OpenHands

Last tested:

OpenHands is open-source platform for software engineering agents (MIT). Self-host with Agent Canvas, a headless CLI, an SDK, or use OpenHands Cloud. Bring your own LLM key; Cloud also offers at-cost hosted models and a limited free BYOK tier (category: Coding Agents (CLI & Cloud)). VibeToolRank agent test score: 9.1/10 (tested 2026-11-04, 3 runs, headless CLI, BYOK), T-6 of 15 tested Coding Agents (CLI & Cloud) tools. Pricing: Agent Canvas free to self-host (MIT, BYOK, single shared identity). Teams $500/mo up to 10 users (+$50/seat), self-hosted with RBAC. Enterprise custom. OpenHands Cloud: free BYOK tier with daily/parallel conversation limits; hosted models at provider cost with no markup. Free tier: Yes: self-host Agent Canvas / CLI / SDK free with your own model key; Cloud free BYOK tier for individuals with usage limits. No card required for local BYOK.

Compare: OpenHands vs Claude Code

Key facts

Verdict: OpenHands CLI headless fixed our seeded cart discount bug in 3 of 3 runs (42–51s each) with a free Gemini key, never touched the test file.

VibeToolRank score
9.1/10
Rank
T-6 of 15 tested Coding Agents (CLI & Cloud)
Category
Coding Agents (CLI & Cloud)
Last tested
2026-11-04
Runs
3 runs
Outcome score
10/10
Edition tested
OpenHands CLI 1.16.0 headless with Google AI Studio gemini-3.5-flash-lite and caching_prompt=False (BYOK, $0). Not Agent Canvas, not Cloud
Free plan, as measured
$0 per bugfix run on a free Gemini key (BYOK)
Free plan
Yes: self-host Agent Canvas / CLI / SDK free with your own model key; Cloud free BYOK tier for individuals with usage limits. No card required for local BYOK
Price
Agent Canvas free to self-host (MIT, BYOK, single shared identity). Teams $500/mo up to 10 users (+$50/seat), self-hosted with RBAC. Enterprise custom. OpenHands Cloud: free BYOK tier with daily/parallel conversation limits; hosted models at provider cost with no markup
Pricing checked
2026-11-04
Sources
openhands.dev/pricing · openhands.dev · docs.openhands.dev/overview/introduction · test log in our repo

Visit OpenHands

Pricing and free tier

Current official pricing (checked ): Agent Canvas free to self-host (MIT, BYOK, single shared identity). Teams $500/mo up to 10 users (+$50/seat), self-hosted with RBAC. Enterprise custom. OpenHands Cloud: free BYOK tier with daily/parallel conversation limits; hosted models at provider cost with no markup

Is OpenHands free? Yes: self-host Agent Canvas / CLI / SDK free with your own model key; Cloud free BYOK tier for individuals with usage limits. No card required for local BYOK

Local self-host is free; you pay only your model provider. Gemini free key works once caching_prompt is off. OpenRouter :free models are rate-limited (~50 requests/day).

verified-official official source · full-page-read. Official plan limits can change; re-check the vendor page before paying. Figures from our tests are recorded observations, not a current-capacity promise.

What we measured in our test (2026-11-04, 3 runs): $0 per bugfix run on a free Gemini key (BYOK) OpenHands free tier: how far you get

Agent test verdict

Edition tested OpenHands CLI 1.16.0 headless with Google AI Studio gemini-3.5-flash-lite and caching_prompt=False (BYOK, $0). Not Agent Canvas, not Cloud. Results may differ for the hosted product.

Tested 2026-11-04 · 3 runs · rubric v0.1 (provisional thresholds). OpenHands CLI headless fixed our seeded cart discount bug in 3 of 3 runs (42–51s each) with a free Gemini key, never touched the test file. Cost $0. Overall 9.1 (outcome 10, speed 8, cost 10, DX 6, reliability 10). DX lost points because Gemini free context caching caused 429s until we seeded agent_settings and forced caching_prompt=False — there is no simple CLI/env switch.

DimensionScore /10
Outcome (40%)10
Speed (15%)8
Cost (15%)10
Developer experience (15%)6
Reliability (15%)10
Overall9.1

How we tested

  • OpenHands CLI 1.16.0 in a scratch uv venv, headless, bubblewrap sandbox.
  • Model: Google AI Studio gemini-3.5-flash-lite with caching_prompt forced false in agent_settings.
  • Task T3: fix seeded cart.js so all 4 node --test tests pass without editing the test file.
  • 3 runs, all passed (4/4) in 41.6–50.6s, $0.

Pros, cons and who it's for

Pros

  • Fixed the seeded bug in 3/3 headless runs with a free model
  • Did not modify the test file in any run
  • Self-host / BYOK path works with no OpenHands Cloud account
  • Large open-source project (~92.6k GitHub stars on 2026-11-04)

Cons

  • Default Gemini path uses context caching that the free Gemini tier rejects (429); turning it off needed a settings seed + JSON patch
  • CLI TUI is in maintenance mode; docs steer new local users to Agent Canvas
  • We only scored the headless CLI edition, not Agent Canvas or Cloud

Who it's for: Teams that want an open-source coding agent they can self-host or run headless in CI with their own model keys, without locking into one cloud vendor.

Free-tier limits: Local self-host is free; you pay only your model provider. Gemini free key works once caching_prompt is off. OpenRouter :free models are rate-limited (~50 requests/day).

FAQ

Is OpenHands free?

Yes: self-host Agent Canvas / CLI / SDK free with your own model key; Cloud free BYOK tier for individuals with usage limits. No card required for local BYOK. In our test: $0 per bugfix run on a free Gemini key (BYOK).

How did OpenHands score in VibeToolRank's test?

9.1/10 overall (outcome 10, speed 8, cost 10, developer experience 6, reliability 10), 3 runs on 2026-11-04. OpenHands CLI headless fixed our seeded cart discount bug in 3 of 3 runs (42–51s each) with a free Gemini key, never touched the test file.

How much does OpenHands cost?

Agent Canvas free to self-host (MIT, BYOK, single shared identity). Teams $500/mo up to 10 users (+$50/seat), self-hosted with RBAC. Enterprise custom. OpenHands Cloud: free BYOK tier with daily/parallel conversation limits; hosted models at provider cost with no markup (from the official pricing page, checked 2026-11-04).

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Comparisons

Other Coding Agents (CLI & Cloud)

Best Coding Agents (CLI & Cloud) · Best free Coding Agents (CLI & Cloud) · All tools · How we test

Sources

Scores come from our own tests and are never for sale; sponsored placements are always labelled. Some links are affiliate links (currently Railway). Disclosure