Ask HN: Claude Code Alternatives

#1

Post by salahadawi » Fri, Aug 07, 2026, 2:44 PM UTC

I'm getting tired of paying $200/month for Claude Code yet still having to deal with 5h and weekly limits, strict Fable usage limits, etc.

What alternatives have you found that get similar/better results?

Re: Ask HN: Claude Code Alternatives

#2

Post by cyanclouds » Fri, Aug 07, 2026, 2:47 PM UTC

[dead]

Re: Ask HN: Claude Code Alternatives

#3

Post by joe-dakroub » Fri, Aug 07, 2026, 4:16 PM UTC

I believe the only real alternatives are models like GLM and Kimi, which I have read are cheaper to use and produce results on par with Claude Code from roughly 6 months ago. I've tried all of the local models that can conceivably run on a MacBook Pro with 128GB of RAM and have had poor results compared to Claude Code. I too want to use something else, ideally local. I think it is just going to take some time.

Re: Ask HN: Claude Code Alternatives

#4

Post by salahadawi » Tue, Aug 11, 2026, 1:01 PM UTC

joe-dakroub wrote: post #3

I believe the only real alternatives are models like GLM and Kimi, which I have read are cheaper to use and produce results on par with Claude Code from roughly 6 months ago. I've tried all of the local models that can conceivably run on a MacBook Pro with 128GB of RAM and have had poor results compared to Claude Code. I too want to use something else, ideally local. I think it is just going to take some time.

A 6 month difference is huge, ouch. I would've hoped that the gap was smaller by now

Re: Ask HN: Claude Code Alternatives

#5

Post by joe-dakroub » Tue, Aug 11, 2026, 6:29 PM UTC

salahadawi wrote: post #4

joe-dakroub wrote: post #3

I believe the only real alternatives are models like GLM and Kimi, which I have read are cheaper to use and produce results on par with Claude Code from roughly 6 months ago. I've tried all of the local models that can conceivably run on a MacBook Pro with 128GB of RAM and have had poor results compared to Claude Code. I too want to use something else, ideally local. I think it is just going to take some time.

A 6 month difference is huge, ouch. I would've hoped that the gap was smaller by now

Meta just released Muse Glimmer that runs locally at 30B params. Slow for most things but it does produce decent results: https://research.meta.ai/blog/introducing-muse-glimmer-open-...