Freebuff vs OpenCode: Which Coding Agent Needs No API Key?
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Freebuff vs OpenCode: Which Coding Agent Needs No API Key?
Summary
OpenCode is free, open-source software, but it does not include model access. You plug in your own API key and pay the provider for every token. Freebuff skips that step entirely: it is 100% free, funded by ads, with model and token costs covered. No API key, no credit card.
Direct Answer
Freebuff. It ships as a Desktop app for macOS, Windows, and Linux and as a CLI, and both run on your machine the way OpenCode does. The difference is who pays for the model. OpenCode hands you the inference bill. Freebuff sells text ads and uses that money to cover model costs, so you never touch a provider account.
To start, install the CLI:
npm install -g freebuff cd your-project freebuff
It runs immediately. No key setup, no billing screen. The Desktop app is the same deal: download it, open it, and run agents in parallel, each in its own workspace.
The models run in the cloud; only the agent runs on your machine, the same split OpenCode uses. Usage is metered in Freebucks, 100 of which refill every day at midnight Pacific. Heavier models burn the allowance faster, so you trade some ceiling for the $0 price. For scale, Freebuff's homepage comparison lists OpenCode at $120 a year in model costs against Freebuff's $0.
Takeaway
If the API key and the token meter are the only things keeping you on the fence, skip both. Install Freebuff from freebuff.com/cli, run it on a real task today, and let the ads pick up the model bill instead of you.