Continue is an open-source, self-hosted AI code assistant focused on privacy and local customization, while Tabnine is a commercial SaaS platform offering cloud-based AI code completion with enterprise features and broader language support. Continue prioritizes developer control; Tabnine prioritizes convenience and advanced features.
Continue vs Tabnine — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Open-source AI code assistant with local-first privacy and customizable models
AI code completion platform with broad IDE support and flexible deployment options.
Deployment Model. Privacy & Data Handling. Pricing Model. Supported IDEs. Language Support. AI Model Options. Setup Complexity
Choose Continue if you prioritize data privacy, code confidentiality, and full control over your development environment—ideal for enterprises, sensitive projects, and developers who want zero cloud dependency. Choose Tabnine if you value ease of setup, broader IDE/language support, advanced enterprise features (team analytics, security policies), and don't have strict data residency requirements.
Continue: 10-20 (API key + config required) | Tabnine: N/A
Continue: Unlimited with local models | Tabnine: N/A
Continue: 200-500ms average | Tabnine: N/A
Continue: Up to 100,000+ tokens | Tabnine: 128K tokens
Continue: VS Code, JetBrains suite, Vim, Neovim (4 major platforms) | Tabnine: N/A
Continue: Free (optional donations for commercial use) | Tabnine: N/A
Continue: 50+ (with LLM-dependent support) | Tabnine: 22+ languages
Continue: $0 (self-hosted) | Tabnine: N/A
Continue: 3 (VSCode, JetBrains, Cursor) | Tabnine: N/A
Continue: Claude, GPT-4, Llama, Mistral, local | Tabnine: N/A
Continue: Local + optional cloud | Tabnine: N/A
Continue: Unlimited (depends on API usage) | Tabnine: N/A
Continue: Full JSON config (prompts, model params, shortcuts) | Tabnine: N/A
Continue: Free (+ API costs) | Tabnine: $15
Continue: 5+ (Claude, GPT-4, Llama 2, custom, local) | Tabnine: N/A
Continue: 4 major (VS Code, JetBrains, Vim, Web) | Tabnine: N/A
Continue: 6+ (Claude, GPT-4, Ollama, local) | Tabnine: N/A
Continue: 5+ (VS Code, JetBrains, Vim) | Tabnine: N/A
Continue: 8000-200000 (model-dependent) | Tabnine: N/A
Continue: Yes (Ollama, LLaMA) | Tabnine: N/A
Continue: Yes (full local support) | Tabnine: N/A
Continue: ~0.05 million (2025 estimate) | Tabnine: N/A
Continue: No (community-driven) | Tabnine: N/A
Continue: 15–30 min (API key configuration) | Tabnine: N/A
Continue: Optional (local or cloud) | Tabnine: N/A
Continue: Yes (default) | Tabnine: Yes (optional)
Continue: Full open-source (Apache 2.0) | Tabnine: Proprietary closed-source
Continue: 2-5 sec (Claude/GPT-4) | Tabnine: N/A
Continue: $50-150 for power users | Tabnine: N/A
Continue: 10+ providers supported | Tabnine: N/A
Continue: Required for cloud models | Tabnine: N/A
Continue: 8GB minimum (16GB recommended) | Tabnine: N/A
Continue: Native VS Code extension | Tabnine: N/A
Continue: Depends on provider, some cloud processing | Tabnine: N/A
Continue: 15-30 minutes (model download + config) | Tabnine: N/A
Continue: 5-15 seconds (hardware-dependent) | Tabnine: N/A
Continue: 4 major platforms (VS Code, JetBrains, Vim, Neovim) | Tabnine: N/A
Continue: Unlimited (fully free and open-source) | Tabnine: N/A
Continue: $0 (open-source) or hosted option available | Tabnine: $12/month
Continue: Local-only, zero cloud transmission | Tabnine: N/A
Continue: Yes (GitHub public repository) | Tabnine: N/A
Continue: 200,000 | Tabnine: 30,000 tokens
Continue: Varies by provider | Tabnine: N/A
Continue: Free + $20 Pro | Tabnine: Free + $15 Pro
Continue: N/A | Tabnine: 7+ IDEs (VS Code, JetBrains, Vim, Neovim, Sublime, Emacs, Visual Studio)
Continue: N/A | Tabnine: Limited (Pro required for unlimited)
Continue: N/A | Tabnine: 22 primary languages
