Pricing
Is OpenCode Free? Free Models, Limits, and When You Pay
Is OpenCode free? The app is open source, but free models have limits. What's free, what Go and Zen cost, and the commercial-use answer, sourced.
6 min read
License checked Nov 1, 2026 in OpenCode’s GitHub repo; free models, Console fees and Go prices checked Nov 1, 2026 in OpenCode’s Console models docs and Go docs; providers checked Nov 1, 2026 in the providers docs; terms checked Nov 1, 2026 in OpenCode’s Terms of Use. Every source is listed at the bottom. No affiliate links on this page (how we work).
Quick answer
Yes, OpenCode is free, as of Nov 1, 2026. The models behind it are where money can come in.
- The app: open source under the MIT License. Free to download, use and modify.
- Free models: OpenCode’s Console lists 10 models at $0, each free “for a limited time”, with a daily cap whose size OpenCode doesn’t publish.
- Your own models: connect a provider you already pay for (or run a local one) at no extra OpenCode cost.
- Paid, optional: OpenCode Go at $10 a month, Go Plus at $40, Go Teams at $20 per member, or pay-as-you-go Console credits (formerly called Zen).
So the honest answer is “free app, free-ish models”. The rest of this page is about the “-ish”.
We haven’t tested OpenCode for this page; every fact below is from OpenCode’s own docs, repo and terms, with dates.
What’s actually free
The app: MIT-licensed open source
OpenCode’s repo carries the MIT License: “Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software… to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies” (LICENSE, verified Nov 1, 2026). It comes “AS IS”, with no warranty. That’s about as permissive as software licenses get.
The free models: 10, all “limited time”
OpenCode’s Console docs listed these as free on Nov 1, 2026: Big Pickle, GLM-5.3-Flash Free, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash Free, Beam Free, Flint 40B Free, MiMo-V2.6-Flash Free, Nemotron 3 Ultra Free, Nemotron 3.5 Lightning Free, Nemotron 3.5 Super VL Free and Jev 1.13 Free (Console models, verified Nov 1, 2026).
Three catches, all in OpenCode’s docs:
- They’re temporary. Every one is free or available on OpenCode “for a limited time”. The list changes; the Go docs say “The list of models may change as we test and add new ones.”
- They’re capped. There’s a daily limit, and OpenCode doesn’t publish its size (pinned free-tier issue #59387, verified Oct 31, 2026). If you hit the free limit, the walkthrough is here: OpenCode free usage exceeded.
- They only work inside OpenCode. “Free-tier chat models require OpenCode; use paid models or Go from other clients” (Console models, verified Nov 1, 2026). And you need a current build: OpenCode says v1 builds no longer support free models (OpenCode 1.18 free tier error).
There’s also a data trade on some of them. For Big Pickle, Flint 40B Free and MiMo-V2.6-Flash Free, “collected data may be used to improve the model”. The NVIDIA Nemotron endpoints say “Trial use only — do not submit personal or confidential data.” On the other side, the GLM-5.3-Flash Free and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash Free providers follow “a zero-retention policy and [do] not use your data for model training” (all Console models, verified Nov 1, 2026). Pick the free model by what you’re pasting into it, not just by speed.
Kent Brockman would say “I, for one, welcome our new free-model overlords.” Fine, but read the data note before you paste your company’s code into a stealth model.
Bring your own model
OpenCode works with providers you already pay for. Its providers docs describe connecting with /connect, using a catalog from models.dev, signing in with “a ChatGPT Plus or Pro plan instead of an OpenAI API key” (usage “counts against your plan”), connecting GitHub Copilot by OAuth, and running local models through Ollama, LM Studio or vLLM (providers docs, verified Nov 1, 2026). OpenCode charges nothing for that; you pay your provider.
A local model on your own machine is the only route here that’s free with no time limit and no daily cap, as long as your hardware can run it.
Free vs Go vs Console (Zen)
| Option | Cost | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Free models | $0 | Daily cap, unsized |
| Your own key | Provider’s price | Provider’s limits |
| Go | $10/month | $ caps per window |
| Go Plus | $40/month | Higher $ caps |
| Go Teams | $20/member/mo | Go + $5 per model |
| Console (Zen) | Pay per request | Your balance |
Sources: Go docs and Console models docs, verified Nov 1, 2026; free-tier limit from pinned issue #59387, verified Oct 31, 2026.
