head-to-head · tool vs tool
Cline vs Z Code
Live matchup data for Cline and Z Code: OpenRouter usage, pricing, benchmark scores, and community sentiment, refreshed daily. No verdicts — read the tape.
usage — openrouter daily tokens
Usage crossover
current leader: Cline
source: OpenRouter app rankings · daily · 90d
through Aug 20, 2026
side by side
Spec & pricing
| Spec | Cline | Z Code |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor | Cline Bot Inc. | Z.ai |
| Homepage | cline.bot | zcode.z.ai |
| GitHub | cline/cline | — |
| Package | cline | — |
| Subscription plans |
snapshot Jul 12, 2026 |
snapshot Aug 15, 2026 |
| Latest plan change | Cline plans changed: added Open Source; removed Free detected Jul 12, 2026 | Z Code plans changed: plan set updated detected Aug 15, 2026 |
| GitHub stars | 66,569 | — |
| Pkg downloads/day | 0 | — |
| Latest release | desktop-v0.0.15 · 43 h ago | — |
sources: provider pages · OpenRouter · GitHub · package registries
— = not tracked / not applicable
head to head
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | Cline | Z Code | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
no benchmark results tracked yet for this pair — boards ingest daily | |||
best tracked score per benchmark · scores are not directly comparable across benchmarks
sources linked per row
community pulse
Reddit sentiment
| Signal | Cline | Z Code |
|---|---|---|
| Mentions (30d) | 278 | 280 |
| Positive share | 12.9% | 15.4% |
| Negative share | 16.9% | 26.8% |
| Net sentiment | -4% | -11.4% |
| 30d trend |
source: Reddit mentions, LLM-classified sentiment · trailing 30d
through Aug 21, 2026
faq
Frequently asked
- Is Cline more used than Z Code?
- As of Aug 20, 2026, Cline shows 208.8B tokens/day through OpenRouter-tracked apps and Z Code shows 10.3B tokens/day through OpenRouter-tracked apps. The chart above tracks the full daily series with every lead change marked.
- How does Cline pricing compare to Z Code?
- Cline tracked plans: Open Source (free), Enterprise. Z Code tracked plans: Lite ($18.00/mo), Pro ($80.00/mo), Max ($168/mo). Full plan and per-token detail is in the spec table above, each with its source and capture date.
- How do Cline and Z Code score on coding benchmarks?
- No benchmark results are tracked for either yet; public boards are ingested daily and results appear here as they land.
- Where does this comparison data come from?
- OpenRouter public rankings (usage), provider pricing pages (plans and per-token prices), GitHub and package registries (adoption), public benchmark leaderboards, and Reddit (sentiment). Every stored datum keeps its source URL, and the tape refreshes daily. The Token Tape publishes the data without declaring a winner.
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