Configuration Friction — As of early 2025, you still have to manually edit config files for some advanced model setups which might scare off non-technical users.
• Autocomplete Performance — While good, the latency when using local models depends heavily on your hardware and isn’t always as snappy as a dedicated cloud service.
• UI Polish — The interface is functional but lacks some of the slicker “integrated” feel found in standalone AI editors.

⚔️ Continue vs Competitors

Continue competes directly with major players by offering a modular approach instead of a locked ecosystem.

Competitor	Pick it instead of Continue if…
Cursor	You want the best possible user experience and don’t mind a $20 monthly fee.
GitHub Copilot	You want a set-it-and-forget-it tool that integrates with the GitHub ecosystem effortlessly.

👍 Pros & Cons

Run any AI model local or cloud

Complete data privacy and security

No monthly subscription fees

Deep customization of AI behavior

✅ Pros	❌ Cons
Steeper learning curve for setup
Requires manual model management
Occasional bugs in beta features
Heavy resource use for local LLMs

🎯 Who Should Use Continue (And Who Shouldn’t)

✅ Use it if you:

• Are a technical founder who needs to keep code strictly on local hardware.
• Want to use specialized models like DeepSeek Coder without paying for extra subscriptions.
• Need to customize exactly how your AI assistant interacts with your specific codebase.

❌ Skip it if you:

• Want a plug-and-play experience without touching configuration files — try Cursor instead.
• Don’t have a modern machine capable of running local models or a budget for API keys.
• Prefer a chat-first experience over a code-editor-first experience.

🔐 Data & Privacy

Continue is one of the few tools that puts the user in total control. Because you can run everything locally via Ollama, your code never has to leave your machine. If you use cloud providers, their data handling depends on those specific providers’ policies, so check your API settings carefully.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Is Continue really free?
Yes, the extension is open-source. You only pay if you connect it to paid cloud APIs like OpenAI or Anthropic.

Does Continue work with VS Code?
Yes, it is primarily used as a VS Code extension but also supports JetBrains IDEs.

Can I use DeepSeek with Continue?
Yes, you can easily connect DeepSeek via their API or run it locally using Ollama inside the Continue config.

Is Continue better than GitHub Copilot?
It is better if you want model choice and privacy, but Copilot is smoother for people who want zero configuration.

Can I use Continue offline?
Yes, if you configure it with a local model provider like Ollama, it works entirely without an internet connection.

How do I add my own documentation to Continue?
Initial indexing happens automatically, but you can also use the ‘@docs’ command to point it to specific URLs or documentation folders.

Looking for more tools like this? See all coding tools we’ve reviewed →