# free-pi vs OpenCode

Canonical: https://freepi.ai/vs/opencode

Facts checked on 2026-10-20 from official sources.

Type `npx free-pi-cli`, sign in with GitHub, and you are coding with AI in seconds. No card, no API key, no provider shopping, and the free allowance comes back every day.

Try it: `npx free-pi-cli`

## Why developers pick free-pi
- **Zero setup** — One command, one GitHub sign-in, and nothing to configure before your first prompt.
- **Web search and live library docs, built in** — free-pi can search the web and pull current docs for the library you are using, with no API keys to set up.
- **No card, no API key** — You never paste a key or enter payment details to get started.
- **A free allowance that refills daily** — It is not a promo model that rotates out, so you can plan your week around it.
- **Ads stay out of the model's head** — Ads show up in your terminal, and ad text never enters the model's context; a sandbox test in the open-source code enforces it.
- **Pick your model from a catalog** — DeepSeek V4 Flash is the default, and you can switch to options like Claude Haiku, Sonnet 5.5, or Gemini.
- **Built for real projects** — MCP servers with `free-pi-cli mcp add`, a todo list that keeps long tasks on track, and `/reverse-engineer-anything` to load 200+ reverse-engineering tools in one command.
- **Lighter from the first request** — in our October 2026 test, free-pi sent about 3,400 tokens of instructions and tool definitions on a fresh request; OpenCode sent about 6,800.

## At a glance
| | free-pi | OpenCode |
|---|---|---|
| Tokens of instructions and tools on a fresh request (our test) | ✓ ~3,400 | ~6,800 |
| Free model access | ✓ Free daily allowance that refills every day | ✗ Free models are "free for a limited time" and rotate, with a 200 requests/day quota |
| Card or API key needed | ✓ Neither | ✗ Serious use means your own provider keys or a paid plan (Go from $10/mo, Zen from a $20 top-up) |
| Setup | ✓ `npx free-pi-cli`, GitHub sign-in, done | ✗ Docs list API keys for your LLM providers as a prerequisite |
| Ad text in model context | ✓ Never, enforced by a sandbox test | Its site doesn't mention ads |
| Open-source CLI | ✓ MIT | ✓ MIT-licensed open-source CLI |
| One-command reverse-engineering tools | ✓ `/reverse-engineer-anything` loads 200+ REA tools | ✗ Not something its site mentions |
| MCP servers | ✓ `free-pi-cli mcp add` | ✓ Supports local and remote MCP servers |
| Built on | ✓ The lean, extensible pi agent harness by Mario Zechner | OpenCode's own harness |

## Free should mean free
Plenty of tools say "free" and then hand you a shopping list. Pick a provider. Make an account. Generate a key. Paste it somewhere. Check the pricing page.

free-pi skips the list. You run one command, sign in with GitHub, and start. Your daily allowance refills every day, so there is no hunting for whichever free model is currently on offer.

Under the hood, free-pi runs on the pi agent harness by Mario Zechner. It is lean, it is extensible, and it stays out of your way. Want more power? Add MCP servers, or load 200+ reverse-engineering tools with a single slash command. Want more room? Credit packs start at $5, and they are optional.

## Which one should you use?
### Pick free-pi if…
- You want to be coding in seconds, not after an afternoon of setup.
- You want free access with no card and no API key.
- You like a daily allowance that refills on its own.
- You want ad text kept out of your model's context, backed by a test you can read.
- You want MCP, a todo list for long tasks, and reverse-engineering tools without extra plumbing.

### Pick OpenCode if…
- You enjoy shopping for API keys.
- You like configuring 75 providers before writing a line of code.
- You like checking which free model is still free this week.
- You prefer paying for stuff because you don't like free stuff.

## FAQ

### Is free-pi really free?

Yes. There is no card and no API key. You get a free allowance that refills every day. If you ever want more, optional credit packs start at $5.

### How does free-pi stay free?

Ads in your terminal (never inside the model's context) and session data that helps train better models. That is the deal that keeps it free.

### What do I need to run it?

Node 22.19 or newer. Then run `npx free-pi-cli` and sign in with GitHub.

### Is free-pi open source?

The CLI is open source under the MIT license, and you can read it on GitHub. That includes the sandbox test that proves ad text never reaches the model.

## Sources

- [OpenCode homepage and FAQ](https://opencode.ai)
- [OpenCode Go pricing and free-model quota](https://opencode.ai/go)
- [OpenCode Zen pricing](https://opencode.ai/zen)
- [OpenCode Zen docs](https://opencode.ai/docs/zen)
- [OpenCode MCP docs](https://opencode.ai/docs/mcp-servers)
- [free-pi CLI on GitHub](https://github.com/dennisonbertram/free-pi-cli)
- [freepi.ai](https://freepi.ai)

OpenCode is a trademark of its owner. free-pi is not affiliated with or endorsed by OpenCode.