Qwen CodevsZero
Generated from the two spec rows. Green marks the better value where a spec has a clear direction. Everything else is just different.
Qwen Code
Alibaba Cloud (Qwen) · Terminal agent
#19OSSMCP
Panel
6.82 spec wins
- Reliability
- 6.5
- Usefulness
- 6.8
- Cost
- 7.3
- Longevity
- 6.3
“Ships a Java SDK, which tells you precisely which enterprises Alibaba expects to pay for it.”
Zero
Gitlawb · Terminal agent
#6OSSMCP
Panel
7.02 spec wins
- Reliability
- 6.7
- Usefulness
- 7.0
- Cost
- 8.2
- Longevity
- 6.2
“It accepts image input in a terminal, a sentence that would have ended a career in 2019.”
Spec by spec
| Spec | Qwen Code | Zero |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | ||
| Category | Terminal agent | Terminal agent |
| Runs | local | local, sandbox |
| Platforms | macos, linux, windows | macos, linux, windows |
| Context window | not documented | not documented |
| Protocols | ||
| MCP client | Yes | Yes |
| MCP server | No | Yes |
| Capabilities | ||
| Runs terminal commands | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-file edits | Yes | Yes |
| Git operations | Yes | Yes |
| Browser control | YesThe first-party @qwen-code/chrome-bridge extension tunnels cdp_* frames from the `qwen serve` daemon into chrome.debugger so the agent drives a real Chrome tab, but console/network/screenshot/click tools need an external CDP MCP adapter set via QWEN_CDP_MCP_COMMAND, since none is bundled. | YesBrowser and terminal control helpers ship with the npm and release builds; source builds need those helper binaries on PATH or configured in local-control settings. |
| Sandboxed execution | YesTwo real isolation modes - macOS Seatbelt via sandbox-exec (default `permissive-open` profile) and container-based Docker/Podman with a published sandbox image (https://qwenlm.github.io/qwen-code-docs/en/users/features/sandbox/). | NoZero ships a native Linux sandbox helper using seccomp rather than Docker; source builds must build the `zero-linux-sandbox` helper separately. |
| Multi-agent orchestration | Yes | Yes |
| Headless / CI mode | Yes | Yes`zero exec` returns exit codes and has a documented GitHub Action recipe. |
| Models | ||
| Backbone | Qwen3-Coder, OpenAI-compatible, Claude, Gemini | OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Groq, OpenRouter, DeepSeek, Mistral, xAI, Qwen, Kimi, GitHub Models, Fireworks, MiniMax, Ollama, LM Studio |
| Bring your own model | Yes | Yes |
| Local models | Yes | Yes |
| Cost | ||
| Pricing model | byok | byok |
| Starts at | n/a | $0/mo |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Bring your own key | Yes | Yes |
| Openness | ||
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 28,271 | 1,688 |
Which one would each critic pick
| Critic | Qwen Code | Zero | Pick |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Juez | — | — | not enough reviews |
| El Amigo | 7.0 | 7.3 | Zero — Pick it if you want a terminal agent that lets you change your mind mid-task; pick Crush if you want the same shape with a longer track record behind it. |
| El Crítico | 6.3 | 6.8 | Zero — Package builds ship the browser and terminal control helpers; a source build needs those binaries on PATH and expects you to build the Linux sandbox helper separately. |
| El Profesor | 6.0 | 7.3 | Zero — Sessions can be resumed or forked, which makes a continuation a controlled variable, and the headless mode emits text, JSON or stream-JSON rather than prose only. |
| La Inversora | 6.8 | 5.5 | Qwen Code — Alibaba killed the Qwen OAuth free tier on 2026-04-15, the classic subsidy-to-subscription turn, and 27,000 stars now have to pay someone. |
| La Jefa | 5.8 | 6.8 | Zero — Nothing to license for sixty, and it is the rare tool that returns meaningful exit codes with a documented continuous integration recipe, so it can gate a build. |
| El Hacker | 8.8 | 8.5 | Qwen Code — Apache-2.0, OPENAI_BASE_URL pointed at my own box, modelProviders in settings.json, and MCP servers with a command or an httpUrl; the whole thing is mine to fork. |
Picks are derived from each critic's own scores. Humans vote on matchups on the duels page.