Droid vs Claude Code
Droid and Claude Code side by side: what each one is, verified plan pricing and install commands where we have them, and the full review of each.
Full decision guide
This page is the quick side-by-side. For current models, pricing, workflows and a decision framework, read our maintained Droid vs Claude Code guide.
Droid
Factory AI's terminal coding agent. Runs Anthropic and OpenAI models in one subscription. Handles full tasks end-to-end - refactors, incident response, migrations.
Claude Code
Daily DriverAnthropic's agentic coding CLI. Runs in your terminal, edits files autonomously, spawns sub-agents, and maintains memory across sessions. Defaults to Claude Opus 5.5 on paid plans as of October 2026.
At a glance
| Field | D Droid | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | AI Coding | AI Coding |
| Website | factory.ai | docs.anthropic.com |
| Pricing | Pro - $20/mo: Desktop, CLI and SDK, cloud and local background agents; Plus - $100/mo: about 5x the usage of Pro, plus Droid Computers (Factory-managed cloud computers); Max - $200/mo: about 10x the usage of Pro and early access to new features; Teams - $60/mo per team plus $40/mo per seat, up to 10 seats; Business and Enterprise - contact sales | Pro - $20/mo, or $17/mo billed annually ($200 up front): includes Claude Code; Max - $100/mo (5x Pro usage) or $200/mo (20x Pro usage), plus $100 to $200/mo in API credits; Team - Standard seat $20/seat/mo billed annually ($25 monthly); Premium seat $100/seat/mo billed annually ($125 monthly); 2 to 150 seats; Enterprise - $20/seat/mo billed annually, 20 seat minimum, plus usage at API rates; Console (API key) - pay per token at Anthropic API rates; Free claude.ai plan - does not include Claude Code |
| Install | curl -fsSL https://app.factory.ai/cli | sh or brew install --cask droid or npm install -g droid | curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash or brew install --cask claude-code or npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code |
| Models | Droid offers Anthropic (Claude Fable 5.1, Opus 5.5, Sonnet 5.5, Haiku 5.5 and more), OpenAI (GPT-6.1 Sol, GPT-6 Astra, GPT-5.x), Google Gemini 3.x, xAI Grok and open models such as Kimi K3, GLM-5.3 and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, each billed at a usage multiplier. Switch with /model or Ctrl+N, set reasoning with --reasoning-effort, or bring your own keys as custom models. | Defaults to Claude Opus 5.5 on Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise, and the Anthropic API (Sonnet 4.5 on Microsoft Foundry). Switch with /model, claude --model, or ANTHROPIC_MODEL using the opus, sonnet, haiku, and fable aliases (Opus 5.5, Sonnet 5.5, Haiku 5.5, Fable 5.1 on the Anthropic API) or a full model name; Fable is never the default and must be picked explicitly. |
| Last verified | October 17, 2026 | October 17, 2026 |
In Depth
Droid
Droid is a terminal-based AI coding agent from Factory AI that handles the full software development lifecycle: planning, implementation, and testing. One subscription gives you access to both Anthropic and OpenAI models, so you do not have to switch platforms when you need a different model's strengths. Droid posted a 58.75% score on Terminal-Bench, a top result when it was reported, which showed that agent design matters as much as model choice. It works across IDE, Web, CLI, Slack, and Linear, and supports VS Code, JetBrains, Vim, and Zed. Factory also offers specialized droid agents for engineering, reliability, product, and knowledge work, making it a platform rather than just a tool.
Claude Code
Claude Code is a terminal-based coding agent from Anthropic. You give it a prompt, and it reads your codebase, plans changes, edits files, runs tests, and commits - all autonomously. It spawns sub-agents for parallel work, uses persistent memory (CLAUDE.md files) to remember project context between sessions, and integrates with MCP servers for external tools. I run it on the Max plan (from $100/mo) and it handles everything from multi-file refactors to full feature builds. My video on Claude Code sub-agents hit 160,000 views - it's the tool my audience asks about most. As of October 2026 it defaults to Claude Opus 5.5 on Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise, and API accounts, and you can switch models per session.
FAQ
Answers taken from each tool's verified fact sheet, with the date it was last checked.
How much does Droid cost?
As of October 17, 2026: Pro - $20/mo: Desktop, CLI and SDK, cloud and local background agents; Plus - $100/mo: about 5x the usage of Pro, plus Droid Computers (Factory-managed cloud computers); Max - $200/mo: about 10x the usage of Pro and early access to new features; Teams - $60/mo per team plus $40/mo per seat, up to 10 seats; Business and Enterprise - contact sales. Source: Factory pricing, Droid CLI quickstart, Available models, Droid CLI changelog.
How do I install Droid?
Official install commands as of October 17, 2026: curl -fsSL https://app.factory.ai/cli | sh or brew install --cask droid or npm install -g droid.
Which models does Droid use?
As of October 17, 2026: Droid offers Anthropic (Claude Fable 5.1, Opus 5.5, Sonnet 5.5, Haiku 5.5 and more), OpenAI (GPT-6.1 Sol, GPT-6 Astra, GPT-5.x), Google Gemini 3.x, xAI Grok and open models such as Kimi K3, GLM-5.3 and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, each billed at a usage multiplier. Switch with /model or Ctrl+N, set reasoning with --reasoning-effort, or bring your own keys as custom models.
How much does Claude Code cost?
As of October 17, 2026: Pro - $20/mo, or $17/mo billed annually ($200 up front): includes Claude Code; Max - $100/mo (5x Pro usage) or $200/mo (20x Pro usage), plus $100 to $200/mo in API credits; Team - Standard seat $20/seat/mo billed annually ($25 monthly); Premium seat $100/seat/mo billed annually ($125 monthly); 2 to 150 seats; Enterprise - $20/seat/mo billed annually, 20 seat minimum, plus usage at API rates; Console (API key) - pay per token at Anthropic API rates; Free claude.ai plan - does not include Claude Code. Source: Claude Code setup docs, Claude Code model configuration, Claude pricing, anthropics/claude-code CHANGELOG, anthropics/claude-code releases, @anthropic-ai/claude-code on npm (release dates).
How do I install Claude Code?
Official install commands as of October 17, 2026: curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash or brew install --cask claude-code or npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code.
Which models does Claude Code use?
As of October 17, 2026: Defaults to Claude Opus 5.5 on Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise, and the Anthropic API (Sonnet 4.5 on Microsoft Foundry). Switch with /model, claude --model, or ANTHROPIC_MODEL using the opus, sonnet, haiku, and fable aliases (Opus 5.5, Sonnet 5.5, Haiku 5.5, Fable 5.1 on the Anthropic API) or a full model name; Fable is never the default and must be picked explicitly.