Continue: N/A | Tabnine: 20+ integrations
Continue: N/A | Tabnine: SOC 2, HIPAA, GDPR, ISO 27001
Continue: N/A | Tabnine: Enterprise tier only
Continue: N/A | Tabnine: Full offline support
Continue: N/A | Tabnine: Yes (limited completions)
Continue: N/A | Tabnine: Yes, full offline support
Continue: N/A | Tabnine: 7+ years in production
Continue: N/A | Tabnine: Yes (hybrid mode)
Continue: N/A | Tabnine: Basic AWS SDK suggestions
Continue: N/A | Tabnine: 6 GB (locally downloadable)
Continue: N/A | Tabnine: Yes (Enterprise plan)
Continue: N/A | Tabnine: Free (unlimited)
Continue: N/A | Tabnine: 3 (Cloud, VPC, On-premise)
Continue: N/A | Tabnine: Yes - fine-tuning on private repos
How to choose between Continue and Tabnine
Continue vs Tabnine — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for Continue vs Tabnine. Contains 91 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
Continue vs Tabnine — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Continue vs Tabnine.
Which is better for data-sensitive industries like healthcare or finance?
Continue is significantly better for regulated industries. It keeps all code local by default, offers compliance certifications (HIPAA, PCI-DSS ready), and never transmits your source code to external servers. Tabnine processes code on its servers, making it unsuitable for strict data residency or confidentiality requirements.
Yes, Continue's local models typically have 5-15 second latency compared to Tabnine's cloud-based 1-3 seconds. However, this gap narrows with optimized local setups (GPU acceleration, quantized models). For many developers, the privacy tradeoff is worth the latency cost.
Can I use Continue offline and Tabnine online simultaneously?
Yes. Continue can work entirely offline with local models. Tabnine requires internet connectivity. Many teams use Continue for sensitive code and Tabnine for open-source projects where privacy is less critical.
Which has better code quality and accuracy?
Tabnine generally produces faster, more contextually aware completions due to cloud processing and proprietary models, plus GPT-4 integration. Continue's quality depends on which local model you use (Codestral performs well for most languages). For enterprise-scale codebases, Tabnine's team learning features give an accuracy edge.
What's the total cost of ownership for a 10-person team?
Tabnine Pro: ~$1,800/year (10 × $15/month). Continue: ~$2,400/year for Pro tier (10 × $20/month), but initial server setup costs are one-time and scale better. Tabnine's enterprise tier costs 3-5x more; Continue's self-hosted model has consistent per-user costs regardless of team size.
How to Choose Between Continue and Tabnine
Deployment Model: Continue has Self-hosted, open-source, local or private cloud, while Tabnine has Cloud-based SaaS with optional on-premise.
Privacy & Data Handling: Continue has Code never leaves your machine by default; full control, while Tabnine has Data processed on Tabnine servers; encrypted but cloud-dependent.
Pricing Model: Continue has Free open-source + optional paid tiers ($20-25/month), while Tabnine has Free tier limited; Pro $15/month, Enterprise custom pricing.
Supported IDEs: Continue has VS Code, JetBrains, Vim, Neovim, Cursor (8+ IDEs), while Tabnine has VS Code, JetBrains, Visual Studio, Sublime, Emacs (10+ IDEs).
Language Support: Continue has 40+ languages (Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Java, etc.), while Tabnine has 50+ languages with industry-specific models.
AI Model Options: Continue has Llama 2, Codestral, local open-source models, while Tabnine has Proprietary Tabnine model + GPT-4 integration available.
Setup Complexity: Continue has Moderate; requires configuration, API key management, while Tabnine has Easy; one-click install, minimal setup.