JetBrains AI AssistantvsACP Client for VS Code
Generated from the two spec rows. Green marks the better value where a spec has a clear direction. Everything else is just different.
JetBrains AI Assistant
JetBrains · IDE extension
#18MCP
Panel
7.14 spec wins
- Reliability
- 6.8
- Usefulness
- 6.7
- Cost
- 6.8
- Longevity
- 8.2
“Writes your commit messages, which is the only part of the job most of us actually wanted automated.”
ACP Client for VS Code
Jun Han · IDE extension
#41OSS
Panel
7.32 spec wins
- Reliability
- 7.0
- Usefulness
- 6.8
- Cost
- 8.2
- Longevity
- 7.0
“It supports eleven coding agents, one at a time, which is a fair summary of the last two years.”
Spec by spec
| Spec | JetBrains AI Assistant | ACP Client for VS Code |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | ||
| Category | IDE extension | IDE extension |
| Runs | local | local |
| Platforms | macos, linux, windows | macos, linux, windows |
| Context window | not documented | not documented |
| Protocols | ||
| MCP client | Yes | No |
| MCP server | Yes | No |
| Capabilities | ||
| Runs terminal commands | Yes | YesThe extension runs the commands the agent requests and displays their output; the agent loop itself lives in the ACP agent. |
| Multi-file edits | Yes | Yes |
| Git operations | Yes | No |
| Browser control | NoNo browser or Playwright tool; the built-in tools cover code analysis, debugging, files, databases and Jupyter only. | No |
| Sandboxed execution | No | No |
| Multi-agent orchestration | No | NoEleven agents are pre-configured but only one is active at a time, with quick switching between them. |
| Headless / CI mode | NoAI Assistant runs only inside a JetBrains IDE and has no CLI or non-interactive mode; JetBrains' scriptable agent is the separate Junie CLI. | No |
| Models | ||
| Backbone | Claude, Gemini, GPT, Grok | GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, Gemini CLI, Qwen Code, Auggie CLI, Qoder CLI, Codex CLI, OpenCode, OpenClaw, Kiro CLI, Hermes Agent |
| Bring your own model | YesBYOK accepts any OpenAI-compatible provider by base URL, plus Google Vertex AI via Express mode or Application Default Credentials. | Yes |
| Local models | YesOllama and LM Studio are first-class BYOK providers configured by the base URL of the local instance. | No |
| Cost | ||
| Pricing model | mixed | byok |
| Starts at | $10/mo | $0/mo |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Bring your own key | YesYour own provider key or Vertex AI credentials, and BYOK plus local models work without a paid JetBrains AI subscription. | Yes |
| Openness | ||
| Open source | No | Yes |
| License | proprietary | MIT |
| GitHub stars | n/a | 391 |
Which one would each critic pick
| Critic | JetBrains AI Assistant | ACP Client for VS Code | Pick |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Juez | — | — | not enough reviews |
| El Amigo | 7.5 | 7.5 | no preference |
| El Crítico | 6.5 | 7.0 | ACP Client for VS Code — It serves the agent's file writes against your workspace and runs the commands it asks for under a configurable auto-approve policy. |
| El Profesor | 6.8 | 7.8 | ACP Client for VS Code — Every ACP JSON-RPC message can be inspected in a traffic log, which makes a disagreement about whose fault a failure is answerable rather than rhetorical. |
| La Inversora | 7.8 | 6.8 | JetBrains AI Assistant — JetBrains sells this as a layer on IDEs developers already pay for, AI Pro at $10 and Ultimate at $30 with a credit that equals one dollar; pricing so legible it barely needs a sales team. |
| La Jefa | 7.5 | 7.3 | JetBrains AI Assistant — AI Enterprise is $60 per user, $3,600 a month for sixty, admins can preconfigure MCP servers and block engineers from adding their own, and the IDE is already on the invoice. |
| El Hacker | 6.8 | 7.3 | ACP Client for VS Code — MIT, and the agent list is not a list: anything speaking the protocol can be configured by hand, with no plugin API to learn and no review to pass. |
Picks are derived from each critic's own scores. Humans vote on matchups on the duels page.