Go is “completely optional and you don’t need it to use OpenCode” (Go docs, verified Nov 1, 2026). Its limits are monthly dollar amounts, with 20% usable per five hours and 50% per week. When you reach a Go limit, “you can continue using the free models.” Details per model: OpenCode Go limits.
Console, the pay-as-you-go service OpenCode used to call Zen, charges per request with “A processing fee of 4.6% + $0.31… added to each credit purchase” (Console models, verified Nov 1, 2026). The old Zen page still shows a $20 top-up example with a $1.23 card fee (verified Oct 31, 2026). Which one fits you: OpenCode Go vs Zen. Every plan in one place: OpenCode pricing.
Is OpenCode free for commercial use?
The app, yes. The MIT License explicitly allows you to “use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies” (verified Nov 1, 2026). OpenCode’s Terms of Use confirm that open-source software “not provided to you on a hosted basis” is governed “exclusively” by the repo’s license (Terms of Use, effective Aug 15, 2026, verified Nov 1, 2026).
The hosted stuff has different rules. The Terms cover OpenCode’s “website, inference product and hosted software offering”, which includes the free models, Go and Console. There, “You will only use the Services for your own internal use, and not on behalf of or for the benefit of any third party” (verified Nov 1, 2026). Using it at work for your own coding reads as internal use; reselling access or running it for clients doesn’t. That’s our plain reading, not legal advice; if your company cares, ask OpenCode at [email protected] or a lawyer.
Your own key: the provider’s terms apply, not OpenCode’s.
The Joker said “If you’re good at something, never do it for free.” OpenCode does the app for free and charges for the models. That’s a fair split, as long as the free models’ “limited time” doesn’t quietly become “past tense” without notice. They’re labelled clearly, to OpenCode’s credit; the missing piece is a published daily cap.
Here’s what I’d do
Install OpenCode and use the free models to see whether you like the workflow. If you have a ChatGPT Plus or Copilot subscription, connect that next, since you’re already paying for it. Only pay for Go if you keep running into the free cap and like the open models it includes. Choose Console credits if you want paid models Go doesn’t include.
For how OpenCode compares with a paid rival, see OpenCode vs Claude Code and AI coding tools compared.
Some models refuse to answer even when you still have quota: OpenCode provider blocked the response.
FAQ
Is OpenCode free forever? The app is MIT-licensed open source, so yes; the hosted free models are each free only “for a limited time”, per OpenCode’s docs as of Nov 1, 2026.
Are OpenCode free models unlimited? No, OpenCode applies a daily limit to its free models and doesn’t publish the size.
Is OpenCode free for commercial use? The app is, under the MIT License; OpenCode’s hosted services, including free models, are limited to your own internal use under its Terms of Use.
Is OpenCode open source? Yes, the OpenCode repo on GitHub is published under the MIT License.
Do I need OpenCode Go to use OpenCode? No, OpenCode’s docs call Go completely optional; you can use free models or connect your own provider instead.
Can I use OpenCode with my ChatGPT subscription? Yes, OpenCode supports signing in with a ChatGPT Plus or Pro plan, and usage counts against that plan.
Sources
- OpenCode GitHub repo, MIT License: https://github.com/anomalyco/opencode/blob/dev/LICENSE (verified 2026-11-01)
- OpenCode, Console models (free models list, data notes, free models require OpenCode, processing fee): https://opencode.ai/v2/docs/console/models/ (verified 2026-11-01)
- OpenCode, Go docs (prices, optional, limit windows, free-model fallback, model list may change): https://opencode.ai/v2/docs/console/go/ (verified 2026-11-01)
- OpenCode, Providers (models.dev catalog, ChatGPT sign-in, Copilot, Ollama, LM Studio, vLLM): https://opencode.ai/v2/docs/providers/ (verified 2026-11-01)
- OpenCode, Terms of Use (effective Aug 15, 2026; open-source license governs, internal use only for hosted Services): https://opencode.ai/legal/terms-of-service (verified 2026-11-01)
- OpenCode pinned free-tier issue #59387 (daily limit, v1 no longer supports free models): https://github.com/anomalyco/opencode/issues/59387 (verified 2026-10-31)
- OpenCode Zen page ($20 top-up, $1.23 card fee): https://opencode.ai/zen (verified 2026-10-31)