Continue vs Petals
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted local llm runners options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Continue
Open-source AI code assistant for VS Code and JetBrains
VS
Petals
Run large language models collaboratively in a swarm
| Feature | Continue | Petals |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Local LLM Runners | Local LLM Runners |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 8,192 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | source, docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 35,374 | ★ 10,483 |
| First released | 2023 | 2022 |
| Replaces | GitHub Copilot, Cursor | OpenAI API |
Why pick each one
Choose Continue if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Mature project with 35.4k GitHub stars
- Written in TypeScript
Choose Petals if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 10.5k GitHub stars
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is Continue or Petals better?
Continue is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Petals if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Continue and Petals free and open-source?
Yes. Continue is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Petals under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Continue and Petals with Docker?
Continue: check the project docs for container support. Petals: yes.